Paul Couper has been appointed as the new chief executive for Mercy Hospice Auckland.

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector* HON JO GOODHEW is impressed by *Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital’s efforts to improve social integration of migrants through its volunteer programme.

Simon Wallace has been appointed the new Chief Executive of the New Zealand Aged Care Association (NZACA), replacing Martin Taylor, who left the Association at the beginning of April.

Home and community support services are under threat because the current funding model for the sector is unsustainable.

Shares of Arvida Group Limited today began trading on the NZX Main Board following a successful IPO that raised $80 million in new capital to underpin the growth of the new retirement and aged care group.

Radius Care Managing Director BRIEN CREE says the continuous under-funding of aged care needs to be addressed.

The Industry Training Federation calls for Government to better support training for care and community support workers.

ANNA DORSEY talks to Ruby Aberhart (pictured here with Hon Jo Goodhew) about her role of Consumer Advocate for the South Island Alliance’s Health of Older People’s Group (HOPSLA).

Bupa's GRAINNE MOSS shares sthe touching story of Bupa employee Kate Burnett and resident Mary.

While unions remain delighted with the Court of Appeal’s ruling on the Bartlett v Terranova pay equity case, it would seem that there is no imminent ‘quick fix’ discernible.

Industry training organisation Careerforce has introduced a new Peer Mentor Programme as part of its goal to help facilities build a productive and highly skilled work place.

With an election looming and funding levels still a concern, JUDE BARBACK examines the cracks beginning to show as residential aged care providers differ on significant issues.

Mere hours after the launch of NZACA's election campaign yesterday, came Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew’s announcement of an additional $18 million to be spent over four years.

Managing public perceptions and remaining innovative were two key themes emerging from the annual Retirement Villages Association (RVA) conference held last week in Auckland.

MARTIN TAYLOR, chief executive of New Zealand Aged Care Association, finds very little for aged care in the Government’s “record” health Budget.

Former Summerset chief executive Norah Barlow has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business.

The recent Careerforce Workforce Development Conference in Wellington addressed pay and training as crucial to aged care’s future, as JUDE BARBACK discovered.

The Careerforce Workforce Development Conference 2014, which will take place on the 20 and 21 May at Te Papa in Wellington, will bring together some of the leading people involved in the development of the carer workforce, and address a range of pertinent topics.

In this special supplement, INsite asked industry leaders what they perceived as the biggest challenge facing aged care in 2014.

The Hawke’s Bay water crisis unleashed a severe gastro bug that took its toll on the care homes and retirement villages of Havelock North. JUDE BARBACK talks to three facilities about how they coped and lessons learned from the experience. 

JUDE BARBACK looks at the benefits, challenges, practicalities and limitations of intergenerational activities.

Media trainer PETE BURDON says retirement village operators and aged care providers must adapt to the changing needs of digital news media.

INsite recently published an article on the importance of migrant workers to New Zealand’s aged care sector. Here, Skilled Migrant Business Advisor LISA BURDES discusses how employers can help new migrant staff settle into work and life in New Zealand, and Canterbury in particular.

JUDE BARBACK visits Malyon House in Mount Maunganui shortly after the family-owned rest home celebrated its 20th anniversary.

TerraNova Homes & Care chief executive Gabby Clezy tells INsite editor JUDE BARBACK that it is time for more collaboration and open communication about the challenges and opportunities faced by the sector. 

One aged care provider’s initiative to reduce the number of falls by residents is proving very successful.

JUDE BARBACK interviews new Metlifecare chief executive Glen Sowry about his new role.

JUDE BARBACK chats to Bupa New Zealand managing director Gráinne Moss about her new global role, the NZACA and equal pay.

KYLA HURLEY shares with INsite why she loves her job as village manager of Chatswood Retirement Village – and where she can be found when she’s not at work!

Exiting chief executive ALAN EDWARDS talks to INsite editor Jude Barback about his time at Metlifecare, his thoughts on New Zealand’s aged care and retirement industries and his plans for the future.

Simon Wallace is keen to see the Equal Pay case resolved and says if the NZACA is to reach agreement with the union on pay levels for workers, it needs to receive a commitment from the Government that it will meet the extra cost to providers. 

Julian Cook says attracting and retaining quality staff is critical to aged care and retirement living.

Earl Gasparich believes that a solution to the aged care funding crisis exists in the merging of the retirement village and aged care business models.

Gráinne Moss says the cost pressures related to an ageing society are likely to result in innovative solutions that require a more ‘user-pays’ approach to care options.

President of the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) Executive Committee GRAHAM WILKINSON looks at what lies ahead for the retirement villages industry.

Access chief executive GRAEME TITCOMBE was recently presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 2015 Home and Community Health Association Conference Awards. Here, he discusses the limitations to providing a nationally consistent and effective home support service.

JUDE BARBACK finds Tauranga’s Aspen Care Rest Home in the middle of exciting changes.

New Zealand Aged Care Association’s new chief executive SIMON WALLACE questions the concept of a ‘TripAdvisor for rest homes’, as discussed in the last issue of INsite.

