Southern Cross Care - Broken Hill Ltd.

The Lions Club of Broken Hill kindly donated and cooked a BBQ for our residents and staff at St Anne's, Harold Williams Home, Aruma Lodge, Con Crowley Retirement Village and War Vet's Retirement Village for World Services Day on Tuesday 21st November. Everyone enjoyed, the expertly cooked BBQ, the cake and ice-creams provided.
Our appreciation and sincere thanks is extended to the Lions Club volunteers.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Harold Williams Home lucky square. The prizes went to;
1st P. Day, 2nd R. Sullivan.
All prizes have been claimed!
Thanks again ☺

Market Stalls - Family Market Day.

This Saturday 18th November 10.00am to 12.00 noon.
Markets stalls are located in the carport between St Anne's and Harold Williams Home in Eyre Street.

Southern Cross Care - (Broken Hill) Ltd took part in the Regional Development Australia Far West NSW Careers Expo 2023.
There was plenty of interactions with students who were interested in trying the Virtual Reality Goggles specifically tailored for use by those residents with dementia.
Also experiencing wearing PPE was popular.
A great group of young adults Broken Hill can be proud of.

Recently Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd celebrated Aged Care Employees Day. A similtaneous BBQ was cooked at all facilities, by very kind volunteers, for our teams in Broken Hill and Sunraysia.
It was a day of recognition for many years of service, dedication and commitment to those we care for.
Again, to our teams..."Thanks for Caring"..

St Anne's held Christmas in July, on Tuesday. Pictured are some residents enjoying the spirit of the day. Big thanks to the activities, catering and care teams for all the efforts in making it a great day for all.

Con Crowley Village residents enjoyed their Christmas in July yesterday. Thank you to Betty for all the fabulous organisation and the SCCBH Hotel Services team who provided the fabulous catering and service for the luncheon. A great day was had by all who attended.

Thank you to Coles Broken Hill for the kind donation of Fight MND beanies for our residents. (Pictured Fran Manager Coles and Jo from SCCBH)

The Broken Hill Contribution Fund recently donated equipment to Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd for St Anne's Nursing Home, Harold Williams Home and Aruma Lodge. SCCBH would like to acknowledge the wonderful support received from The Broken Hill Contribution Fund over many years.
The equipment donated has been essential and has assisted to improve care and the lives of those we care for.
These donations have meant so much, are greatly appreciated.

Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd put out a call for donations to purchase Virtual Reality Goggles for use by residents.
The Knights of the Southern Cross NSW Branch, Branch 14 Broken Hill and Branch 41 Mildura and the Rotary Club of Broken Hill who matched the Knights donations made the purchase of these goggles possible. Our residents love the goggles and the calming effect they have is amazing. We sincerly thank the Rotary Club and the Knights for their very generous donations and support.

The Beefsteak and Burgundy Club dinner was held this week at Harold Williams Home. Members wanted to make it easier for club member Bryan Symonds who is a resident of Harold Williams to attend. The wheels were put in motion with the facility manager Renee Sullivan and catering was provided by Greg Conway SCCBH Hotel Services Manager with two of his team as wait staff for the evening.

Bryan Symonds was joined by his son Derek and another well known community member and resident of Harold Williams, John Wren was invited to attend the dinner with his son Clifford.

Member Chris Forrest said "a great night was had by all" and he thanked all the efforts of SCCBH staff who made it a wonderful night for all attending.

Beefsteak and Burgundy local club started in 1973. The primary objective of the club is to create an environment where members share knowledge and experience great wine, food and fellowship on a regular basis.
Attached are some photos provided by the Club.

Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd statement 28th April 2023.

The Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission has reaccredited both St Anne’s and Harold Williams Homes.
The Commission conducted site audits on St Anne’s Home and Harold Williams Home during February. On the days they visited issues were noted which didn’t meet all of the requirements of the Aged Care Quality Standards which have been redeveloped recently and issued Notices of Non -Compliance. This is a notice detailing particular issues at each home on those days when the site audits were conducted.
Since this audit both homes have been reaccredited and the accreditation reports are available on the Commission website. The reaccreditation of each home is a result of the Commission considering the response by Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) to the Notices received, the immediate action taken to remedy the most urgent and critical issues, the lodging of detailed plans for Continuous Improvement that attend to all of the issues identified (with timeframes), and the immediate engagement of health consultants to help in the remediation process and to also provide targeted and intense training to prevent reported issues arising again. Our consultants have been on site now for six weeks assisting us, and the training programme for team members commenced two weeks ago.
A subsequent visit to Broken Hill in early April gave senior Commission officers a first hand look at our homes, the progress we have made in a short time, and an understanding of the critical importance of our Aged Care facilities to the Broken Hill community. They recognised the team members passion and commitment in caring for members of our community. There was high praise for the efforts of aged care workers who have often worked huge hours in difficult conditions through Covid- 19 outbreaks and large shortages of people across all areas of aged care to ensure they could continue to deliver high quality care to people in our homes, and often foregoing leave in the process. A changed Aged Care regulatory environment is also a complicating factor that has to be coped with. The visiting officers indicated a positive approval of our homes and particularly the interactions between residents and team members.
The Commission also indicated their willingness to provide support and advice in acknowledgement of our rapid progress and ongoing commitment, and our honesty and transparency displayed by quickly relaying information prior to Easter about our non compliance issues to residents, consumer advocates, and team members. The Commission’s offer of support is welcome and we are working closely with them, and appreciating their advice.
The important role of Deputy Director of Nursing at St Anne’s is now filled and will assist in clinical care governance and the provision of support to our nursing teams. We are managing to slowly increase our team numbers in each home, are advertising consistently for more, and have been successful in attracting further Registered Nurses. Several of our current team members have recently graduated as Enrolled Nurses and Registered Nurses, with further team members currently working towards these qualifications. We are also implementing further processes to ensure ongoing educational opportunities for our staff.
Southern Cross Care is committed and has prioritised the rectification of all issues identified by the Commission in a timely manner as well as ensuring there are ongoing continuous improvement plans embedded into the organisation to ensure legislative compliance is met into the future. Most importantly our primary focus is to ensure quality care of our residents.


Bernard Nankivell
Chief Executive Officer

W are still going ahead. Come along for a sausage sizzle and a quick walk if it stops raining.

This morning, Sunday 30th October from 11.00am we are joining with Cristina Tolu on a Solidarity Walk around the car park between St Anne's and Harold Williams Home in Eyre Street. There will be a sausage sizzle and drinks to purchase. Please join with us to help raise funds for the Black Dog Institute and to help create a mentally healthier world. See flyer attached.

On Sunday 30th October from 11.00am we are joining with Cristina Tolu on a Solidarity Walk around the car park between St Anne's and Harold Williams Home in Eyre Street. There will be a sausage sizzle and drinks to purchase. Please join with us to help raise funds for the Black Dog Institute and to help create a mentally healthier world. See flyer attached.

Looking to gain employment in Aged Care?
Pre-employment Program for Cert 3 in Individual Support, information session 19th August 2022 at 10.00am. To register please contact Robinson College on 8087 6022 m. Limited places available.

Are you interested in becoming an aged care worker?
Please read the following information re Aged Care Pre-employment program being offered through Robinson College. Please contact Robinson College or Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd for more details.

WE ARE OPEN !!!

Good Morning it is with much excitement I report our outbreak is declared over as of Midnight last night. Please see the attached update. We looking forward to seeing all our families in the coming days, please remember to reach out if you need to visit outside the times listed.

Have a great day Zoe

I huge shout out to Steve Radford and the BSL team for the beautiful Easter baskets delivered to St Anne’s prior to Easter, The residents enjoyed Hundreds of Cadbury eggs and delicious hot cross buns.. 🐰🐰🐣🐣🍫🍫

The Board, Management and Staff of SCCBH are extreamly grateful for the endless support from the Broken Hill community at this current time.
As an organisation we are fighting everyday to ensure our most valuable residents are protected and cared for during the current outbreak at our Broken Hill nursing home, St Anne’s.
The messages of support and gifts for staff and residents has been overwhelming. Our staff have been beyond exceptional working tirelessly to ensure optimal care delivery 24/7.
The support from the commonwealth with nursing staff, care staff and general duties workers support has allowed us optimise our services at this extreme time.

