Our team

Soumy Saju

Clinical Manager

Soumy has nine years’ experience as a Registered Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department in India and Saudi Arabia, with strong clinical experience and interpersonal and communication skills. She completed her Competency Assessment Programme for International Nurses at Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin, and worked a part of her CAP Registered Nursing clinical placement with the District Nursing Board, which allowed her to gain a valuable understanding of community nursing and the New Zealand work culture.

Prior to joining Tasman, Soumy worked as a Registered Nurse at our sister rest home Aberleigh in Blenheim and has a sound working knowledge of our policies, procedures and philosophy of care.

Sumy Saju

Operations Manager

Sumy worked for Avonlea Dementia Care in Christchurch from 2017 as a Senior Caregiver, Home Manager and Health and Safety Representative before stepping up to the Operations Manager role at Tasman in December 2020. Sumy brings a Level 4 Qualification in Health and Wellbeing (Advanced Support), a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, as well as experience in business analysis, to her current role.

More importantly, her passion for aged care, hands-on experience in dementia, commitment to our Vision and Values, and leadership ability identified her as a person with true potential to contribute to our organisation at a management level. Since her appointment she has worked tirelessly to mentor and inspire the staff team and can often be found out in the rest home with residents, walking the walk and leading her team by example.

Registered Nurses

Our Registered Nurses get to know each resident very well. They assess each person’s needs and then plan the care for each person. They lead the caregiver team, coaching them and ensuring they give the very best care possible. A Registered Nurse always rings family if a loved one is unwell, unhappy, or anything of concern has happened. They keep in close touch with family.

Activities team

Our activities team knows each resident very well and what works for each person, creating meaningful activities to support creativity, socialisation, stimulation and fun as well as assisting residents to be involved in the daily running of their home.

Care team

Each member of our team has been hand-picked with great care. Many are registered nurses in their own country, with the courage and initiative to start a new life far from home and family. Every staff member is chosen because they have what we call ‘knack’ in working with people with dementia, caring for and connecting with each person as they would a very best friend. This means that people feel loved and important. Our staff accept you as you are, really listen to you, love to hear you laugh, forgive your mistakes and have fun together.

Our caregivers are loving, capable and experienced. We are enormously proud to have such committed and professional people working with us. Their cultural diversity, energy and dedication enrich us all.

Our team includes:
• A Weekend Manager who leads and supports the staff team at weekends and public holidays.
• Home Managers who lead a small team to provide the best possible care in each home.
• Caregivers who have a genuine commitment to make a positive difference to the lives of people by caring for them with love and empathy.
• Home Assistants or Housekeepers who work alongside our caregiving staff maintaining an environment that is clean, bright, cosy and welcoming in our small homes.
• The podiatrist, physiotherapist and hairdresser make regular visits, ensuring the personal needs of our residents are met.
• The dietician oversees menu planning and is available to assist with any dietary or weight-related issues.

Staff education

We believe that every member of staff needs and deserves to be nurtured and developed, and encourage them to reach their potential and be the very best they can in their chosen field.

As a growing organisation, we are continually looking for current staff members or people in the community with potential to be a leader. Staff education and development is our passion. We love to provide opportunities for advancement within our organisation to staff who later become inspirational to other team members. We have an Education Coordinator who coordinates, supports, motivates and encourages staff to grow and develop as much as possible.

Our training programme includes:

• First Aid training
• Best Friends Approach to Care, which is the foundation of our philosophy of care.
• All caregiving staff working in dementia care study four Unit Standards about dementia care.
• We hold regular in-service staff education sessions, which cover topics such as Abuse and Neglect, Advocacy, Civil Defence, Communication Skills, Cultural Awareness, Documentation and Care Planning, Food Safety, Health and Safety, Infection Control, Restraint Minimisation, Safe Transferring, Stress and Grief, Falls Minimisation, Pressure Area Care, Cultural Safety, Fire Safety and Chemical Safety.
• A De-escalation Training Programme presents staff with skills and strategies to manage sensitive situations.
• A training programme encouraging staff to embrace diversity.
• Annual training days are held for Operations Managers, Diversional Therapists, Clinical Managers and Registered Nurses.
• A Health and Safety Award and Staff Member of the Week Award are made on a regular basis at each home throughout the year.
• A Representational Child Therapy programme is available for residents who would benefit from this therapeutic approach. Our staff are trained to support this programme.