Living at Montefiore
“Living at Montefiore is all about enhancing one’s quality of life, being nurtured in a caring environment, participating in a rich variety of activities and growing in spirit and wellbeing.”
Montefiore CEO Robert Orie
The Home’s campuses at Hunters Hill, Woollahra and Randwick are all graciously appointed and set in gorgeous landscaped gardens. Each campus has its own distinctive style and ambience, but all share a commitment to providing exceptional levels of care and enhancing the quality of life of every one of our Residents’.
Meaningful Activity Promotes Resident Well-Being
The Home has a team of Diversional Therapists who design and facilitate leisure and recreation programs and help Residents overcome any barriers to participation. These programs incorporate laughter, creativity and self-expression, social opportunity and membership of a group. Individual Residents’ needs are assessed before particular activities are recommended.
Activities include art classes, cooking, crafts, games, gardening, exercises, dance and music participation.
Resident Feedback Supports Continous Improvement
The Montefiore Home always works towards a culture of excellence in caring. This drives our commitment to provide an outstanding service and optimise quality of life for every single Montefiore Resident, regardless of their financial circumstances.
As an integral part of our continuous improvement process, we welcome feedback from our Residents, their families and other representatives and hold a number of forums to formalise and facilitate this process. This includes our monthly Residents-Relative meetings in each area, as well as an internal suggestions/concerns mechanism and a compliments/feedback mechanism.
Our culture of caring has been verified through continued positive feedback from the Commonwealth Accreditation process.
Clinical Excellence
The Home has a large and dedicated staff of registered and specialist nursing staff and therapists focused on Resident care and well-being. All of our campuses are also visited regularly by a number of doctors and medical specialists.
Allied Health supports Quality of Life
The Montefiore Home offers a comprehensive range of facilities, amenities and services enhancing the physical, social, cultural and spiritual well-being of our Residents.
Many of our Allied Health services are provided by Montefiore at no additional cost to Residents.
These “no cost” services include Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Diversional Therapy/Art Therapy and Music Therapy, provided by full-time professional staff, using the Home’s state of the art facilities. The need for the other Allied Health services are assessed on an individual basis and, where found to be essential to a Resident’s health needs, are provided at no additional cost to our Residents.
Physiotherapy enhances well-being
The core purpose of the Home's Physiotherapists is to support Residents in enjoying as much independence and freedom of movement as possible. They encourage all Residents to continue to be physically active through a range of exercise programs and interventions, including aquatic physiotherapy (hydrotherapy). They provide rehabilitation, pain management and falls prevention programs, as well as advice and prescription of walking aids, hip protectors and splints.
Occupational Therapy supports self-care tasks
Our Occupational Therapists' primary role is to maximise our Residents' independence and safety in managing such daily self-care tasks as showering, dressing and feeding themselves. Based on assessment of Residents’ functional needs, we provide strategies and training and prescribe equipment, including supportive seating, wheelchairs and pressure relief.
Social Workers provide counselling and support
Our Social Workers adopt a number of roles to achieve their goals of enhancing our Residents' quality of life and the development of an individual, family or group's full potential. They act as counsellors, advocates, case managers, information providers and service coordinators, providing support to both Residents and their families.
Diversional Therapists promote meaningful activity and Resident well-being
The Home has a team of Diversional Therapists and Resident Activities Officers, who design and facilitate leisure and recreation programs. These programs are provided through group and individual sessions and promote creativity, self-expression, social opportunity and laughter.
Music Therapy enhances Resident enjoyment.
The Home has a team of Music and Art Therapists who work closely with the team of Diversional Therapists in encouraging Resident enjoyment of and participation in music and art, providing a sense of achievement.
Therapeutic Facilities Enhance Well-Being
Hunters Hill and Randwick campuses have large physiotherapy departments where Residents and Day Care clients receive professional treatment. Both campuses also have a Hydrotherapy pool, where both Residents and Day Centre clients may receive one-on-one physiotherapist supervision and treatment. Woollahra has a spa pool which Residents use for water aerobics and exercise.