The BHHS Emergency department, Dr Sarah Wenham, Dr Av-iee, BHHS Afterhours managers, Alexis IPC, FWLHD executive managers Michelle, Denise,Jodie, PHU - Priscilla, Anita, Georgie, NSW Health, the commonwealth, The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Thank you for the daily support and regular face to face catch ups we will be forever grateful for everything you have done for us during the difficult time it has be a privilege to work with you all.

Broken Hill Pharmacies, Alex, you are a superstar, nothing has been to much trouble.

Bromson Energy thank you for the Sunday morning delivery today.

The numbers as of today are below, families are update regularly.

Current out break total - 47
Number of residents recovered - 29
Residents deceased - 6
Residents currently active - 12
Staff currently positive to COVID-19 - 0
Vaccinated staff and residents with 3 doses - 100%

We have had no new cases in the last 36 hours.

All current cases are cohorted in one section of our home and staff are in tier 3 PPE.

HWH, Aruma Lodge and Oasis aged care are all open for visiting with restrictions in place. All visitors will be required to RAT test and masks are mandatory when on site at all times.

Thank you ABC Broken Hill for helping us to keep the community updated and allowing us to connect with the community so regularly.

If you have questions regarding the information above please reach out at any time.

Zoe Tonkin, CEO, SCCBH.

0437945483 or [email protected]

Members of the Australian Defence Force have arrived in Broken Hill to help staff at the St Anne’s Nursing Home.

Sadly, 6 residents have passed away after a COVID-19 outbreak.

COVID-19 Plan activated.

Please see below information shared with St Anne's Families this morning.

28th March 2022

Dear residents, families, and resident representatives,
Subject: COVID Plan Activated at St Anne’s Nursing Home
I write to inform you that we have had a resident tested positive after a Rapid Antigen test, at St Anne’s Nursing Home, this morning. The resident has minimal symptoms, and currently doing well and at their baseline.
This resident will be isolated in the facility and be cared for by our amazing team. Our St Anne’s facility will be place in a minimum 14-day lockdown as per the direction of the Public Health Unit. Families will be updated as things change.
As residents are tested for COVID-19 families will be informed of all positive results as soon as practical.
Due to the fact that our homes are already operating under our COVID Plan, with staff wearing additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements were already in place which will help to mitigate the risk to residents and other staff.
All staff have undergone mandatory testing prior to the commencement of their shift since the 7th March 2022.
A range of other measures are in place to minimise the risk to other residents and staff the provision of additional virtual management and nursing support and additional cleaning and PPE requirements.
If you have visited our St Anne’s Nursing Home in the last 48 hours and have any symptoms at all, please get tested.
Please be assured that we continue to closely monitor this situation, and we are actively working under the guidance of our established plans to protect the health and safety of our SCCBH community. We will communicate with you regularly as new information comes to hand.
Residents in terminal phases of palliative care will be allowed visiting.

Yours sincerely,

Zoe Tonkin
CEO – SCCBH.

Please be diligent when visiting, case numbers are high and the risk remains extreamly high for our residents.
RAT tests are available for all visitors on request and your on going support is appreciated.

⏰92 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the Far West Local Health District to 4pm yesterday.

🦠73 in Broken Hill (33 PCR, 40 RAT), 1 in Central Darling Shire (1 PCR), 12 in Wentworth Shire (12 RAT) and 6 in Balranald Shire (6 RAT).

📝For more information on cases by postcode and local government area, visit: https://bit.ly/C19stats For cases and tests broken down by LHD and LGA go to: bit.ly/NSWCasesByLGA

🧪COVID-19 testing clinics
📍Broken Hill Soccer Club car park, 497 Beryl Street
Drive Through, 8am - 11.30am

📍Barrier Industrial Union (BIU) Band Hall
Walk In, 1pm - 5pm

📍Wentworth Health Service
Monday to Friday, 8am to 12:30pm

📍Menindee Health Service

📍White Cliffs Health Service
08 8083 6200 to make an appointment

📍Tibooburra Health Service
8.30am to 5pm

📍Wilcannia Health Service

📍Ivanhoe Health Service

😷Find your nearest testing clinic: bit.ly/3yfNYZ6
🦠Read all the latest coronavirus coverage: https://ab.co/3nY3B3S

Please see attached latest COVID-19 update.

If you have any questions or concerns about this information please reach out.

