Treats for residents

Celebrity chef, Anna Gare, paid a special visit to the residents and families at Hall & Prior’s Leighton Aged Care Home in West Perth, thanks to Foxtel.

Ms Gare treated attendees to a group cooking class where she created a delicious tiramisu for Easter, followed by an afternoon tea at the home.

“It was a great way to meet everyone at Leighton; we had a lovely afternoon together and really enjoyed cooking and eating the yummy tiramisu, as well as all the other goodies. They all promised me they’d be giving the recipe a go for Easter, especially operations manager, Kraig Hoogland, who won my cookbook – and a kiss!” Ms Gare said.

Her visit to the home was a result of their winning entry into a Foxtel competition at the 2012 Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) Congress in Perth last October.

Pictured is Ms Gare (wearing red, talking to residents).

Margaret Tranquille, director of nursing at Leighton, said: “We were so excited when we got the call from Foxtel telling us we’d won. We’re all such fans of Ms Gare, so we were thrilled to hear she would be coming out to the home and cooking for us!”

The competition was run in line with the launch of Foxtel’s Platinum package, which now allows care homes, such as Leighton, to install Foxtel IQ in the individual rooms of residents.

Tom Enright, national sales manager at Foxtel, said: “Our research shows that entertainment can have a hugely positive impact on both resident experience and staff workload. Having Foxtel IQ in rooms can keep residents entertained and provide them with a ‘home away from home’ experience while certain programming can rekindle treasured memories. This in turn reduces demands on already limited staff, and can create a better environment for all.

“We know lifestyle programming, such as Ms Gare’s ‘The Best in Australia’, is really popular with those in care homes, and so we wanted to bring this to life for Leighton Aged Care Home.”

Ms Gare added “entertainment, coupled with a bit of variety in the day to day routine, is so important for residents of care homes. The guys at Leighton were counting down the days until our Easter themed afternoon tea so I just think it was such a wonderful thing for Foxtel to do.”