Oomph! Wellness Brandon Salt

Kerry Smith (Regional Support Manager), Dawn Collett (Commissioning Director) & Cath Fairhurst (Chief Operating Officer) were interviewed by Lisa Wilson from Oomph Wellness (Senior Customer Success Manager) to discover how Oomph has made a difference to the overall wellbeing of residents within New Care homes.

What does wellbeing mean for life at New Care and why is it important to you?

“It is incredibly important to us.  The wellbeing of our residents is a priority as it attributes towards a better quality of life. Being able to do the things that you have done before, learn new things and pick up new hobbies, and really keep your brain and spirit alive are all essential elements.

The personalisation of the wellbeing programme is incredibly important, and we’re committed to finding out what our residents did prior to moving into one of our homes and what they want to do now. The opportunity to both continue with existing hobbies and learn new things is fantastic because the more you expose residents to the range of wellbeing activities within the programme, you can broaden their horizons and enhance their lifestyle.  We find our residents are happier and more fulfilled when offered a daily menu of different wellbeing activities.

Sleep improves, residents eat better and move better. The best example of engagement we had was at Grosvenor Manor, where approximately 20 residents wanted to read all the research about Oomph and participated in the exercise training! Now, they are Oomph’s biggest advocates, and all of the team are trainers themselves so that they can lead engaging wellbeing sessions that benefit all of our residents.” Cath Fairhurst, New Care

Oomph and New Care have partnered for over 5 years now, what do you value about our long-term partnership?

“Firstly, how everything has evolved over the last five years. As a company New Care has grown from a few homes to eleven, soon to be twelve and Oomph has been part of that growth too. Oomph’s offering has improved too, and it is now bigger and better than it was at the beginning of our relationship.  This has had a massive impact on our ability to provide outstanding support for our residents. The value really sits with how we have both evolved together as a true partnership!” – Dawn Collet, New Care

What impact does Oomph training have for your care home staff and residents?

“Each New Care facility really embraces Oomph and the teams have taken it on board to use every day with residents. It provides structure and it’s great to see Oomph in action and the positive impact it has on everybody that is involved.” – Kerry Smith, New Care

“We have a phrase which is we should be ‘Oomph-ing’ morning, noon and night! I think the range of the offering is significant, and you have always covered the different aspects of support, but then there has been a broadening of that through the On Demand platform and the option for residents to access this service independently – which has been really significant. We’re really supportive of a holistic approach to wellbeing and utilising everything that Oomph has to offer. The Oomph programme can impact the wellbeing of the entire care home, both staff and residents alike.” –Cath Fairhurst, New Care

New Care has embraced the Oomph on Demand platform – what difference do you think it has made?

“The variety the On Demand platform provides and the multiple options and plans which you can follow is hugely helpful to the Wellbeing Co-ordinators as they are not wasting time thinking of things to do. Additionally, some of our Wellbeing Co-ordinators will always have a preferred focus area and it stops them from living in their comfort zone and broadens their horizons too. We invest in all of the Oomph training and Oomph resources, which in turn ensures the team have additional confidence to provide a much wider range of activities, which our residents love!” –Cath Fairhurst, New Care

What value do you see Oomph has for relatives and their impression of wellbeing provision in the homes?

“It is not only the relatives of the residents that live with us, but also families who are looking around the home.  They see a vibrant community with residents involved and engaged with the wellbeing activities.  It’s a pleasure to witness this stimulation and enjoyment.

“If a family were looking round a home and the residents were all sat in the lounge, in a circle, not really doing anything – which can be quite typical of a care home – it does not give the greatest first impression and you really would not want to place your mum or your dad there. However, if you walk into a care home and there is a range of activities going on and the staff members are very clearly involved, alongside the residents, this has a very positive impact on families.”  – Dawn Collett, New Care

“In our new homes we do have regular respite residents who visit whilst their relatives are on holiday. Some of these residents do actually consider their stay in the care home a holiday. They are absolutely full of joy when they are going home, commenting that they’re not ready to go home as they’re too engaged with activities! Such feedback is amazing and it’s a testament to the delivery of the Oomph programme within the homes and the positive environment that it creates.” – Cath Fairhurst, New Care

Oomph! On Demand has formed an exciting new partnership with exercise company Fit For Good! Fit For Good is a convenient and enjoyable way to improve your fitness  and they offer both live and pre-recorded sessions that will be available on the Oomph platform.

Oomph! On Demand provides engaging exercise and activity content 365 days a year, across a diverse range of topics and meeting a range of interests and abilities – meaning care teams are able to support residents to tune into live and recorded seated exercise sessions including things like ballet, chair yoga and mindfulness. Residents also enjoy a wide variety of activity resources, from virtual tours of Scotland to language lessons, and from history talks to music concerts.

The site is full of interactive quizzes, activity ideas, and an interactive activity calendar which can be selected according to a desired wellbeing goal or resident’s interests.

Fit For Good combine a mixture of cardio, strength, core, flexibility, and balance work to ensure that you stay fighting fit and are ready and able to take on everyday tasks. Fit For Good is aimed at older adults who want a conveniently located, full body exercise programme that doesn’t require getting down on the floor or paying a monthly subscription to a gym/leisure centre.

“We are excited to have partnered up with Oomph! Wellness so that we can livestream our seated fitness sessions to care homes across the UK. Over the course of 45 minutes, you will work the entire body by combining a mixture of cardio, strength, core, flexibility and balance work. Regularly taking part in our sessions is a great way to help you get stronger and fitter, as well as improve your balance and core strength. Our classes are for anyone, and you have the option to take rest whenever you need to. We also strive to make our sessions fun and enjoyable, as it’s really important for us to create a sense of community, so feel free to use the chat feature to give a shout-out or to tell your instructor Jordan what your favourite exercise is” – Jordan Burns, Director of Fit For Good.

