DEMENTIA NEWSLETTER. Thursday 22nd January: Yanchep Tuesday 27th January: Hamilton Hill 10-11am.

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1 Summer 2014 DEMENTIA NEWSLETTER Welcome to the last quarterly newsletter for 2014, it s a way of sharing what is happening at Bethanie in our Dementia Services. I welcome your ideas, suggestions for the next Bethanie Dementia Committee meeting in March 2015 feel free to contact Michelle.Harris@bethanie.com.au Project updates Memory Van in Bethanie 2105 Community Café Project 2015 CommunicAid App Project See Resources /Events on Page 4. Bethanie Dementia Web Page Page 5. Christmas gifts ideas Page 3. Free on-line training Page 7. Practical Pointers Memory Van is a valuable community service in Bethanie Retirement Villages Did you know: There are over 30,700 West Australians living with a diagnosis of Dementia? Overwhelmingly, most of those people live in the community and not aged care facilities. To raise awareness of dementia and share how people can live positively with dementia at home with support I arranged the Memory Van Tour. Please look at the dates below and come along and learn how you can live well, Dates for the memory van visits in 2015: Monday 19th January: Innaloo 10-11am; Joondanna 12-1pm Thursday 22nd January: Yanchep Tuesday 27th January: Hamilton Hill 10-11am. Thursday 29 th January Bethanie on the Park (TBC) 10-11am Tuesday 3rd February: Bethanie Waters Thursday 5th Feb. Bethanie Fields 1-4pm Friday 6th Feb. Elanora 10-12noon. Living with Dementia and the Community Café Project Can you come along to your local community cafe to become a powerful voice making a difference for those living with dementia in WA? People living with dementia offer a unique perspective on their journey and experiences. We want to learn from your experience in order to understand what it s like to live with dementia in your community. Floreat 10 December 2014 Bunbury 19 February 2015 Wanneroo 2 February 2015 Albany 25 February 2015 Rockingham 6 February 2015 Northam 4 March 2015 Mandurah 6 February 2015 Kalgoorlie 12 March 2015 Midland 10 February 2015 Geraldton 18 March 2015 Armadale 13 February 2015 Esperance 25 March 2015 Melville 18 February 2015 The high tea will commence at 10am, except Mandurah which will Commence at 2pm. Page 1

2 Volunteers Project WE NEED VOLUNTEERS If you would like this training for your volunteers either contact me or Laurette Le Cras. Following this training the volunteers work with the occupational therapist and myself we try and link each volunteer to a client or a small group. Meeting the psychosocial and spiritual needs for a person enables some communication and reduces loneliness because of the extra support and time given with communication. Valuing people, giving them identity and looking at their world from their perception allows joy and adds meaning to their day. This can also allow more time and less focus on tasks and contributes to a more relaxed home like environment. This year we have provided extra support and friendship to many people who have dementia and their dear families from our wonderful volunteers who live in Western Australia from Geraldton, Yanchep, Perth, Rockingham and Bunbury. I would like to acknowledge them and the coordinator Laurette Le Cras who makes this happen and wish you all a very Happy Christmas. Here are some examples of the feedback, I will always remember the most beautiful smile on Thelma s face when her buddy Colleen arrived to spend time with her We are privileged to have a team of the most wonderful & dedicated volunteers from a wide array of backgrounds & interests who so generously give of their time and commit to volunteering as part of this program. When they can see the benefits to the residents and their families they know their commitment is so worthwhile. Her husband has commented on the wonderful improvement in her general well-being since becoming a participant in the Dementia Friends Program FREE COUNSCELLING Contact Laurette Le Cras on for further details. Alzheimer s Australia WA Counselling Services focuses on supporting people to manage with the emotional and practical issues related to dementia. They provide a time limited free service that is available for those living with dementia, carers, families, couples and people concerned about memory loss. Counselling is offered face to face at the Mary Chester Centre in Shenton Park or via telephone. In addition to this the Counsellors facilitate a number of psycho educational workshops which are available for carers to attend. Call the National Dementia Helpline on from Monday- Friday 8am-5pm to make an appointment for Counselling, or to sign up for any of the workshops. For further detail call Page 2

