SUM - Summerset Group

[Beagle]

Having personally witnesssed the way my father was "cared" for in Ryman Orewa dementia unit over many many months I am very sad to confirm that standards are very low indeed, at least at Ryman's Orewa facility in late 2012 they were.
A brief over-view of the house of horrors I witnessed at Ryman's facility
Lack of patient notes, each new shift of predominantly Phillipino woprkers seemed to have little to no idea of his advanced medical needs and condition
Frequent loss of hearing aids, glasses, nobody seemed to care or help him find them, scabies that went untreated for too long and too infrequently, staff that didn't want to get their hands dirty applying the medication, reluctance to call the doctor on many occassions when the family thought it was in his best interests, (we almost had to threaten them with legal action), lack of timely assistance with toilet requirements, in my opinion under-nourishment with meals, lack of assistance with obtaining adequate hydration, he couldn't walk at all towards the end, over medication by miles in our opinion...really it was a truly horrific way to see my father gradually pass away. He deserved much better after more than 50 years service as a Presbyterian minister. If it wern't for the fact that my Mum is in good nick and lived nearby in another retirement facility and could visit him daily, his treatment would have been much worse.

I was ashamed to be a shareholder of Ryman and have sinced exitied my association with Ryman and the level of "care", if you can call it that was a significant part of that decision.
There are many reasons i now prefer to invest in SUM instead of Ryman.
1. SUM is growing much faster.
2. SUM is muti award winning
3. SUM is better value based on its much faster growth rate
4. SUM is better diversified geographically and has a better spead of retirement facilities in the popular North Island area's
5. SUM is more heavily exposed to the Auckland market with 5 villages, (RYM has five times the market capitalisation so would need 25 villages in Auckland to have the same relative exposure, not the 5 ? it has.

I am proud to support a multi award winning company (SUM) and was ashamed to be a shareholder of Ryman when I saw the treatment of my father.

I see RYM in their latest press release prattling on about how important their standards are to them and how they've made moves to improve their systems and keep families better informed blah, blah, blah. I'm not impressed, too little too late as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry about the long rant but I have a VERY strong ethical preference to invest in this company (SUM) that win's best standards awards year after year after year. Diversification be dammed, I'll invest in the company that really looks after our elderly folks.
I'd bet money, (and have effectivly), that SUM has nothing to hide, unlike some operators in this field.

This sector absolutly needs transperancy and any move to publish / put independent audit reports of the standards applying to each individual facility be it rest home, hospital or dementia care, should be encouraged so that families can make informed decisions on where to get proper care for their loved ones.

[macduffy]

Bit out of date isn't it - havent they won Best RV 4 years in a row now. No wonder I dont read hard copy newspapers anymore!!!!

No, it's not "news", is it!

Just Colliers International giving themselves a pat on the back for being sponsor of the award.

[luigi]

I'd bet money, (and have effectivly), that SUM has nothing to hide, unlike some operators in this field.

Is this based on personal experience of SUM villages or on the awards they have won?

[Under Surveillance]

He deserved much better after more than 50 years service as a Presbyterian minister.

Everyone deserves much better than you describe. I can't fathom what his having been a Presbyterian minister has to do with his deserved level of care.

[Harvey Specter]

Having personally witnesssed the way my father was "cared" for in Ryman Orewa dementia unit over many many months I am very sad to confirm that standards are very low indeed, at least at Ryman's Orewa facility in late 2012 they were.

I agree that standards should be better.

What extra cost do you think there would be to get the level of care we expect. A lot of the issues you state are due to low levels of staff or not wanting to incur extra costs (ie doctor call outs). The sad truth is that those with dementia are very expensive to care for.

I do wonder if there is room in the market for a Ryman Gold (ie. a higher standard of care, well above the minimum but also at a cost well above the minimum.

[Toasty]

Everyone deserves much better than you describe. I can't fathom what his having been a Presbyterian minister has to do with his deserved level of care.

When the Presbyterians rewrote the bible for their benefit they added it in the back somewhere that ministers were to get special treatment. Its just after revelations.

They went to the same publisher that allowed Catholic priests to drink and mess with young boys.

Disc. I am Catholic, though not a priest (and not much of a catholic to be honest)

[Beagle]

Is this based on personal experience of SUM villages or on the awards they have won?

Awards, I assume the award process is fairly robust.

Everyone deserves much better than you describe. I can't fathom what his having been a Presbyterian minister has to do with his deserved level of care.

He gave up a lucrative career to serve the community for a very modest salary. The irony of someone who worked so hard all his life serving the community literally six days a week all the time being so poorly served in his last period of life isn't lost on me but I agree that everyone deserves to live the last bit of their life with as much dignity and proper care as possible. My point, is this is not a media beat up on a sector, the poor treatment of our senior citizens is something that needs exposure and debate.