“We are so excited to be partnering with Fit For Good, an organisation that holds similar values to ours. Their commitment to helping others improve their physical and mental health through exercise is truly inspiring, and we cannot wait to bring you more varied exercise content from Jordan and the team. It is really exciting about what the future holds. Together, we can help even more older people lead healthier, happier lives.” – Jack McKechnie, Content Creation Lead at Oomph! Wellness.

Hartford Care invests in bringing digital delights to its 16 care homes

Leading care provider Hartford Care has teamed up with well-being specialists Oomph! and the Digital Rainbow to equip its 16 care and nursing homes with the latest digital technology, designed to improve, enrich, and enhance the lives of its residents and teams.

Each home now has an interactive table provided by The Digital Rainbow, which delivers digital delights to residents and team members using a wide range of Google Store apps.

The care homes can download the apps most suitable for their own individual needs, for example, organising a games session, accessing a range of quizzes, or enjoying a musical concert.

The interactive table, which resembles a giant iPad, is also designed to improve the wellbeing of residents living with dementia with specialist sensory and reminisce apps through which they can touch, explore colour and listen to music.

Equipped with a rechargeable battery, each table is built on wheels, allowing it to be moved around. This enables even those residents who are confined to their rooms to enjoy all its digital activities.

Hartford Care’s care homes now have full access to Oomph!’s new digital platform, Oomph! On Demand. This platform provides engaging exercise and activity content 365 days a year across a diverse range of topics, meeting a wide range of interests and abilities.

Care teams can support residents tuning into live and recorded seated exercise sessions including activities like ballet, chair yoga and mindfulness. Residents can also enjoy a wide variety of activity resources – fromm virtual tours of Scotland to language lessons, from history talks to music concerts.

The site is full of interactive quizzes, activity ideas and an interactive activity calendar that can be selected according to a desired wellbeing goal or a resident’s interest.

Kevin Shaw, CEO of Hartford Care, says:

“It’s been an exciting time for us as we introduce Oomph! and the Digital Rainbow tables in all our care homes. It’s a huge investment for Hartford Care but both products will greatly enhance the well-being and lives of our residents, their families, and our teams.

“Having so many exciting and ground-breaking new resources at hand 24/7 will ensure everybody has non-stop enjoyment helping them to live their best lives with us.”

Jonny Milburn, Managing Director of the Digital Rainbow says:

“We are delighted to have been chosen by Hartford Care to assist with this project and seeing all the lovely feedback so far.”

Matt Hamblin, Business Director at Oomph Wellness, comments:

“We are excited to be partnering with Hartford Care to drive person centred wellbeing in the homes and ensure that staff and residents have access to inspirational wellbeing activities 24/7, 365 days a year. Oomph! will work closely with Hartford Care to ensure we are constantly providing meaningful engagement across every home.”

Already, the digital tables are proving a huge hit at Hartford Care’s homes. Kay Jerrams, manager of Ashley Grange Nursing Home in Downton, Wiltshire, says:

“The digital table is the best thing ever to happen to care homes. Our residents are currently having a great time bowling on it. It really a fantastic way to engage and inspire everybody.”

Oomph On Demand and ZooLab form exciting Content Partnership… providing inspiring animal content for residents across the UK!

Animal experts, ZooLab, have formed a partnership with Oomph! On Demand to provide a series of virtual animal encounters that educate on a variety of different species from the animal kingdom – from tree frogs to snakes, to giant millipedes and African land snails.

The content will provide meaningful engagement for residents across the UK that will amaze, educate and inspire, as part of a wider range of activity resources that are available on Oomph On Demand covering multiple topics.

Oomph! On Demand provides engaging exercise and activity content 365 days a year, across a diverse range of topics and meeting a range of interests and abilities –meaning care teams are able to support residents to tune into live and recorded seated exercise sessions including things like ballet, chair yoga and mindfulness. Residents also enjoy a wide variety of activity resources, from virtual tours of Scotland to language lessons, and from history talks to music concerts.

The site is full of interactive quizzes, activity ideas, and an interactive activity calendar which can be selected according to a desired wellbeing goal or resident’s interests.

ZooLab will become an integral  part of the Oomph On Demand platform, where they will be hosting a range of themed workshops, as well as providing a selection of activity resources. They have been visiting care homes with animals for over twenty years, and their rangers are dementia friend trained which gives them a great understanding when interacting with residents in a care setting. Now ZooLab also provide virtual animal sessions with their team of experts to be able to reach even more residents more often, with their portfolio of engaging and educational animal content

ZooLab are looking forward to delivering virtual sessions for Oomph and reaching residents in a large number of care homes. Residents can interact with the presenter through the chat function and ask questions about the animals, and they will also have access to printable animal quizzes. Workshop sessions will be themed capturing key calendar days such as Halloween and Christmas. 

“ZooLab are very excited to be partnering with Oomph! We’ve had huge success with providing animal therapy sessions face-to-face and online in care settings over the years. On Demand is a fantastic way to give staff another method of providing activity sessions to residents and help increase social interaction.” – Diane Mathison, ZooLab Managing Director

“We are all delighted here at Oomph! to be partnering with ZooLab. Not only will we be able to bring exciting animal encounters to all of our clients who have access to Oomph! On Demand, but we will also be able to bring Georgie’s engaging enthusiasm and knowledge. These workshops are only the beginning of a long and exciting relationship that will have a positive impact on so many people’s wellbeing. We can’t wait to see what the future holds!” Jack McKechnie, Content Creation Lead