Zoe

Media Release
Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd
17th January 2022

Due to the current COVID situation and the impact on our workforce and the current outbreaks in two of our facilities. We will be locking down and restricting visiting to our Harold Williams Home site and St Anne’s Nursing home as of 3pm today.

Currently, we have 15 cases of active COVID-19 in 2 of our homes Aruma Lodge and Oasis Aged Care and the impact this is having on staffing and on our residents is significant. To prevent this from happening at our other sites we feel a lock down is the best way to mitigate the risk and minimise the traffic through our facilities.

For families that visit daily we will organise a second daily visit and for those that assist with meals this will continue to occur.

Any resident that is receiving active palliative care will be allowed visiting 24/7 and family are encouraged to be in attendance as required during this time.

Residents that have been diagnosed with COVID-19 are all vaccinated, and most had received their boosters which has meant the symptoms are manageable on site and most are not affected at all or have minor flu symptoms.

Other residents in these facilities remain isolated to their rooms and staff are cohorted for care delivery to minimise risk of transmission. Staff are in Tier3 PPE when on site and are rapid tested prior to each shift. Residents are also tested as required or directed by public health.

Our first case was diagnosed on the 2 January has today tested negative which is a positive outcome.

I urge the communities to keep safe, social distance wear your masks and if you have symptoms get tested. For people that are vaccinated the symptoms may be mild so don’t ignore them.

If you have any questions about the information provided in this update, please don’t hesitate to reach out I can be contacted via email [email protected] or by phone on 0437 945 483 at any time.

Regards
Zoe

Good morning,
I would like to update all Southern Cross Families, Re the current COVID effects on our organisation.
As of this morning at 1030am,
We have had 1 residents with confirmed COVID-19 this was confirmed on the 2 January 2022, Today is day 7 this was at our Aruma Lodge site.
We are beginning to have multiple staff affected, however none at this time have been identified as close contacts to our residents. Most have been on leave and been tested prior to returning for work or did not attend shift due to feeling unwell.
Our staff continue to be in PPE at all sites and are screened multiple time throughout the shift by our registered nurses, Residents are also screen multiple times a day.
Due to the robust screening in place and the staff knowledge, education, and organisational policy we continue to be able to mitigate and manage the risk.
As families you have my word that if at anytime your loved one is exposed, or the risk is unable to be mitigated you will be notified immediately.
If you receive a message at any time from NSW that you are concerned about, please call me 0437 945 483.
Again, I encourage you if you do not need to visit our homes during this critical time then please don’t.
Please share this message with all family members as this message has only been sent to primary contacts.
I thank you for taking the time to read this information, if at any time you have questions or concerns please reach out.
Regards
Zoe

Unfortunately, a resident at our Aruma Lodge Facility has tested positive to COVID-19. As a result of this test, we have now implemented our full COVID management plan at this site. And this site will be in lockdown until further notice
One resident Positive under NSW Health guidelines is deemed and outbreak and as a result the facility will remain in lockdown. We will continue to work closely with the Public Health Unit in the coming days to ensure all measures are taken to keep staff and residents supported.
It is essential when visiting our homes that you always follow the direction of staff. Visitors found to not be in the areas allocated and not wearing their PPE will be asked to leave or buildings and not be permitted to re-enter.
Whilst Southern Cross Care (Broken Hill) Ltd, appreciates that these restrictions have and will continue to be difficult, they are needed to ensure the residents and staff ongoing health and wellbeing. Any non-compliance to the visitor requirements, may mean you are excluded from accessing our homes and/or the police may be notified for non-compliance under Direction of Section 16 of the Public Health Act 1997.
We ask that all visitors to the homes treat all employees, and others within our homes, with respect. Any abuse of staff or others will not be tolerated. Harassment, abuse or violence will be reported to the Police.
The current visitor requirements are:
• All visitors to the home must be fully vaccinated.
• All visitors to the home must wear a single use, TGA approved mask unless the person has a valid medical exemption; visitors under 12 are strongly encouraged to wear masks if practical. Other face coverings, such as cloth masks, bandanna and scarves will not be accepted.
• Visitors must not be unwell with any symptoms of acute respiratory infection, including fever above 37.5, history of fever (e.g., chills, night sweats), cough, sore throat, runny nose, or shortness of breath.
• Any person that has been instructed to isolate or quarantine are not permitted to visit.
• Visitors must not have had contact with anyone known to have COVID-19, or reasonably suspected of having COVID-19, within the previous 14 days or been instructed to quarantine.
To ensure that all homes are able to meet the above requirements, all visitors on entering a home must:
• Wear a single use, TGA approved mask at all times. (Surgical Mask)
• Screen via E-sign stations or paper sign in sheets as provided
• Ensure your temperature is 37.5 degrees or less and that you are not unwell.
• Answer all mandatory screening questions.
• Scan and check in with the QR Code and NSW services APP
• Ensure you always wear your visitor sticker in a visible location.
If you do not meet the above visiting criteria, exemptions for visiting those residents receiving end-of-life care are at the discretion of the CEO.
We are also asking that if you don’t need to visit currently then please don’t.
To help us continue to monitor potential resident exposure we ask residents' families to urgently notify us if they have recently had contact with a resident and start to feel unwell, learn of a potential COVID-19 exposure and/or decide to get tested so that we can take proactive steps to ensure the safety of all residents.
I thank you all in advance for your understanding while we continue to navigate COVID-19. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above information, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Regards
Zoe Tonkin – CEO
0437 945 483.

