Seapatrick Care Home

Colleagues from Laurels Lodge Care Home in Woodside, Havencourt Care Home in Stonehaven and Cumbrae Lodge Care Home in Irvine all came together to do a skydive, raising money for residents in their care and Alzheimer's Scotland.

Tracey Rhodes, Resident Experience Facilitator for Scotland, said: "Everyone was really excited for the jump. One of them hadn't even been in a plane, and they completed it, which was a huge accomplishment. They managed to raise £4,000 which is fantastic. Well done everyone."

Congratulations everyone! We’re all proud of you.

Evelyn McKeown, Senior Care Assistant at Seapatrick Care Home in Banbridge has been crowned Values Champion for Northern Ireland in the Four Seasons Health Care Awards 2016 and is through to the national finals.

These are the 1st Four Season’s Care Awards and this year over 700 people were nominated for awards by care home residents, colleagues and visitors. All entries have been of a very high standard making the judging process a difficult one. However, a winner had to be chosen and the nomination for Evelyn demonstrated how she continues to make a difference and provide special resident experiences on a daily basis.

During the judging process for the Regional Values Champion award, the panel was looking at a number of different factors including someone who strives to bring a little joy to everyday experiences, whilst always being respectful, trusted, caring and making a difference.

Evelyn was nominated by a colleague, who said: “Evelyn is contracted to work 36 hours per week but regularly goes over her hours, often working 60 hour weeks. Evelyn demands a very high standard of care from everyone. She is a fantastic support for the nursing team as her knowledge of the care sector is astronomical. Evelyn is responsible for inducting and training new members of the team, and is affectionately known as ‘Mammy’ to many of the team here, although some of the residents go as far to call her ‘Granny’. She is a font of all knowledge and I don’t know where Seapatrick would be without her.”

As the winner for Northern Ireland, Evelyn is automatically through to the national Four Season’s Care Awards finals. She will meet a panel of judges in for the last round of judging and will then join finalists from the UK in Birmingham for a special event to celebrate their achievements and discover if they have won a national award.

Lorraine Thompson, Regional Manager for Four Seasons Health Care Lisburn and South East, said: “Evelyn is one of the long standing team members at Seapatrick Care Home. She is the face of the care home and people regularly talk about her caring and compassionate nature. She has an amazing ability to make people feel at home with her overwhelming kindness. She’s a fantastic asset and team member for the care home.”

Carol Cousins, Managing Director for Four Seasons Health Care in Northern Ireland, said: “In my opinion, Evelyn is the caring face of Seapatrick. She lives and breathes our company values every day, which enables her to inform and influence decisions in a positive way. Well done Evelyn, you truly are, our Values Champion.”

The Care Awards were open to employees from all Four Seasons homes across the UK and central team members to celebrate their commitment in the delivery of high-quality services to 14,000 residents cared for in more than 300 locations.

The 14 categories have been created to recognise excellence in a variety of roles across the organisation ranging from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ to ‘Care Home Manager of the Year’. We also wanted to recognise the hard the dedication and commitment from our residents, their relatives and volunteers.

Tim Hammond, CEO of Four Seasons Health Care said: “The award categories are all really important as we want to highlight the fantastic people we have working here in our organization. However, I believe it is important to acknowledge the special people who go above and beyond to help others in the community, and this is why our ‘Resident or Relative Contribution’ and ‘Volunteer of the Year’ awards are so important to us.

“I look forward to seeing all of our Regional winners at the National Finals in December.”