3 Update on the CommunicAid App Alzheimer Australia Western Australia has developed an App for touch screen technology, this very simple and user friendly App enables the user to create his/her own individual CommunicAid from a wide range of photos and illustrations of items a person may ask for or need on a daily basis. Please take a look This will be launched in 2015.For further details contact Sheila Lapping on Education Updates Have you seen MOOC? The University of Tasmania's Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Understanding Dementia, is a free 9-week online course that builds upon the latest in international research on dementia. It's free and anyone can register. The next offering will be held in You can express your interest here. The curriculum draws upon the expertise of neuroscientists, clinicians and dementia care professionals in the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. Here is some of the feedback that I have received over the past two weeks: I m really enjoying this course and find the format and delivery very interesting and an enjoyable way to learn. I work in an Aged care dementia unit and am very passionate about my residents receiving the best care. I really appreciate getting the opportunity to learn more about dementia and am looking forward to being able to translate what I ve learned to my work. I'm loving this so much so far and have learnt so much. It is helping me to understand more of what my mum is going through with her dementia and what's going to happen. When we increase our knowledge about dementia we can improve the level of care for people in our community and help to reduce the stigma for people who live with dementia. Page 3

4 Dementia Care on the Bethanie website The latest update of this newsletter can be found on the new Dementia web page, CLICK ON EXTRA SERVICES, on the Bethanie website. If you would like to give comment or add any information please contact Page 4

5 Christmas Gift Ideas As you know orientation to time may be an issue for people with Dementia. These awesome new clocks developed by the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering - for Alzheimer's UK. They show the day and the general time of day- without having to interpret numbers, which, as you know, may be problematic for people living with dementia. The information about the radio is available from Alzheimer s Australia. They'll be available for $120. Genevieve Major is an OT who is an Occupational Therapist who has worked with people with dementia and their families for over 10 years; you may like to contact her if you need this equipment for your clients. Contact her via gmajor.ot@gmail.com Automatic Calendar One button radio (Alzheimer s Australia) The radio and sing-along DVD are available on line or call Alzheimer Australia WA Page 5

6 What s new? You can download this My Life Story app from itunes costs $9.95. If you need more information please Genevieve Major gmajor.ot@gmail.com International Alzheimer s Conference Perth 2015 Latest Developments in Science Epidemiology Aetiology of Dementia Diagnosis Treatment Psychosocial Interventions Prognosis Past, Present and Future of Dementia Younger Onset Dementia Social Isolation / Inclusion Awareness and Stigma Consumer Engagement (People with Dementia and Family Carers) Residential Care Models of the Future The Economics of Dementia Indigenous Research Page 6

7 Practical pointers It s important to understand that we have to change our communication style to meet the needs of someone living with dementia as they are unable to change theirs. Facts Dementia is an umberrella term for a syndrome associated with more than a 100 different conditions characterised. Symptoms may include the impairment of language, brain function, personality, perception and cognitive skills. Every case is unique.every life experience is different.this is why person centred care is the best approach,we focus on a persons ability, we see them first e.g what they can still manage not their disability. Nationally by 2020 there will be an estimated 400,000 +cases. By 2050 there will be an estimated 900,000 +cases. It is not a normal part of aeging. (Australian bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2013.) BRAIN TRAINING This training appears promising especially in the interplay between cognitive/neurological insight and the emotional/psychological denial that people with dementia may use as a coping strategy. More info available at, Page 7

8 More News. Hills Health this week have recently launched a community activity monitoring product which is placed within the family home environment. Web page link below. The system looks for normal household activities such as opening a fridge door, shower doors, key or pill box movement. An app shows a dashboard of activity patterns on an ipad or iphone and if no movement is detected a message can be automatically sent to a nominated recipient.for further details click on the link and watch the video. I work strategically for Bethanie Care to provide specialist consultancy Dementia Care in areas which are newly developing or requiring a strategic focus. Combining my knowledege and passion and clarity with detailed general management experience I help a wide range of services to operationalise new cultures of care. Thankyou to all the managers, staff and the clients and their families who have contacted me this year I look forward in continuing this service in Merry Christmas from me and my family Michelle Page 8

9 If you need support please contact Bethanie on or fightdementia.org.au or NATIONAL DEMENTIA HOTLINE memorynuture.com.au The McCusker Nurse Service Is a free service offered to carers of people living with dementia. Service is accessible during business hours McCusker Nurse Contact details: North Telephone: (08) Mobile: Telephone: (08) Mobile: Page 9

10 Geraldton Telephone: South Telephone: (08) Mobile: Page 10