Future Age – March/April 2010 - 42

care	homes	on	a	subscription	basis.	The	 Federal	Minister	on	Ageing	launched	 the	channel	in	2003.	Today	it	has	1,200	 members,	representing	one	in	three	of	 Australia’s	aging-services	providers. Martin	put	Julie	O’Keefe	of	the	Aged	 Care	Channel	in	contact	with	van	Zyl,	 who	jumped	at	the	chance	to	get	training	 DVDs	from	the	channel.	Even	though	the	 company	does	not	typically	sell	the	DVDs,	 much	less	donate	them,	as	a	Christian	 company,	they	see	this	donation	as	keeping	with	their	company	values. Van	Zyl	is	creating	a	library	system	for	 the	DVDs	so	that	other	homes	can	benefit	 from	the	donation.	O’Keefe	says	the	Aged	 Care	Channel	will	most	likely	continue	to	 donate	in	the	future.	It	produces	roughly	 26	programs	a	year,	so	the	hope	is	to	be	 able	to	send	van	Zyl	the	six	most	helpful	 programs	for	her	communities. Van	Zyl	is	beginning	a	pilot	program	 with	the	DVDs,	using	them	to	train	her	 own	staff	at	PADCA.	Once	she	is	more	 familiar	with	how	the	process	works,	she	 wants	to	share	them	with	other	organizations	in	South	Africa.

“If	we	don’t	share	these	DVDs,	then	 there	is	no	way	that	other	organizations	 would	have	access	to	training	at	all,”	says	 van	Zyl.	“It	helps	bring	the	rural	and	 isolated	communities	into	the	global	 community,	and	they	can	learn	from	and	 contribute	to	the	bigger	picture.”

Becoming	a	Champion For	Sheila	Douthwaite,	occupational	 therapist	at	Mbango	Valley	Association,	in	 Kwazulu-Natal,	South	Africa,	it	all	started	 simply	with	a	presentation.	She	studied	 seven	South	African	homes	that	were	ethnically	and	culturally	diverse	and	gave	a	 presentation	to	the	IAHSA	conference	in	 London	last	year. “My	research	turned	out	to	be	a	wonderful	experience,	discovering	the	great	work	 being	done	in	this	country	with	incredibly	 small	resources	but	with	a	passion	for	the	 care	of	the	elderly,”	she	notes. At	the	IAHSA	Conference,	Douthwaite	 met	Klaus	Zimmermann,	CEO	of	Eldercare,	a	multisite	aged	care	provider	based	 in	Adelaide,	Australia,	who	agreed	to	 donate	to	one	of	the	organizations	she	had	 studied.	Eldercare	has	put	 aside	$10,000	AUS	for	 one	of	the	homes	and	it	 is	hoping	to	send	more.	 Additionally,	the	organization	plans	to	send	an	 employee	to	South	Africa	 to	help	train	the	staff. Douthwaite	hopes	the	 project	will	help	more	 than	just	a	few	nursing	 homes.	“If	help	could	 reach	the	homes	that	are	 isolated	not	only	geoIt begins with a partnership graphically	but	through	 Dedicated to serving the leadership needs in poverty	and	lack	of	edulong-term care and retirement housing cation,	then	we	could	 make	a	real	impact	on	the	 Executive Search Services care	available	for	needy	 elderly	people,”	she	says. Interim Management Solutions It	Takes	Two Everyone	involved	in	the	 partnership	expresses	 hope	that	it	will	be	mutually	beneficial.	South	 Africa	has	a	lot	to	share	 with	Australia	as	well.	 Van	Zyl	notes	that	they	

have	done	fantastic	things	with	very	few	 resources. “It’s	not	always	about	material	things.	It	 is	about	passion.	We	are	building	a	twoway	relationship,	and	for	me,	that’s	the	 most	exciting	thing	about	this,”	van	Zyl	 says.	“It’s	about	connecting	people	who	are	 passionate	about	what	they	do	with	others	 …	creating	global	friendships	and	support	 networks.	That’s	why	being	involved	with	 IAHSA	is	so	important	for	us.” Building	on	the	success	of	the	partnership	in	Australia	and	South	Africa,	IAHSA	 has	launched	the	Country	Support	Network,	providing	an	avenue	for	IAHSA	 members	to	build	supporting	relationships	 with	others	in	need	of	resources	to	care	 for	the	elderly.	To	get	involved,	visit	the	 IAHSA	Web	site	for	more	information.	
Maggie Flowers is the services manager for the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA), a global network of providers in more than 30 countries. AAHSA is the U.S. chapter of IAHSA, and as such all AAHSA members are also members of IAHSA.

Resources
EMSENi	Old	Age	Home,	Rorke’s	Drift,	 KwaZulu	Natal,	South	Africa Contact: Marygold Mncube, +27-34-642 1626; Po Box 1015, Dundee, 3600, South Africa. The	Aged	Care	Channel,	St.	Ives,	 NSW,	Australia Contact: Julie o’Keefe, business development manager, JOKeefe@agedcarechannel.com.au or +61 2 9450 2992. Issy	Geshen	Lamont	Home,		 Lamontville,	South	Africa Contact: Sifiso Ngidi, administrator, geshen@mweb.co.za or +27 31 469 0247. Mbango	Valley	Association,	 Kwazulu-Natal,	South	Africa Contact: Sheila Douthwaite, occupational therapist, ot@mbango.org.za or +27 39 682 5251, ext. 2005. Sisters	of	St.	Joseph	Aged	Care		 Services,	Hunters	Hill,	NSW,	Australia Contact: lynette Bruce, Ceo, lynetteb@ssjacs.com.au or +61 2 8876 7881. PADCA,	Pietermaritzburg,	South	Africa Contact: Margie van Zyl, Ceo, ceo@padca.co.za or +27 33 345 4711.

Proven performance in achieving client expectations
Relationships that stand the test of time

Deffet Group, Inc.
7801 Marysville Rd., Ostrander, OH 43061 Tel: 740/666-7600 Fax: 740/666-7610 www.deffetgroup.com

42	

futureAge	| March/April 2010
Future Age – March/April 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Future Age – March/April 2010
