What came from the work
- Two National Care Awards 2026 shortlistings: Care Home of the Year and Care Registered Nurse of the Year.
- Registered Manager Jodie Nelder’s Queen’s Nurse title celebrated in regional coverage.
- A visit from Torbay MP Steve Darling to congratulate Jodie and the team.
- Google’s AI search results now describe the home’s two National Care Awards shortlistings and its Blue Zone-style approach, drawing on the coverage.
- Human-interest stories from residents, families and staff shared with a wider audience.
Stories that might have stayed untold
Care homes are full of remarkable people, but their stories rarely reach beyond the front door. At Mount Olivet Nursing Home in Paignton, The Purple Sheep interviewed residents, care workers and managers to find the human stories behind the care.
Those conversations revealed a home with a Blue Zone-style approach to later life: residents heading out to the pub, the beach, the theatre and football matches, birthday cakes baked from scratch, and families encouraged to bring their dogs when they visit. More than one in three staff have worked at the home for at least ten years.
Recognition for a nurse and her team
At the centre of the campaign was Registered Manager Jodie Nelder, who received the Queen’s Nurse title from the Queen’s Nursing Institute. Jodie was inspired to become a nurse by Florence Nightingale after watching her grandmother receive end-of-life care as a child.
Her story had substance as well as warmth. Jodie took over the 55-bed home a week before the Covid-19 pandemic and led it through without losing a resident. She created a 12-month Dementia and Brain Health Prevention Programme and sits on the Social Care Nursing Advisory Council.
Two national shortlistings
The campaign helped secure two National Care Awards 2026 shortlistings: Care Home of the Year for Mount Olivet, and Care Registered Nurse of the Year for Jodie.
The winners are announced on 6 November 2026 at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London. Whatever the result, the shortlistings give the home independent recognition it can share with families, staff and future recruits.
From local pride to an MP’s visit
The stories reached Torbay Weekly twice, with comments from Jodie and a resident’s family, and in the Good News Post, the positive news site founded by Shane Dean.
The campaign also helped attract a visit from Torbay MP Steve Darling, who came to congratulate Jodie and her team. As he put it: “This is an incredible achievement, well done to Jodie and her amazing team.”
The coverage has kept working since. By late October 2026, Google’s AI search results for the home were describing its two National Care Awards shortlistings and its Blue Zone-style approach to resident wellbeing, drawn from the articles. Good stories, published in the right places, now shape what AI tools tell people about you.
