Well it’s been a busy and inviting few months here at BlueWave since I’ve joined the wonderful team! Busy with a number of projects we have been rolling out over the last few months, many perhaps behind the scenes, and inviting in the warm welcome I have enjoyed.
During November, BlueWave was recognised as a finalist, from quite an extensive list of organisations, for the ‘Employer Excellence in Aged Care’ award. I had the privilege of joining some of our team in 
Newcastle for this prestigious event, and I must say, the quality of all the nominees and finalists was outstanding. A true testament to the BlueWave team for being recognised as a finalist!
I also had the privilege of presenting a number of staff with service awards (5 years, 10 years, 15 years and 20 years of service). It is our staff who make BlueWave such a warm and friendly place in which we care for our elders, and it’s wonderful to see such length of service with so many of our employees. Congratulations and thank you to all those who have been recognised.
As we can see from the tinsel adorning our local shops already, Christmas is rapidly approaching.
The Christmas season is associated with spending time with family and friends. I know our residents will be looking forward to those special visits during the holiday season. Don’t forget we have the ‘Sunroom’ which can be booked for private family catchups, or even lunch perhaps. I am also pleased to advise that the ‘Sunroom’ will be getting a special makeover, prior to Christmas, to make it a more enjoyable space.
We have also recently added some additional new furniture to Palm Sails to make the small lounge areas a little more comfortable.
The Shores has seen the roofers working steadily towards replacing the entire roof. This project is on target to be completed within the next few weeks. This will resolve the roof leak issues in that building.
We are steadily moving forward with the plans for the proposed extensions, the joining of the buildings and various refurbishment. One of the initial challenges we have to overcome is the amalgamation of the land titles (as the two buildings are currently on separate titles). This is progressing, but will take some time to go through the necessary approval channels.
Whilst the planning process continues for the major build, we will be looking at where we can begin our refurbishment work.
I am pleased to advise the first of these projects will occur in Palm Sails, with a complete refurbishment of the main central Dining and Living area.
This will also include a new kitchen (to be built in front of the existing Servery), which will be available for residents use for cooking, and will also act as a ‘finishing’ kitchen for catering staff. This will allow us to conduct some of the main meal cooking on location in Palm Sails, as well as respond to special requests by residents. The kitchen will look and feel much like a modern kitchen in a residential home (but built to applicable commercial standards).
Our aim is to create a much warmer and more home like environment, complete with access to cooking activities just like you would find in your own home.
In the short term, we will be trialing a new approach to our Summer menu. Building on the existing menu approach (which includes a full buffet hot and cold breakfast), we are making improvements to the meal options for lunch and dinner. Of note, we will begin offering a premium meal for lunch (think restaurant quality) two days a week, every week.
Our menu works through a four-week rotation, so there is not the same meal repeated for four weeks. An example of our premium lunch meal is; Shiraz Braised Beef Cheeks with Gremolata served with Pumpkin Puree and Cannellini Bean Ragout. How nice does that sound! These premium meals will occur every Wednesday and Saturday at lunch time.
Once our new localised kitchens are built and become established in each area of BlueWave, we will explore further options to improving the meal experience.
On another topic, we have rolled out our new communication device, Vocera, which all our staff are now wearing. This new system allows staff to communicate with one another from anywhere within BlueWave. Staff can even receive phone calls directly to their Vocera. It’s a wonderful timesaver, allowing quick responses to questions or calls for assistance. Shortly, it will also link into our new Nursecall system (currently being installed throughout the facility).
Our Activities team here continues to go above and beyond to provide a wonderful calendar of events for our residents.
I have seen the amazing amount of work that goes into theming BlueWave over various days, and sometimes even weeks! The lead up to the Melbourne Cup with a series of events, and the work put into the Halloween theme was all exceptional.
We are looking forward to a busy festive season and lots of Christmas Cheer, with plenty of Christmas decorations to compliment!
Take Care over the festive season,
Matt Downie,
CEO, BlueWave Living
