Whitney Dench

Promote and maintain quality, safety, and risk standards within hospice service.

Develop and manage Arohanui Hospice Policies, Procedures, Guidelines, and Frameworks.

Ensure integration of practices across all delivery platforms: Community, IPU, Education, Primary Partnership.

Execute annual internal audit program to minimize risks against external quality standards.

Coordinate and manage external audits for Accreditation (Equip), Certification, TAS, and others.

Lead strategic developments and projects to implement clinical quality improvements.

Spearheaded innovative initiatives to enhance organizational performance.

Oversite of the clinical component of the Bachelor of Nursing, Competency assessment and Diploma in Enrolled Nursing programmes across Manawatu, Whanganui and Horowhenua campuses. My team and I coordinated the clinical placements and organised the simulation and clinical labs for students.

I also coordinated events for the promotion of the nursing programme as well as provide star skills programmes to secondary school students. Stakeholder engagement was a big part of my portfolio where I fostered and maintained relationships with health care providers across our rohe.

I had the Care Services Manager role at Olive Tree for 6 years finishing in 2022, gaining experience in leadership, management and adult education. I managed a team of approximately 48 staff consisting of registered nurses, caregivers and diversional therapists. I have also provided temporary clinical oversite to other Arvida facilities.

My role consisted of rostering, payroll, recruitment, internal and external auditing, accreditation and certification, quality management, complaint management, clinical reporting, ACC invoicing, adult education, stakeholder engagement and overall oversite of clinical care.

I have also overseen the roll out of new computer systems- eCase + Medi Map. As an addition to the normal tasks of my role I provided dementia education courses to the families of residents in our care as well as the people out in the community caring for a loved one at home.

• Competent in InterRAI assessment, wound management, medication management, Infection control, catheterisation (female and male), enteral feeding, palliative care, dementia care, and over all general health care assessment.

• Gained experience as a new graduate RN, nursing patients who experienced a wide variety of medical conditions. Direction and delegation of care staff.

• Assisted and supported the residents activities of daily living, Personal hygiene cares, nutritional support, toileting and therapeutic activities.

• Assist with nutritional support of the residents by working in the kitchen as both the kitchen hand and tea cook providing nutritious meals while also being mindful of dietary/ texture requirements.