I agree that standards should be better.

What extra cost do you think there would be to get the level of care we expect. A lot of the issues you state are due to low levels of staff or not wanting to incur extra costs (ie doctor call outs). The sad truth is that those with dementia are very expensive to care for.

I do wonder if there is room in the market for a Ryman Gold (ie. a higher standard of care, well above the minimum but also at a cost well above the minimum.

Wages in the sector are poor and its very difficult to attract good staff, that's the key issue affecting the standards of care. Really the minimum living wage idea thing of circa $18 per hour that's doing the rounds now as a concept is something I support as every worker deserves to live in dignity too.

[Goldstein]

Having personally witnesssed the way my father was "cared" for in Ryman Orewa dementia unit over many many months I am very sad to confirm that standards are very low indeed, at least at Ryman's Orewa facility in late 2012 they were.
A brief over-view of the house of horrors I witnessed at Ryman's facility
Lack of patient notes, each new shift of predominantly Phillipino woprkers seemed to have little to no idea of his advanced medical needs and condition
Frequent loss of hearing aids, glasses, nobody seemed to care or help him find them, scabies that went untreated for too long and too infrequently, staff that didn't want to get their hands dirty applying the medication, reluctance to call the doctor on many occassions when the family thought it was in his best interests, (we almost had to threaten them with legal action), lack of timely assistance with toilet requirements, in my opinion under-nourishment with meals, lack of assistance with obtaining adequate hydration, he couldn't walk at all towards the end, over medication by miles in our opinion...really it was a truly horrific way to see my father gradually pass away. He deserved much better after more than 50 years service as a Presbyterian minister. If it wern't for the fact that my Mum is in good nick and lived nearby in another retirement facility and could visit him daily, his treatment would have been much worse.

I was ashamed to be a shareholder of Ryman and have sinced exitied my association with Ryman and the level of "care", if you can call it that was a significant part of that decision.
There are many reasons i now prefer to invest in SUM instead of Ryman.
1. SUM is growing much faster.
2. SUM is muti award winning
3. SUM is better value based on its much faster growth rate
4. SUM is better diversified geographically and has a better spead of retirement facilities in the popular North Island area's
5. SUM is more heavily exposed to the Auckland market with 5 villages, (RYM has five times the market capitalisation so would need 25 villages in Auckland to have the same relative exposure, not the 5 ? it has.

I am proud to support a multi award winning company (SUM) and was ashamed to be a shareholder of Ryman when I saw the treatment of my father.

I see RYM in their latest press release prattling on about how important their standards are to them and how they've made moves to improve their systems and keep families better informed blah, blah, blah. I'm not impressed, too little too late as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry about the long rant but I have a VERY strong ethical preference to invest in this company (SUM) that win's best standards awards year after year after year. Diversification be dammed, I'll invest in the company that really looks after our elderly folks.
I'd bet money, (and have effectivly), that SUM has nothing to hide, unlike some operators in this field.

This sector absolutly needs transperancy and any move to publish / put independent audit reports of the standards applying to each individual facility be it rest home, hospital or dementia care, should be encouraged so that families can make informed decisions on where to get proper care for their loved ones.

I couldn't agree more Roger. My mother lives in Orewa and the word amongst her friends is not to go near RYM. As I've said in previoous posts, I really hope SUM protect their brand, it may be worth a fair bit in the years to come. I'm really glad Norah Barlow is going to be on the board.

disc: Hold SUM (and this post is not meant to be a ramp)

[Beagle]

I couldn't agree more Roger. My mother lives in Orewa and the word amongst her friends is not to go near RYM. As I've said in previoous posts, I really hope SUM protect their brand, it may be worth a fair bit in the years to come. I'm really glad Norah Barlow is going to be on the board.

disc: Hold SUM (and this post is not meant to be a ramp)

I wish I could say I was surprised. We used to know the manager of the Dementia unit there, (Dad knew her from his previous work) and while she was employed there standards were acceptable and Dad received good care but sadly another problem for this sector is that anyone who's really good at managing health facilities is in high demand and she was head-hunted by another operator, thereafter standards for the most needy patients declined rapidly.

P.S. I'm not trying to ramp either, just venting a bit of frustration that's still left over, adding some first hand perspective that there's some real substance behind the Herald article and saying why its so important to me that I support a company that has been independently assessed through the awards process as having the best standards year after year.

And yes i'm happy Norah is staying on as a board member and hope her retirement from full time CEO duty gives her some more time too manage her health / weight better, no offence intended.

[Under Surveillance]

Disc. I am Catholic, though not a priest (and not much of a catholic to be honest)

With Ryman Orewa full of Filipino staff you stand a good chance of superior care there, so long as you have beads and icons in residence with you.
Disc: I was christened a Presbyterian (but dropped out during sunday school, thankfully unmolested).