Dementia Action Week at Kintyre
Kintyre Lodge staff and residents were very proactive during Dementia Action Week which encouraged residents and their family members to participate in a number of activities. Kintyre Lodge features a dedicated memory unit for residents who live with a diagnosis of dementia, and it’s important to us to ensure that everyone in the Lodge and the wider community of Kintyre Village is aware of what dementia is, how to identify it, how to support someone living with a diagnosis.
Our current quest is to have Kintyre Village and Lodge acknowledged as a Dementia Friendly Community.
Drumming in the sunshine was possibly the most popular of the week’s events, seeing about 40 residents join Buninyong School As Community Centre coordinator Lorna Brennan and Livebetter project officer, Jena Glover to experience the joy of drumming.
“It’s important for our whole community to recognise activities people living with a dementia diagnosis can do, rather than focus on what they can’t. There were all abilities attending the drumming, and everyone – even those who were a bit reluctant – thoroughly loved it,” Kintyre Living Customer Liaison Manager Danielle Chapman said. Guest speakers were also invited to address residents and family about various activities happening in the community. Sing Out Choir founder and dementia counsellor Anne Gemmell, spoke about the incredible results the choir is achieving. Regularly attracting over 50 people to each Tuesday weekly session Anne described how it is an inclusive choir and focuses on a skillset which many people diagnosed with dementia never lose – the ability to enjoy a good singalong with friends.
Local woman and Dementia Advocate for Dementia Australia, spoke about the importance of people living with a diagnosis of dementia, carers or former carers, becoming a Dementia Advocate to ensure regional experiences are heard and understood by policy makers, researchers, educators and the wider public.
Lastly, Dubbo’s new NSW Health Dementia Navigator, put the call out for residents and families to become Dementia Friendly. Megan Harrison conducted a brief induction session. Megan’s long-term goal is to gather likeminded people from the region to form a Dementia Alliance and is working with council toward making Dubbo a Dementia Friendly City.
Kintyre Lodge regularly collaborates with the wider community to ensure residents are well informed about opportunities to make and maintain connections.