Resident Lifestyle
The Home has a comprehensive lifestyle programme, tailored to Residents’ interests. Residents at each of the campuses are engaged in various theme days, musical and other artistic performances, discussion forums, concerts, professional speakers, outings and other events, all designed to enhance Resident enjoyment and quality of life.
Embracing Jewish culture and tradition
Jewish spiritual and cultural identity and nurturing are important aspect of our Residents’ quality of life, as well as cornerstones of the Montefiore Home.
A broad range of Residents’ religious needs are met from the Home’s provision of Kosher meals and traditional Jewish food to the significant presence of our highly regarded Spiritual Dean, who has seen an enhanced interaction between the Residents, the Synagogue and Yiddishkeit in general within the Home.
Shabbatot and the Jewish Holidays are observed and celebrated together with families and the community.
Hunters Hill has its own Synagogue. In addition to the ministrations of our Spiritual Dean, all campuses enjoy a comprehensive program of discussions and prayer led by visiting Rabbis.
Supporting Dementia: The Special Care Unit
Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses, which cause a progressive decline in a person’s mental functioning. It is a broad term which describes a loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and normal emotional reactions.*Nationally, we have seen a massive increase in the number of individuals diagnosed with dementia. According to statistics published by Alzheimer’s Australia:
At least 60 % of people in high care facilities and 30% of people in low care facilities have dementia
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An estimated 200 000 Australians currently have dementia. An estimated 52 000 are new cases, diagnosed in 2005.
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The risk of dementia increases with age. Given the ageing of Australia’s population, we can expect an increase in the numbers of people affected by dementia.
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It is projected that over 730 000 people will have dementia by the year 2050 (unless there is a medical breakthrough).
A homely environment supports dementia care
The Montefiore Home has taken the lead in providing special care facilities to address the specific needs of our growing number of Residents suffering from dementia or other cognitive impairment.
In accordance with leading edge research and international best practice, the Home’s advanced, moderate and mild dementia units at Randwick and Hunters Hill have been designed to support the use of smaller spaces, maintaining a friendly and protected ‘home-like’ environment.
All lounges and dining areas located within the Special Care Units are smaller and more domestic in nature. The dining areas typically accommodate around 15 Residents each, providing for higher levels of support and enhancing Resident comfort and sense of security. Activity programs are specifically designed to meet the needs of Residents in either early or late stages of dementia.
Monte Gardens (a low-care dementia wing within the Hostel at Hunters Hill) and Monte Terrace (a similar wing within the Hostel at Randwick) accommodate…
*Source: Alzheimer’s Australia
Specialised Care for Holocaust Survivors
Approximately 30% of our Residents are Holocaust Survivors with unique care needs. As they age, the combination of ageing and being a Survivor contribute to a potentially difficult period in their lives. We recognise that this means that many of our Residents can suffer from late onset post-traumatic stress syndrome and anxiety-related disorders. In the case of Residents with Alzheimer’s Disease, whose short-term memory fades, these adverse responses are intensified.
Specialised training has been developed for Montefiore staff to contextualise and address the specific care needs of Holocaust Survivors, ensuring that we deliver the optimal balance of professionalism and care.
Meals and refreshments
With food being such a pivotal part of our Jewish culture, every consideration is given to enhancing the Residents’ dining experience. All meals served at the Home are Kosher. Two meals per day are milk and one is meat.
Residents enjoy a healthy breakfast and nutritious three-course meals at lunch and dinner. They also enjoy morning and afternoon tea and supper, served to them in the Home’s various lounges and dining rooms. Refreshments may also be purchased from the Cafés and vending machines at each of the campuses. Toiletries and confectionery are available for sale at the various kiosks at each of the campuses.
