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About Resthaven
Established in 1935, Resthaven Incorporated is respected for the delivery of high quality, responsive, accredited services for older South Australians and their carers.
A Public Benevolent Institution, Resthaven is a separately incorporated and financially independent community service associated with the Uniting Church in Australia.
Residential Aged Care
For those who require residential aged care, Resthaven’s fully accredited residential care facilities offer high quality care, residential respite accommodation, secure units for people with memory loss and meaningful leisure and lifestyle programs.
Examples of lifestyle activities offered at Resthaven include:
• Current Affairs e.g. newspaper reading and discussion groups
• Knowledge programs
• Poetry and Brainteaser Quizzes
• Bingo
• Cards and Board Games
• Bus trips
• Armchair travel
• Carpet bowls
• Reminiscence sessions
• Music and concerts
• Men’s group
• Guest speakers
Retirement Living
Resthaven’s retirement living villages and apartments offer privacy, security, and a community atmosphere, providing independence with peace of mind.
Six fabulous unique villages are co-located with an aged care home - Bellevue Heights, Leabrook, Malvern, Marion, Paradise and Port Elliot. Resthaven also has stand-alone retirement villages in a range of locations across South Australia. These are ideal for older people who want centrally located accommodation with the independence to come and go as they please.
In addition, On Statenborough provides luxury retirement living, with a resort-style retirement community located in the prestigious suburb of Leabrook.
Home & Community Care
Resthaven provides a range of in-home services which provide support for older people in their own homes.
Resthaven offers in-home care and support to older people living throughout metropolitan Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills, Murraylands, Riverland, the Fleurieu and the Limestone Coast. Rehabilitation and wellness centres are located at Elizabeth, Marion, Woodville, Murray Bridge and Paradise.
Services depend on the needs of the individual and a Resthaven Coordinator will work with you, and your family and friends if you wish, to create a home care plan for your needs.
The amount of care provided depends on the extent of a person’s care needs, ranging from one hour a week for lower care to much more for those with more complex support needs.
Respite for carers
Resthaven offers a range of in-home, small group, centre based and overnight respite options. All residential facilities offer short-term residential respite accommodation.
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Resthaven Murray Bridge residents Maureen Green (89) and Doris Klenke (87) have a childhood friendship that has spanned more than 80 years.
Growing up in Monarto, the pair lived close to each other, meeting up most days as they rode their bikes to and from Monarto South Primary School.
Peter Johnson, 74, has been attending Resthaven’s Riverland Community Services social group for the past few years, and says that it has been a great way for him to get out of the house and meet new people. ‘It’s something I always look forward to,’ Peter says of the group. ‘The staff do a fantastic job.’
After cutting the hair of Resthaven residents and clients for 45 years, Jan Beattie says it’s the relationships that matter most. A former salon owner, Jan clearly remembers the day she walked into the aged care home to enquire about work.
Aged between 73 and 96, members of Resthaven Mitcham’s ‘Knit & Natter’ and ‘Hobbies & Craft’ groups have been working together to support others in need. Combining their knitting and craft skills, the group members have made 12 blankets. The residents each knitted squares, which were then joined together to make the blankets.
Picture this if you can: 131kg of potatoes. 217 dozen eggs. 74 loaves of bread.
It might seem like a lot, but this is just a snapshot of the daily shopping list for Michael Burton (Resthaven’s Corporate Coordinator Hospitality Services – Food and Dining Lead) for meals at Resthaven’s 12 aged care homes across South Australia.
Michael has worked at Resthaven for almost five years, taking on his new role in May this year to lead and support Resthaven’s residential sites to further develop the dining experience for residents. He is also responsible for assisting and training Resthaven’s hospitality staff.
‘Always aim to be the best you can’. It’s a piece of advice that was offered to Resthaven Leabrook resident Miss Barbara Wagner by her father when she was a child, and it is a mantra she has lived her life by.
Turning 100 on 22 August, Barbara has not wasted a moment, learning new skills at every opportunity and taking on new and interesting challenges as they came along. She was influential in the opening up of Australia’s meat export trade with Japan in the 1960s and 70s (visiting the country on several occasions), was president of the local chapter of a global volunteer movement that advocates for human rights and gender equality, and in one year, visited 23 different countries.
