NSW

GIANTS netball player and newest Alzheimer’s Australia NSW ambassador Sam Poolman will join thousands of locals at the starting line for this year’s Hunter Memory Walk & Jog event later this month. A local to the Hunter region, Sam will participate at the event in honour of her grandfather Gordon, who passed away having lived with Alzheimer’s disease.

This Missing Persons Week, Alzheimer’s Australia NSW CEO The Hon. John Watkins AM has encouraged family and carers of people with dementia to maintain support networks for people living with the condition, as they are at risk of going missing, and to consider signing up for the Safely Home program.

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW is urging the community to be more aware of neglect of our elders today, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. “How we treat our aged, in particular our frail aged with dementia is a mark of our civilisation,” Alzheimer’s Australia NSW CEO The Hon. John Watkins AM said.

"Today over 160,000 Australians will wake to another day in one of the nation’s 2,800 residential aged care facilities. We used to call them nursing homes and we used to call their residents by name. Today we hardly see them."

A new resource for Italian communities, designed to encourage acceptance of dementia as a medical condition, and not a normal part of ageing, is now available.

A staggering nine in 10 Australians want the Government to tackle the growing dementia challenge[1], new research has found, yet there is still no national, funded strategy to address this increasing public health issue.

A new, free resource is now available to help people with dementia, their families and carers, remain socially connected. The Community Café Toolkit has been designed to help community groups, organisations or individuals set up and run a local café social group for people living with dementia.

People with dementia under the age of 65 are in danger of missing out on essential services and support as they continue to be caught up in gaps between the disability and aged care sectors.

Men with a diagnosis of dementia or men who are caring for a person with dementia could be missing out on vital support and information as figures show that only one in five callers to the National Dementia Helpline are men.

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW is pleased to announce the official opening of its new Port Macquarie building on 22 February.

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW is urging football players at all levels to be more aware of the potential risks of repeated head injuries and playing with a concussion.

New dementia figures for 2016 show more people than ever will be living with the condition this year, but the peak body representing people with the fatal disease says you can live well with it, with the right support.

Opal Aged Care has been announced as major supporters of Alzheimer’s Australia NSW and Alzheimer’s Australia Vic’s Memory Walk & Jog, allowing the event to expand to several additional locations.

The Port Macquarie community continues to make positive change in its move to become dementia-friendly with three new businesses signing up to the movement. Silver Service Hire Cars, MBC Recruitment and Settlement City have all had their dementia-friendly Action Plans approved and are all now working towards being dementia-friendly.

Growth in the popularity of retirement villages, coupled with a looming increase in dementia in Australia, has led to new research to help village operators become more dementia-friendly and deal with the issue head-on. New research, released today by Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, has found that greater clarity is needed around the difference between a retirement village and residential aged care facility, as there is confusion about the different levels of support provided in each. The research has also found there is an opportunity for retirement village operators to make villages ‘healthy ageing places’, which help reduce the incidence of dementia by promoting social interaction and healthy lifestyles, as well as sustaining the independence of residents. Alzheimer’s Australia CEO The Hon. John Watkins AM said with more than 2,200 retirement villages in Australia, it is an issue that needs to be addressed.

One of Australia’s largest parishes, St Agnes’ Parish, has committed to becoming a dementia-friendly organisation. Operating across service areas including aged care services, and with approximately 1,000 staff and 300 volunteers, St Agnes’ Parish is the largest organisation in Port Macquarie-Hastings to have their dementia-friendly action plan given the green light by the Dementia-Friendly Action Alliance.

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW has congratulated its CEO, The Hon. John Watkins, who has today been awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division. Mr Watkins has been given the award for significant service to the community through leadership positions with health organisations, to tertiary education, and to the Parliament of NSW. Alzheimer’s Australia NSW Chair Jerry Ellis AO said it was a very well-deserved honour.

A new animated series created by the University of Sydney and Alzheimer’s Australia NSW uses cartoons to deliver a serious message about how to care for loved ones with dementia. The cartoons for carers, called ‘CareToons’, are designed to help carers manage issues related to behavioural change which is estimated to effect between 60 and 90 per cent of people with dementia living at home. Associate Professor Lee-Fay Low from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Health Sciences said 1.2 million Australians are involved in caring for people with dementia and the project gives family carers online access to practical strategies that can help in stressful situations. Caring for a loved one with dementia can be immensely challenging and dealing with changes in behaviour is one of the biggest sources of stress for carers,” Associate Professor Low said.

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW is encouraging Australians to Start2Talk about their future medical and financial decisions, coinciding with National Palliative Care Week that runs until 30 May. Alzheimer’s Australia NSW CEO The Hon. John Watkins has encouraged people to talk with their loved ones about their future health and financial wishes should they ever be in a position not to make those decisions themselves. “Our national resource, Start2Talk, is an interactive and comprehensive online resource to help people document their wishes,” Mr Watkins said. “Taking a little time to set out your wishes now could mean less heartache for your loved ones in the future. It will leave them feeling confident with the decisions they make on your behalf, should that time come.”

Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, in partnership with Homelessness NSW, is hosting a series of free seminars for people working in the homelessness sector and aged care sector about homelessness and dementia. The seminars will be held on Wednesday 27 May and Thursday 28 May and speakers include:

In the lead-up to the NSW state election next month, Alzheimer’s Australia NSW has called on the major political parties to commit to a comprehensive statewide dementia strategy covering health, transport, policing, housing and other government services.  

