Celebrating decades of invaluable connection provided to residents

By Petrina Wright | Posted: Thursday September 19, 2024

A passion for providing invaluable stimulation and connection for residents has kept Enliven Southland activities coordinator Susan Slaughter in the job for two decades.

“The residents always come first,” she said.

“You have got to have love and time for the residents, and work with the staff. You can’t do the job in isolation.

“We are there for the residents. They are not there for us.”

Susan officially retired on 23 August just after her 65th birthday.

Although she was sad to lose the professional relationships she had developed with the residents, Susan said it was the right time to leave.

Susan started her career as a diversional therapist at Peacehaven Village care home in August 2003, where she worked for 19 years before moving across to Walmsley House.

It was loyalty which had kept her at Enliven for 21 years.

“I had a sense of loyalty to the staff and the residents. At times there were stresses, but I enjoyed working for Enliven and I had good support from staff.”

A highlight of her career had been her involvement in organising Olympic-inspired games for residents across Enliven Southland’s four care homes.  There were six teams of eight from Vickery Court, Walmsley House, Iona, Resthaven, Peacehaven and the retirement villages. 

The staff went all out.  Each team designed its own flag and uniform, there were opening and closing ceremonies, a series of games for residents to compete in reminiscent of the events of the Games and medal ceremonies.

“The atmosphere was fantastic. It was heart-warming.”

Working with a Peacehaven resident with cerebral palsy had been another highlight.

He was 20 years younger than the other residents and the activities organised did not interest him, so she dedicated five hours a week to working with him one-on-one designing activities specifically for him.

“His demeanour changed.  He opened up and was a lot happier because he was being nurtured.

“Seeing that change in him was something special.”

There was also the intergenerational activity programme introduced at Peacehaven and later Walmsley House.

The programme involved children from local kindergartens regularly visiting with the residents.

Some of the children did not have grandparents or did not have contact with older people and equally some of the residents did not have grandchildren living nearby or other opportunities to connect with young people, so the programme benefited both groups, giving them an opportunity to interact and enjoy each other’s company, she said.

“We were meeting a need. It was wonderful.”

Her days in retirement were filling up fast with church visits and gardening to pursuing her interests in acrylic painting and restoring antique ornaments.

Walmsley House manager Robyn Campbell said Susan would be missed by the residents and staff.

“She was dedicated to ensuring the residents enjoyed the activities programme provided, and they appreciated the time she put in to organising entertainment and outings.”