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Totally
Accessible
Homehealth
inside
your stories • roll of honour
• HQ updates • health news
The newsletter for all Access staff across New Zealand
May 2014
May 2014
Health news highlights
Reversing time
Thanks to all who have contributed
to this issue. As we head towards
winter and all the joyful weather it
brings, please send in your tips for
staying safe and warm. Thanks
to staff member Bruce Pool for
providing our ANZAC Day cover
showing soldiers during a parade
in the capital during the Dawn
ceremony attended by John Key.
Keep an eye on Facebook where
we’ll be running some competitions
- so be sure to sign up and get your
friends to as well.
Enjoy! :0)
Your say
Totally Accessible is your
newsletter and reaches 3,800
Access staff. Whether quirky,
happy, sad or thought-provoking,
we want to hear your stories and
daily encounters. We value all
contributions and feedback.
Call Nick Cottrell on
(04) 473 4886 ext 4271
or email
nick_cottrell@access.org.nz
Connect
Stay connected to Access
news and interesting
articles via our Access
Facebook page.
When you sign up to the support
worker area of the website your
email will be added to receive
Totally Accessible via email.
Experts said the study was likely to have “broad implications” for
regenerative medicine. “This has a lot of impacts later in life, when
the functionality of the immune system decreases with age and you
become more vulnerable to infection and less responsive to vaccines,”
one of the researchers, Dr Nick Bredenkamp, told the BBC.
A gene called Foxn1, naturally gets shut down as the thymus ages. So
they tried to boost it back to youthful levels. Dr Bredenkamp argued
that the technique could eventually be adapted to work in people, but it
would need to be “very tightly controlled” to ensure the immune system
did not then go into overdrive and attack the body. It also raises the
prospect that other organs in the body, such as the brain or heart, could
be made more youthful by targeting a single gene. A drug was used to
increase the activity of the gene in elderly mice.
I feel 10 days younger!
Kia ora!
An elderly organ in a living animal has been regenerated into
a youthful state for the first time, UK researchers say. The
thymus, which is critical for immune function, becomes smaller
and less effective with age, making people more susceptible
to infection. A team at the University of Edinburgh managed to
rejuvenate the organ in mice by manipulating DNA.
Nerves of steel
A Japanese lab recently announced it has been able to use liquid
metal to repair severed nerves.
A team at Tsinghua University in Beijing said the futuristic technique
could someday improve current methods of nerve repair in animals
and humans, while preventing long-term disabilities.
They tested the metal by using it to create nerve pathways to replace
severed nerves from the sciatic nerve in a bullfrog and discovered the
pathways acted as quickly as normal nerves. The special liquid metal
remains liquid at body temperature and paves the way for future
studies that may one day lead to repairing damaged nerves.
Healectricity
Four paralysed men have been able to move their legs for the first
time in years after electrical stimulation of their spinal cords, US
doctors report.
They were able to flex their toes, ankles and knees - but could not walk
independently. The spinal cord acts like a high-speed rail line carrying
electrical messages from the brain to the rest of the body. But if there is
any damage to the track, then the message will not get through. It is
not certain how the stimulation helps, however the researchers believe
that some signals are still crossing the injury, but are not normally
strong enough to trigger movement. The electrical stimulation made the
lower spinal cord more excitable so it was able to respond when the
messages did arrive from the brain. Though unlikely to lead to full
mobility it is believed this may help regain some control of bladder and
sexual function - which many paralysed patients regard as more
important than walking.
2
Updates from across Access
Words of thanks
How grand
We were thrilled to receive this letter from one
of our clients, Lester, who is suffering from a
terminal illness and who wishes to praise his
support workers in the Auckland region.
Congratulations to Jennifer
Jones, Auckland Regional
Manager, for becoming a
grandmother for the first time.
“I would like to express our gratitude and
appreciation for the fine service your organisation is
providing us. I thought I would write now, because
nobody can foresee the future, or how long one’s
health will last and I would hate to go without
conveying my thanks. The extra care I receive both
helps us cope and brings a fresh face into the mix
and, if I may say so, a very cheerful and kind one in
Lily Lu Han and Lyn Allington. While each is as
different as the sun and the moon, both bring me
more than help but human contact too: As you will
have supposed, chronic illnesses tend to isolate us
from participation in the outside world, weak
immune systems like mine even more.”
Here’s a picture of little Lochlan
Flynn Jones developing some
musical roots. Is there something
you want to celebrate?
Send it in to the usual address :)
What beautiful and truly appreciative
words which really show how important
care work is to people. Well done ladies
on making such a difference.
Hah!
Good exposure
Access staff attended a
recent annual NelsonTasman Positive Ageing
Expo and even featured
in a press article and
photograph.
Nelson Regional Manager
Jo Kara and team gave
out promotional leaflets,
offered advice on our services and importantly
showed a friendly face. This was one of the biggest
expo attendances with about 3,000 people and 68
stalls. One attendee likened it to ‘going to an older
adults Disneyland, there was so much to see and do’.