Today, Resthaven CEO, Darren Birbeck and Eldercare CE, Jane Pickering, are pleased to announce their successful bid to acquire Aveo’s South Australian Retirement Living Portfolio, consisting of 1,033 units across 13 communities.
With new allied health workers on staff at Resthaven Western Community Services, clients now have an even greater range of services available to them at the Woodville Road site.
‘We offer in-home support services, exercise and social groups for older people in the western suburbs,’ Karen Hammond, Western Community Services Manager says.
As the water glided over her body at the 1958 National Swimming Championships, Resthaven Port Elliot resident, Vicki Murphy knew she had hit her stride, or stroke as it were.
‘It’s a lovely feeling when it all goes right,’ Vicki says. ‘You can feel the water sliding past your body and everything else just fades away.’
Teeing off on the first hole of the Mount Gambier Golf Club has been one of life’s great pleasures for Resthaven Limestone Coast Community Services client Mrs Isobel Phillips (nee Grayson), who turns 100 on 31 July.
Some healthy competition, being amongst nature and a chance to stay fit all come together in Isobel’s love for the game, and her mastery of golf saw her win two gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the 2011 Naracoorte Masters Games.
Mrs Jessie Ratledge (85) of Mount Barker has created almost 80 Victorian-era dresses, undergarments, and bonnets, which take up an entire room in her home – and she shows no signs of stopping.
‘I’ve always loved Victorian clothing,’ Jessie says. ‘Growing up in Scotland, my mum had these massive books, and I used to pore over them, and look at all the pictures of the Royals.’
‘I would never have been interested in Victorian clothing back in Scotland, because people would look at those clothes and say, “Don’t be silly, you can’t make that, that’s just a waste of money,” so, I’ve got Australia to thank for my sewing.’
Resthaven Fleurieu Community Services client, Dr William (Bill) Richardson is a man of language. The former Associate Professor, who turns 100 on July 27, taught French and Spanish at Grammar Schools in England for 13 years, before moving with his wife Helen and their two children to Australia in 1965. Here, he joined the Humanities staff at Flinders University (then known as the University of Adelaide at Bedford Park) as a lecturer, teaching Spanish, and Portuguese and, later, Brazilian Studies. Bill was part of the original teaching staff, with the university opening to students in 1966.
Between 1972 and 1979, Resthaven Westbourne Park resident Mr Errol Bungey represented Australia in the sporting arena on 68 separate occasions. The sport was lawn bowls. The competition was fierce, and Errol was one of the ones to beat.
According to Resthaven Mitcham resident Mr Dudley Cockington, you have to climb the tallest mountains to get the best views. And Dudley would know, having walked thousands of kilometres across Australia and the world.
An avid walker, Dudley’s rucksack would often be on his back, filled with sandwiches for lunch, a thermos of tea, plenty of water, plus a spare pair of socks.
For more than 40 years, Resthaven Murray Bridge resident, Mrs Maxine Gogler, 86, played the pipe organ at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church at Murray Bridge. ‘The sounds you can get from it are thrilling,’ Maxine says. ‘From the softest whisper to the loudest roar, the organ lets you play with an emotion and range that not many other instruments have.’
Resthaven Marion resident, Reverend Dr Sidney Green, is just as comfortable preaching to the congregation as he is amongst the pews.
A retired Minister of the Anglican Church, Sidney has been assisting one of Resthaven’s Coordinating Chaplains, Reverend Steve Blacket, at Marion for the past few months, and when Steve was on leave, Sidney ran the service. Sidney also runs a small weekly Fellowship and Bible Study group, and provides support at his own church, St Jude’s at Brighton, as needed.
When Lady Edith von Schramek (nee Popper) arrived in South Australia in 1951, she felt a bit like she had landed on the moon. It was a completely different landscape and culture to what she and her husband, Sir Eric, were used to.
Bringing a smile to someone’s day is the main motivator for Mrs Dorothy Pyne, a resident at Resthaven Port Elliot, who turns 100 on 30 June.
A gifted hobby artist, Dorothy creates beautiful hand-illustrated greeting cards, which she presents to people on their birthday, as well as when they arrive at the residential aged care home.
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