Born and bred in Foxton, I was away for 20 years and never thought I’d eventually come home to look after the community who were the elders of my childhood. My background has been in education, business and management, holding leadership positions since I was in my mid-twenties. I became a nurse in 2007 and after serving five years on a busy surgical ward came home to Lonsdale firstly as Clinical Manager then to my current role in 2014. My role is wide and varied and my aim is to promote dignity and quality of life to the residents we serve.

Kia ora. My name is Kim Woon. Born and bred in our little town of Foxton, I have worked at Lonsdale Hospital for 27 years and I have always had a passion of looking after and caring for the elderly. I thoroughly enjoy my role at Lonsdale, and I have had the honour of meeting and caring for some amazing whanau. I am responsible for the management of the support staff departments across our facility. Our support staff team are a dedicated team who are committed in ensuring our residents are cared for and looked after. 
 

"He aha te mea nui o te ao"

"What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people" 

I have lived most of my life within a rural community and had an opportunity to move to Horowhenua to be closer and more involved with family.

I have 40 years’ experience working for various companies in a financial capacity. My employment started with Lonsdale Total Care Centre in 2011 where I have seen considerable improvements for our Facility and for our Foxton residents needing our extra care. Being part of the Lonsdale Team means that I can contribute financial advice when working with families when this can be a challenging time with making decisions.

My nursing journey started in India, where I worked in ICU and emergency nursing before moving to Aotearoa New Zealand. While this gave me a strong clinical foundation, working in aged care has become a particularly meaningful part of my nursing journey.

What I value most is getting to know each resident beyond their health needs — their story, culture, values, routines and the people who are important to them. I really value the relationships we build with residents and their whānau, and believe they are an important part of making care truly personal.

As Clinical Lead at Lonsdale, I enjoy being present on the floor, working alongside our team and supporting good clinical care while still keeping the person at the centre of everything we do. For me, it’s about creating a place where our residents feel respected, listened to and at home, and where their whānau feel comfortable being part of their care.

Outside of nursing, I enjoy keeping active, going to the gym and spending time with family. I’m excited to be part of the Lonsdale whānau and to continue getting to know everyone here.

I have the best job at Lonsdale!

My role is to help every individual enjoy the best quality of life they can. Supported by a team of volunteers we offer group and individual activities that change to match the needs, interests and abilities of the residents as they change. We offer a varied monthly programme that is published monthly so residents can choose the activities that suit them.  I’ve worked at Lonsdale since 2016 – firstly in a care role and since 2019 as the DT. My background is in care and rehabilitation where I have worked for over 20 years.

I grew up in Foxton and have worked here for nine years. I began my journey as a Laundry Assistant, then moved into a cleaner role, followed by becoming a Cleaning Supervisor where I supported the team alongside Pauline. In these roles, I took pride in providing a clean, safe, and comfortable environment for our residents, ensuring they had everything they needed during their stay.

I have now stepped into the Receptionist role, which has taken me out of my comfort zone in a very positive way. This change has helped me grow in confidence and become a more positive person. I really enjoy meeting and greeting visitors and new residents, making them feel welcome and at ease from the moment they arrive until they leave.

I also enjoy my administration responsibilities and take pride in helping things run smoothly behind the scenes. My background in cleaning has given me strong attention to detail and a caring approach, which I continue to bring into my role every day.

I have worked at Lonsdale for seven years on the support team. My role is to support my team in their jobs in the housekeeping Department. A lot of our staff are teenagers so I'd like to think we are helping to shape them into good future leaders while teaching them some basic work ethics. We are here to care for people and that means our staff too.

My role is to lead and co-ordinate the kitchen team. Our meals are cooked on site to a menu approved by our dietician. We have a team of experienced cooks and kitchen hands who take pride in their work and the meals receive plenty of positive comments from residents and visitors alike. I’ve been involved with food and cooking for more than ten years. My Mother was a cook and I learnt my love of cooking from her. I have five mokos of my own and love to spend as much of my spare time with them as I can. My family is a Foxton family and many of the residents have known me or my extended whanau since I was a child. Food is something that our residents look forward to – it’s very important to me that we produce healthy food that satisfies the spirit as well as nourishes the body.