That’s some brilliant exposure for Access.
Your pics
A while ago I aksed you to send in your
pictures. Thanks to Jeanette Wakefield from
Havelock North who sent in this lovely sunset shot
from Hawkes Bay. Perhaps you’d like to show staff
across NZ a little slice of your area. Send them in
to the usual email :)
It’s flu time!
Further information and advice about the flu is
available on the support worker area of the website.
However you, someone you know, or many of our
clients, may qualify for free vaccines if you or they:
• are aged 65 years or over
• are pregnant
• are significantly overweight
• have diabetes, asthma, heart disease or kidney problems
• are a child aged 6 months to their 5th birthday, thought to be at high risk
• have a serious medical condition, like cancer.
Check with your general practice to find
out more. Remember prevention is
better than a cure!
3
competition time • competition time
An easy one this month - and a little test of your Māori language.
You should have all received your Tikanga Māori guides with your payslips by now
(if not you can download this from the support worker area of the website). To win
this month’s prize of a $25 Prezzy gift card tell me what is the Māori version of our
values “We connect, we customise, we care” (clue: it’s in the guide!)
Correct answers will go into the draw and you have until Sunday 15th June.
!
e
m
WIN
PLUS We will soon be rolling out a survey to those who have signed up to our support
worker area of the website - with another $25 Prezzy gift card lucky draw. If you want to
enter then sign up to be in to win.
competition time • competition time
Make your
own flower
pot heater
This super cheap and easy peasey
heater can be made in seconds
and costing just a few $$s just in
time for winter. Please take care
when creating and using - I don’t
want to hear of nasty accidents!
YOU NEED - a 5” and 9”
clay pot, a roasting tray
with trivit, a small piece of
foil and 4 tea lights.
1. THE SET UP - Light your
tea lights and place them
close together in the middle
of the roasting tray. Place
the trivit so it is sitting on the
edges of the roasting tray
above the tea lights, not sitting
on its legs in the tray as it
would normally be used.
Toasty?
If you’ve given this a go
let us know how it went?
Did you find it
useful? We’d
love to get your
feedback :)
2. THE
CONVECTOR
- Place the smaller clay flower pot
(in this case a 5”) over the lit tea
lights on the trivit. Block the drain
hole with a scrap of aluminium foil
(the empty case of a used tea light
will do fine). This is important as it
traps the heat in the smaller pot
and causes the convection without it the bulk of the heat will go
straight through both drain holes.
Caution this is a combustion heater
using naked flames. Both pots get too hot
to touch - you will need an oven glove
when changing tea lights. Place it away
from flammable materials on a non
flammable surface as the tray gets
pretty hot too! Be mindful of your
pets too - cats and dogs love
heat and knocking things over!
3. THE RADIATOR
- Place the larger pot (in this case a
9”) directly over the smaller as this
acts as the radiator and heats the
room. This was tested in the original
author’s bathroom with tea lights
burning for a little over an hour and
was long enough to drive the
condensation off the window and
make it noticeably warm on entering.
Also good for leaving over night to
keep a green house frost free.
4. BE WARM - Turn off the lights,
snuggle on the sofa, watch a movie.
Popcorn optional.
4
Spotting SPAM emails
With a surgence of ‘silver surfers’ (pension-aged
web users) these days, it’s good to make sure those
new or unfamiliar with the internet stay safe. Here’s
a guide to spotting scamster’s emails:
1. It doesn’t contain your name, or it says “undisclosed
recipients” or uses another vague term - a clue that
this is a bogus email.
2. The sender’s address doesn’t match the name or
email address in the signature. Even if the email seems
legit, hover your cursor over the address to see where it
really came from; if there isn’t a match, be wary.
3. Bad grammar, weird capitalization, and spelling
mistakes are a giveaway that it’s a fake email. Legit
businesses proofread their communications.
If you do suspect a scammy email, be sure you:
How’s your heart?
So, you’re a 42 year old smoker who perhaps
enjoys a couple of drinks a week and doesn’t
have time for exercise. Your heart on the other
hand may be aged an extra 10 years!
A new study has resulted in a calculator - based on
lifestyle and physiology, that can predict your heart
age - furthermore simple changes in daily living can
actually reduce this age causing less likelihood of
cardiovascular diseases later in life. You can check
out your heart age here http://
www.jbs3risk.com/index.htm or
there’s another version here http://
www.heartage.me/
Oopsy!
Waikato support worker Seel
Singh’s list of words for March’s competition
actually totalled an impressive 673 words making
her the top scoring winner - thus earning her a
• Don’t click on a link; it may take you to a fake site
$25 Prezzy card. (The other winners need not worry
where your personal info will be stolen, or it may start
a malware download. Go to your browser and log on to - your prizes are safe. Your editor however is not and
shall be flogged until he learns to count properly!)
the site in question instead if you want to check.
• Don’t open attachments unless you’re sure the email
is from a trusted sender; they may contain malware.
• Don’t take it personally - many recipients are
generated at random and the sender most likely is in
another country. They don’t actually know you.
