Mills Meadow is shortlisted for national award

Home news

Jun 04, 2018

Mills Meadow is celebrating after being shortlisted for both a national and a regional award.   

Mills Meadow has been shortlisted in the Best Communication category at the Care Home Awards 2018, and in the Culture, Creativity and Activities category at the Suffolk Care Awards. 

The Care Home Awards are held annually to celebrate the very best people in the long-term care sector, culminating in an awards ceremony on Wednesday 27th June. The 17 categories highlight excellence within the care sector, and reward those who work tirelessly to provide consistently outstanding care.

In the nomination, the team members at Mills Meadow were praised for creating a loving environment, for their impeccable local reputation, and for putting the residents at the heart of everything they do. 

The team runs a scheme called ‘Resident of the Day,’ whereby the residents are asked what their dreams and wishes are – this could be as simple as having a meal out at their favourite pub or making a lifelong wish come true. Recently an ex-US military officer wanted to visit the Parham Airfield Museum with his daughter, and the care team made this happen, with the museum opening its doors especially for the visit.

Mills Meadow is also empowering residents to vote on things they would like to change, add or do at the home. This can range from having more arts and craft sessions, to welcoming the care home’s very own pets – including, chickens, fish, a cat and two canaries called Trixie and Dixie. 

Mills Meadow has also been nominated for the Culture, Creativity and Activities award at the Suffolk Care Awards, which will be held in September. 

Home manager at Mills Meadow, Marie Reeve, said: “We are thrilled to have been nominated for two awards this year. Person-centred care is of huge importance to us, because we know that no two residents are the same and everyone’s needs and wishes are different. 

“We’ve implemented a number of systems to allow communication between the team, residents and relatives to be as easy and effective as possible, and we welcome feedback on how we can further improve. We run monthly residents and relatives meetings to discuss feedback and ensure our ‘you said, we did’ notice board is updated regularly. 

“I know there will be so many worthy winners in both categories at each of the awards, but the team has everything crossed that we will walk away as winners!”