Good Afternoon,
I would like to thank you all for your understanding and patience while we navigated the last 24 hours.
As of tomorrow morning, St Anne’s and Harold Williams Home will be open for visiting with the same guidelines in place as previous.
Visiting Hours are 10am till 6pm
• Surgical mask on at all times when on site
• Visit to be in the resident’s room
• Only 2 Visitors at a time, children can visit and are not included in the 2 visitor numbers.
• All visitors must be double vaccinated
• You must sign in with the QR Code
• You must fill in the visitor log
Aruma Lodge Families we hope to be able to open Tuesday Morning with the above guidelines in place.
The risk is extremely high with COVID in the community, our affected staff had no symptoms so please only visit if you need to and if you are visiting, please come straight from home and not from public places.

Please be advised that all Aruma Lodge residents, and staff at all sites have been Rapid tested, and all tests have come back negative.

As we have had to report the exposure to public health, we are now required to follow their direction.

All Aruma residents and staff will continue to be tested over the coming days with multiple PCR tests required at day 3 and 5.

At this time Aruma will need to remain in lockdown, I will update you as required, and we will open as soon as directed safe to do so.

We will look to open Harold Williams home and St Anne’s Nursing Home as soon as possible families will be notified prior to lunch tomorrow as to visiting for the the long weekend.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out, I am available 24/7 on my mobile 0437 945 483.

Regards
Zoe Tonkin - CEO

Please be advised that effective now all Broken Hill facilities are in lockdown for 72 hours.

If you have any concerns at all please contact me and not the facilities. 0437 945 483.

unfortunately TWO staff members from Aruma Lodge and Harold Williams Home have tested positive to COVID-19.

The staff member was tested as part of routine testing, the staff member has worked at Aruma Lodge while potentially infectious but has had no symptoms, The staff member at HWH has been on days off and had no contact with residents.

Due to the fact that our homes are already operating under its COVID Plan, with staff wearing additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements were already in place which will help to mitigate the risk to residents and other staff.

As soon as the test result was received, we immediately activated our Outbreak Management Plan across all facilities.
As a precaution, all facilities are now closed to all visitors, all new resident admissions, and all non-essential contractors.

We will aim for a 72-hour lockdown at this time and reassess the situation as needed.

COVID-19 testing is underway for all residents & staff. A range of other measures are in place to minimise the risk to other residents and staff the provision of additional virtual management and nursing support and additional cleaning and PPE requirements.

If you have visited our Aruma Lodge site over the last 4 days and have any symptoms at all, please go and get tested.

Please be assured that our Emergency Pandemic Committee is closely monitoring this situation, and we are actively working under the guidance of our established plans to protect the health and safety of our SCCBH community.

We will communicate with you regularly as new information comes to hand.

Residents in terminal phases of palliative care will be allowed visiting.

Yours sincerely,
Zoe Tonkin
CEO – SCCBH.

COVID-19 testing clinics Find your nearest coronavirus testing centre in NSW.