• Don’t respond - as much as you may want to tell
them to leave you alone that only confirms to them that
your email address is ‘real’. Into the trash they go!
Submitted by Karen Jones, National Office
Winner! A big well done to Jo Hill
from Putaruru in Waikato whose name was
drawn from the hat after correctly answering that
RWNZ stands for Rural Women New Zealand. Jo
wins their latest baking recipe book - cookies are
on her :) Thanks to all of you who entered and it
may be you next time!
Healthy recipeasy
Fancy a go? Send your recipeasy to
nick_cottrell@access.org.nz - but it must be
short, easy and healthy(ish)!
This simple and quick recipe for a kumara bake comes from
Yvonne Flett from Bethlehem in Tauranga.
To do: Cook the kumara until soft. Mash with the
butter. Next add the egg and crushed pineapple and
just a small amount of juice. Mix well and fill an
oven proof dish (or individual ramekins for
seperate servings). Topping: crush the
cornflakes and mix with the grated cheese,
Chef says: ‘before baking - use a ramekin as a mould then
brown sugar, nutmeg and the melted
tip out onto a baking tray for individual mash mounds.’
butter - cover the mash. Cook for
approx 25 minutes or until brown on
Shopping list: Approx two kumara, 25g butter, one egg, one
top. Very good for a pot luck
cup crushed pineapple and juice, one cup cornflakes, one cup
dinner and you can easily add
grated cheese, 1/4 cup brown sugar, one heaped tsp nutmeg, 1/2
extra ingredients like onion,
cup melted butter (for topping)
mushroom or peppers.
5
Did you see?
Roll of honour
National Certificate in Health, Disability and Aged
Support (Foundation Skills) Level 2
Adelle Johnson - Christchurch • Roberta Greaney,
Natasha Rofe - Hawkes Bay • Glenis Bryan, Michelle
Fletcher, Sharon Fuge, Deepa Keenawinna, Carol
Pates, Wendy Waddington - Hutt Valley • Ann-Marie
Ryan - Invercargill • Catherine Halsall - Kapiti • Sylvia
Morgan - Masterton • Mary Fevre - New Plymouth
• Janice Bryant, Lydia Carpenter, Suzanne Pritchard,
Kathleen Thompson - Palmerston North • Jacqueline
Kuiti - Porirua • Justine Josey, Merle Robinson Rotorua • Megan Berquist, Lisa Cossey, Pam Mills,
Tracy Manaia-Pahl, Carla Ruka, Susan Walker Tauranga • Punila Karki, Lynley Lingard, Fleur Lynam,
Lisa Marriner, Robin Roach, Ronda Roberts - Waikato
National Certificate in Health, Disability and Aged
Support (Core Competencies) Level 3
Keren Beckett - Christchurch • Tracey Otton - Hawkes
Bay • Trish Dullaway, Cheryl Jane, Carol Pascoe Invercargill • Bonnie Parker - Masterton • Christine
Clark - Nelson • Debra Stone - Palmerston North •
Filisia Tuifua - Porirua • Trish Dawson - Tauranga
National Certificate in Youth Work (Youth
Leadership) Level 3
Rachel Rowe - Windmill, Dunedin
Wow, busy month for
Whacky world -
No? Well then you better get on over to
our Facebook page and sign up! You’ll
be treated to weekly funnies, stories,
clips and news.
Popular Polos
The support worker tops have been so
popular we’ve had to place yet another
order which should be arriving end of June
- we’ll keep you posted.
Saving Solomon
RWNZ has launched an appeal for the
Solomon Islands, which has been
severely affected by flooding.
41 schools have been affected by the floods,
with equipment damaged and destroyed.
Their intention is to use funds raised to help
re-equip schools. You can help via Givealittle
online here www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/
solomonislandschools
snippets from around the globe
Skating pensioner
A roller-skating pensioner was fined £300 after he
was caught on CCTV skating along a street in the
UK. Lancashire Council said Geoff Dornan’s skating
was a nuisance and a danger to the public. In his
defence the retired youth worker, 71, told the court he
took up skating seven years ago as a way of keeping
fit when going shopping.
One ring On a beach holiday
...the awesome clip of the
79-year-old salsa dancer
from Britain’s Got
Talent?
Fishy catch
Perhaps the
world’s oldest message in a bottle, cast into
the sea near Germany 101 years ago, has been
presented to the sender’s granddaughter.
Fishermen in the Baltic Sea pulled an old beer bottle
out of the water, along with their catch. Inside they
found a postcard, dated 17 May 1913, from a man
called Richard Platz (who died in 1946) asking for his
message to be forwarded to his address in Berlin.
in Northland, Viviene Ninnes lost her beloved
engagement ring while splashing in the water
with her family. Cue six years later and 83-yearold Bernard Patterson out testing his latest metal
detector. Finding the distinct ring he gave it to
police, who traced it to the jeweller who recognised it
immediately. The couple now have to try to claim the
ring back from the insurance company.
6