Living a meaningful and active life with dementia

Dementia Action Week raises awareness to the fact that people living with dementia can continue to live active and rich lives many years after diagnosis and as a community we must support those individuals to live well for as long as possible.

At Opal, we believe the more deeply we know each resident and their individual needs, the better we can support quality of life for our residents who are living with dementia.

Nurse Educator, Bronwyn, has undertaken many hours of hands on education with our team members at Treeby Parklands Care Community in Perth, including interactive presentations, group huddles and tool box sessions.

Jane, who is part of our hospitality services team at Treeby Parklands understands that some residents require more assistance and guidance in certain activities of daily living than other residents do. During Dementia Action Week, Jane organised croquet games with a small group of residents who wanted to spend meaningful time outdoors. Frances is living with dementia and while able to walk, write and do most other things, battles with some physical activities due to her cognitive impairment. Jane spent one-on-one time with Frances, teaching her how to hold the bat and hit the ball so that Frances could enjoy participating in croquet games with fellow residents.

Our Alfred Cove team hosted two events to raise awareness around the prevention of dementia. They attended a University of Tasmania seminar, "A Life-Course Approach to Dementia Prevention”, and later in the week invited professional dancer Tatam Rosato, to run a dance workshop focusing on how music can benefit mental health.

There are often misconceptions about people who are living with dementia or cognitive impairment. Our residents continue to make significant contributions to their communities and participate in activities that are meaningful to them and enhance their quality of life.

John, a resident with cognitive impairment living at Alfred Cove, has had a wonderful transformation. Having struggled with self-esteem in the past he has tended to isolate himself from others. However, when John advised General Manager, Natalia, that he often observed visitors waiting outside the home to come in, it opened the door to a new role for John. He is now a proud part of our Alfred Cove team, acting as doorman for team and visitors. He is thriving in the role and socialising more than ever.

With almost 500,000 Australians living with dementia, and 1.6 million Australians involved in their care, it is an illness that affects many people and families across our communities. It is more important than ever that we support people living with dementia to feel included, understood and have a voice.