Common recreational areas designed to enhance and promote social interaction
All of the Home’s campuses offer a variety of settings for Residents to chat and socialise with families and friends. These include beautifully furnished lounges, dining rooms and libraries, cafés, terraces, patios and beautifully landscaped gardens.
There are also a number of recreational activities and crafts rooms, sewing rooms, card rooms and therapy kitchens, providing a platform for social interaction and meeting new friends.
Onsite Hairdresser and Manicurists
We appreciate how much pride Residents and their families take in their appearance and all campuses offer hairdressing and manicuring services.
Resident Transport
To assist with transport, the Home’s buses and people-movers are regularly scheduled to take Residents on picnics, shopping excursions and other outings.
Laundry Services
At Hunters Hill and Randwick, all personal laundry is done in the Home’s own internal laundry. All campuses have small Residents’ laundries in the Hostels for Residents who choose to do their own laundry. A dry cleaning service is also available
Our ‘ageing in place’ philosophy
Montefiore supports ‘ageing in place’ whereby we endeavour to continue to provide a Resident’s care needs within their existing environment wherever possible. At times, it is appropriate to transfer a Resident to another part of the Home, such as from Hostel to Nursing Home, or to our Special Care Unit. This is always done in consultation with the Resident, their relatives and their medical and care team.
Security and Compliance
Security provides peace of mind
Because the security of our staff, Residents and visitors is paramount, each of the Home’s campuses is protected by a combination of state of the art security systems, including a team of dedicated security officers, cameras and back to base alarms….
Compliance - Supporting a culture of excellence in care
The Home has a philosophy of excellence in care and a culture of continuous improvement. By identifying and adopting local and international best practice, we are proud to be able to provide an unmatched service to our elderly Residents. The Home has consistently achieved accreditation in accordance with the Aged Care Act 1997 meeting all the Expected Outcomes of the Accreditations Standards outlined in the Quality of Care Principles.
Day Centres
Hunters Hill and Randwick have a Day Centre which is open to the wider community. Day Centre members come on a regular day each week to meet people, make friends and take part in exercise, games and a range of varied activities organised by trained therapists. They enjoy morning tea and a hot kosher midday meal.
Fostering friendship and well-being at our Club Monte Day Centre, Hunters Hill
Club Monte offers the senior members of our community the opportunity to enjoy a day out at our centre at Hunters Hill.
At Club Monte, you can:
- meet a whole new circle of like-minded friends by socialising with the other members
- participate in stimulating and therapeutic activities like Tai Chi or gentle exercises
- enjoy a variety of entertainment by singers and musicians
- exercise your creativity through arts and crafts
- participate in quizzes and discussion groups or enjoy lectures on topical and interesting subjects
- join us on outings to visit some of Sydney’s interesting sights
- enjoy the benefits of our aquatic physio or physiotherapy services.
The Home’s drivers collect Club Monte members from their North Shore or Eastern suburbs homes and bring them to Hunters Hill where they participate in activities, are served morning tea and a delicious lunch and are dropped back home in the afternoon. A small fee applies.
Many of our members choose to celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions with their friends at Club Monte. A few places are still available, so we look forward to welcoming you or your family member.
Please call Cecily Wener on (02) 9879 2726
to find out more about joining Club Monte.
Burger Centre Randwick
The Burger Centre is a day centre for people living in the community who are frail or have special needs as a result of a stroke, Parkinson’s disease or dementia.
The Burger Centre is the result of an historic partnership between Montefiore and JewishCare working collaboratively to provide the aged community with a much broader level and range of services. In addition to providing the capacity to accommodate increased numbers at the Burger Day Centre, the location of the Burger Centre at the Randwick Campus provides Burger Centre members with access to the Home’s other amenities like the superb Aquatic Centre, our onsite hairdresser and café.
This partnership supports Montefiore’s strategy to provide a continuum of care for our frail and elderly.
If you are living independently in the community and would like to become a member of The Burger Centre, please call 1300 133 660 for an assessment.
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