A new survey shows that while aged care workers love their job and value the training they receive, low pay levels, high workloads, an ageing workforce and an increasing demand for aged care add up to a concerning picture for the sector. How many more research reports and legal battles will it take for funding and workforce pay levels to be properly addressed? By JUDE BARBACK.

Do caregivers understand what spiritual care is and how to meet residents’ spiritual needs as they approach end of life? JUDITH HARDIE discusses her research into spiritual care in New Zealand rest homes.

The plans for the new dementia village

New research shows that baby boomers want choice and control as they enter old age.

JUDE BARBACK meets the new chief executive for the New Zealand Aged Care Association (NZACA), Simon Wallace.

JUDE BARBACK returns to her hometown of Matamata to visit Pohlen Hospital.

Radius Care managing director BRIEN CREE is concerned that District Health Boards (DHBs) are not passing on superannuation increases to aged care providers and says it’s time for providers to get their funding directly from the Government, and take DHBs out of the equation.

INsite asks experts in the retirement villages sector about industry trends, business decisions, investor information and legal advice.

TERRY BELL of TerraNova Homes & Care and ALASTAIR DUNCAN of the Service & Food Workers Union (SFWU) sit on opposite sides of the TerraNova v Bartlett pay equity case. Yet here, in this rare feature, both appeal for the same thing – an increase in government funding to put an end to the inadequate pay levels of care staff.  

JUDE BARBACK talks to Arvida Group chief executive Bill McDonald about the formidable task of getting the retirement and aged care sector’s newest player up and running.

JUDE BARBACK interviews exiting chief executive Martin Taylor about his 10 years at the helm of the New Zealand Aged Care Association.

JUDE BARBACK talks to Guy Eady about life after Oceania and the rise of his new venture, the BeGroup.

JUDE BARBACK finds a cheeky bunch of residents on her visit to Acacia Cove retirement village.

Jude Barback asks TODD PERKINSON, New Zealand-based chief executive officer of RDNS, about running a trans-Tasman organisation and the challenging funding environment of the home-based support services sector.

INsite talks to Claire Mooney about the third phase of a research project focused on understanding and addressing homophobic attitudes in New Zealand’s aged care facilities.

JUDE BARBACK joins residents, locals, and Metlifecare bosses for the opening of a new walk at Tauranga’s Greenwood Park.

JON AMESBURY is passionate about placing the community at the heart of residential aged care facilities. Here he shares his thoughts, ideas, and initiatives that are proving successful.

INsite asks incoming and outgoing Summerset chief executives their thoughts...

Union leader MARIANNE BISHOP responds to the feature article on the state of the aged care sector ‘Something’s got to give’ that appeared in the last edition of INsite.

Peter Bruce’s response to John Collyns on LTO & ORA justification published in Oct-Nov 2013 edition of INsite, which can be found online at www.insitemagazine.co.nz.

With confirmation of poor care delivery in one corner of the sector and allegations of discriminatory pay levels in another, the public cries for more transparency and fairer pay in aged care are getting louder. Change feels imminent, but what shape will it take? By JUDE BARBACK.

Will family carers start saying “no” to providing “natural support”? asks LAURIE HILSGEN, CEO and co-founder of Carers NZ.

Epidemics of Clostridium difficile have had devastating effects in the northern hemisphere, and now this “hospital superbug” has made its way to New Zealand, with new, highly virulent strains wreaking havoc in hospitals and aged care facilities.

Meal times can be tricky; time constraints, food quality and temperature, and individual resident needs all need to be considered, but JUDE BARBACK discusses why it is important the dining experience itself is not neglected at the expense of getting these aspects right.

Liggins Institute Research Director, Professor DAVID CAMERON-SMITH is leading ground-breaking research on how exercise and nutrition can potentially aid muscle regeneration in older people.

Conference report

Annie Schenkel shares what she finds rewarding, inspiring, and challenging about being facility manager of Oakland Lifecare in Tauranga.

RAY LIND, chief executive of Careerforce, voices his opinions on the need to implement integrated care and unleash the potential of the “unregulated” health workforce.

PETER MATHYSSEN, owner and manager of Glenbrook Rest Home, gives his views on the interRAI debate between Victoria Brown and Martin Taylor, featured in the last issue of INsite.

CAROLINE BARTLE discusses a knowledge management strategy that helps leaders in dementia care become enablers, rather than directors.

Aged care andpremium charging

Each issue, INsite seeks opinion on a contentious issue concerning aged care and retirement.

Your village operating model – choose carefully!

Each issue, INsite seeks opinion on a contentious issue concerning aged care and retirement.

That is the question JUDE BARBACK considers here, looking at the pros and cons of contracting out catering services.

Each issue, INsite seeks opinion on a contentious issue concerning aged care and retirement.

RICHARD HINCHLIFFE discusses the results of the RVA conference survey.

JUDE BARBACK chats with the 2012 winner of the INsite/RVA Village Manager of the Year Award.

“Modern day slavery” in the aged care sector President of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), NANO TUNNICLIFF, says the NZNO welcomes the recent release of the Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) report.