Finlandia Village

Lashings of home-cooked Finnish food and dedicated carers waiting on residents hand and foot might sound idyllic, but it was proving unhealthy for some of the residents living at Finlandia Village. FinlandiaVillage’s award-winning Restorative Approach program began as a result of staff feedback that “the good life” was bad for residents’ health. Weight gain and muscle deterioration due to too much delicious food and not enough exercise was leading to decreased mobility and an increase in falls.

Four years ago staff and residents agreed to make some changes at Finlandia Village. The activities program was revived to include more physical activities for residents and encourage a “move it or lose it” culture. A falls prevention therapist/physiotherapy aide was employed full time to work with residents and diversional therapy hours were increased to support a more active lifestyle.

To support the home’s new focus on active lifestyle a seniors’ gymnasium was created with gym equipment on long-term loan from Finnish fitness equipment company HUR. The brainchild of previous Manager, Ruth Baxter, Finlandia’s gym is the first of its kind in Australia.

As participation and enthusiasm for the seniors’ gym increased, reports of improvements in health and wellbeing for residents prompted the implementation of a more rigorous system for measuring resident outcomes. Using the InterRAI Long Term Care assessment instrument and gym equipment software has allowed the home to collect data that provides evidence of the benefits residents are getting from their physical exercise. 

These positive results spurred staff and residents to do more. Residents and staff were beginning to see that their “move it or lose it” initiatives were reaping real benefits for residents and this motivated them to take the next step. After reading up on Associate Professor, Barbara Resnick’s Restorative care nursing for older adults, Director of Care, Helena Curran was inspired to implement this approach to care at Finlandia Village. 

“The Restorative approach is about getting staff to support resident independence to the maximum. We wanted to achieve a cultural shift and provide care that supports residents to undertake tasks themselves where possible rather than automatically doing things for them,” Helena said.

Staff were involved in workshops and training sessions to facilitate a shift in thinking about the way they provide care to residents, but some residents’ attitudes also had to change for the program to be a success. Helena explained how management and staff worked with residents and residents’ families to get them on board the program.

“You can change a resident’s mindset if you can find the right people to motivate them. Part of the Restorative approachis to set very small goals to start off with so that the resident and care staff can see progress being made.”

And plenty of progress has been made for residents. There have been marked improvements in mobility and independence for some residents, reduced depression for others, reduced incidence of pressure areas, reduced falls and improvement in continence. It is these kinds of results that provide ongoing inspiration for residents and staff to pursue this restorative approach.