Ryman Healthcare COVID Auckland & Northland update

Written by Ryman Healthcare
on September 03, 2021

Dear residents and family members,

Thanks for all your support during another week of lockdown.

It was great to see the community numbers decline today and we hope the positive trend continues.

Sunday is Father’s Day and our kitchen teams have a special roast lunch planned, a tipple for those who want one, and morning and afternoon tea treats.

We’ve had a massive surge in Zoom calls – more than 2700 have been made to residents since lockdown began – please feel free to organise one with your village team.

We have a whole lot of activities lined up for next week, and we will keep everyone posted.

Alert Level 4: The key points

Just a reminder of the current situation in Auckland.

All our villages are closed to visitors and everyone is being encouraged to remain in their household bubbles and to practice social distancing.

The only exception is visits to residents in end-of-life or palliative care. If you wish to arrange a visit under these circumstances, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Relatives can drop any essential supplies to our village gates – and we will make sure they are delivered. Please label them clearly so our team can get them to their rightful owners.

Our teams are keeping our residents safe and entertained, and Zoom calls are available as an extra option for families to keep in touch.

Social distancing and masks

At Alert Level 4, residents are required to maintain social distance from other people not in a household bubble.

Residents are also required to wear a face mask when outside of home – that means anywhere out in the village - and to ensure it is on correctly, covering the mouth and nose.

Hospital visits and returns

Auckland has some positive COVID-19 cases being cared for in North Shore, Middlemore, and Auckland City hospitals.

We have decided to take an extra cautious approach and regard these hospitals as having a high risk than other places in New Zealand right now. For residents this means:

All care centre residents who attend an urgent appointment, emergency department visit or stay in hospital will require the FULL 14-day isolation upon return and COVID tests at day 5 and day 12.
All Serviced Apartment who attend an urgent appointment, emergency department visit or stay in hospital will require the FULL 14-day isolation upon return and COVID tests at day 5 and 12.
All independent residents who attend an urgent appointment, emergency department visit or stay in hospital will be asked to self-isolate in their apartments/town houses for 14 days.

Any residents asked to isolate are still able to go for fresh air and exercise as long as they wear a mask and maintain social distance.

What’s on next week

Our serviced apartment and independent residents will receive their usual milk, bread and bikkie deliveries.

We have also arranged for some special entertainment via Zoom. Remember to check out the link https://www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz/coronavirus-updates/zoom-how-to on ‘How to Zoom’ if you need help with access.

Are you brain savvy? Join a free Alzheimers New Zealand seminar at 6pm on Tuesday September 7 to learn everything you need to know about ways to keep your brain healthy. September is World Alzheimers month and this seminar features leading researchers, including Dr Ngaire Kerse and Sir Richard Faull.

We have some super exciting events lined up for later in the week – and we’ll provide the details in our Monday update.

Student Volunteer Army Service

Just a reminder that the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) has set up a priority grocery delivery service for Ryman residents.

Payment is via credit or debit card using a secure system.

A volunteer will physically shop for you from the nearest New World supermarket and deliver to your village, contact-free.

Ryman residents will receive priority delivery, usually the following day provided they order by 4pm by calling 0800 005 902 or by going online at www.shop.sva.org.nz

Just let them know you are from a Ryman village or select Ryman Healthcare Village Resident or Staff in the online menu and they will deliver for a $3 charge to cover the cost of bags.

Online shopping

We expect that most residents will have essential supplies of medications and food – or have arranged orders for delivery.

If you or your family want to know how to go about ordering supplies online – we have this resource on our webpage that covers all the options.

https://www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz/wellness/food-ordering-online

It includes a simple and useful tutorial on how to order through Countdown. https://rise.articulate.com/share/O67vmAWNH5fRM0rfaVmKl5YvVlHkQ-Sz#/

In addition selected New World supermarkets offer online shopping.

https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop

In the meantime, if anyone has an URGENT need for support to arrange essential supplies, please don’t hesitate to contact the village team.

Resources to keep everyone healthy, busy, and safe

If you need counselling, or you are worried about someone who might be struggling, you are welcome to call our OCP service on 0800 377 990. Just let them know you are a Ryman resident or relative and where you are based.

There are a whole lot of resources available for you online, including how Triple A classes, guides to making Zoom calls, and plenty of interesting games, reading, and watching material.

The links are below. On some pages you need to scroll down to see all the links. Take your time and look around.

Triple A at home: https://www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/triple-a-home-exercises

How to Zoom: https://www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz/coronavirus-updates/zoom-how-to

Games: https://www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz/lifestyle/technology-and-entertainment/online-activities-and-games

Thanks once again

The numbers today were encouraging, and we hope the good run continues.

We will be in touch if anything changes, but in the meantime, have a great weekend and happy Father’s Day to all our dads.

Gordon-MacLeod-1