The discussion paper, The Benefits of Physical Activity and Exercise for People Living with Dementia, by Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, has found that while people with dementia and their carers have reported several benefits of remaining physically active, it is often difficult to do so. Declining confidence in their abilities, inappropriately designed residential aged care facilities or risk averse cultures are some of the many barriers people with dementia face. The paper urges health and aged care providers and governments to act to ensure people with dementia are able to remain physically active as regular exercise and physical activity can help improve things like coordination, balance, functional ability, cognition and create a better sense of wellbeing.

Dementia Australia NSW is pleased to announce the release of its Annual Report for 2013-14.  The Report contains information about all the exciting activities undertaken during the year. Annual Report 2013-14

The NRMA and Alzheimer’s Australia NSW have launched a new free guide to help people with dementia to understand the impact the condition has on driving and help prepare them for life without a driver’s licence.

A free resource to help doctors decrease the over-prescription of antipsychotic medication in people with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia is now available. The short film, Antipsychotics & Dementia: Managing Medications, has been developed in response to recent research which has found that antipsychotic medication, which can have serious side-effects, is used too frequently to manage behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

A new guide to help communities become dementia-friendly, has already led to change in one NSW town, with the community of Port Macquarie coming together to make a number of small changes to improve the everyday lives of people living with dementia. The booklet, A Guide to Becoming a Dementia-Friendly Community, developed by Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, is based on an eight-step change management model. It outlines the practical changes, including dementia awareness information sessions for local council staff and the introduction of a dementia-friendly Men’s Shed project, that the Port Macquarie community has made to move closer towards being a dementia-friendly community.

Western Sydney and coastal regions will be the areas in NSW most heavily impacted by dementia growth rates, dementia prevalence rates show. The figures, prepared for Alzheimer’s Australia NSW by Deloitte Access Economics, predict a big growth over the next 40 years in the number of people with dementia in NSW from an estimated 109,000 people in 2014 to 272,000 by 2050.

Discussion Paper 10, Preventing financial abuse of people with dementia, June 2014. The financial abuse of people with dementia is a concern to Dementia Australia NSW with staff hearing about numerous cases. This research was conducted to examine how the abuse occurs and what can be done to prevent or reduce the incidence of it.

Discussion Paper 9, Dementia in prison, March 2014 The ageing population in Australia’s prisons has grown at a rate faster than that of the general population resulting in the potential for an increase in the number of people with dementia

In this animated series, children talk about their expereinces of their grandparent with dementia. My Grandmum, My Papu, My Grandpa and Me is a new animated series produced by Alzheimer’s Australia NSW which features three children, Ezekiel, aged six, Bibi, aged nine, and Julia, aged 11, talking about their experiences of their grandparent with dementia, in their own words.

The series You’re Not Alone, Discussing Dementia features people with dementia and carers talking about their experiences of living with the condition. The 10-part series aims to combat the stigma surrounding dementia and provide help and comfort to others in the same situation.

A new short film for the Spanish-speaking community designed to encourage acceptance of dementia as a medical condition - and not a normal part of ageing – has been launched via YouTube. This is the latest in a series of films aimed at several non-English speaking communities in Australia to help de-stigmatise and promote awareness of the condition.

Do you care for a person with dementia? Have they spent time in a hospital (including day-stays, ward admission and Emergency Department) in the past two years? If so, we would love to hear your story. Alzheimer’s Australia NSW is conducting research with the University of Canberra to investigate the experiences of people with dementia and their carers following discharge from hospital to their home.

2012 represents 30 years since the inception of Dementia Australia NSW. The milestone was celebrated with a function to thank volunteers and supporters at Government House in November with Alzheimer’s Australia NSW Patron NSW Governor Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO.

A new short film for the Spanish-speaking community designed to encourage acceptance of dementia as a medical condition - and not a normal part of ageing – has been launched via YouTube. This is the latest in a series of films aimed at several non-English speaking communities in Australia to help de-stigmatise and promote awareness of the condition.

In accordance with the Corporations Act 2011, notice is given of Alzheimer’s Australia NSW Annual General Meeting.

The Charter has been prepared to define and communicate to other sectors of society (governments, business and the broader community) what the community sector is, and to raise awareness of its vital role and invaluable contribution to society. The Forum of Non-Government Agencies (FONGA) endorsed the final Charter for the NSW Community Sector at its meeting on 7 October 2011.

View presentations from the Dementia Australia NSW conference, seminars and symposiums. Prof Henry Brodaty's presentation to the Dementia Australia NSW Annual General Meeting

Dementia Australia NSW's director, Nick O'Neill has joined with Carmelle Peisah to write an e-book on the importance of decision making capacity in legal environments. With the ageing of society and the associated onslaught of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, and the increasing awareness of the needs and human rights of those with intellectual disability, head injury and mental illness, there has been an emerging recognition of the importance of decision-making capacity.

You are invited to comment on the Consultative Draft Implementation Plan for the NSW Dementia Services Framework 2010-2015. The Framework identifies requirements to achieve outcomes for quality dementia care in NSW and suggests actions for each stage of the service pathway from dementia awareness through community, hospital and residential care up to the provision of end of life care.