Alzheimers WA Supports Families at Braemar Seminar

More than a dozen families attended a workshop at Braemar Cooinda to increase their understanding of dementia, a condition that now affects more than one in four people aged over 85. 

Hosted by Alzheimer’s Western Australia, the afternoon workshop presented an opportunity for families to discover more about the tools available to family members in continuing to enhance their loved one’s wellbeing.

Chief Executive of Braemar Presbyterian Care, Wayne Belcher, said the organisation was focused on not only offering relationship-centred care for people living with dementia, but also equipping family members to better understand the disease.

“Over 413,000 people in Australia are living with dementia and that number is growing by 240 people a day. Every person’s dementia experience is different; there is no ‘quick fix’ or ‘one stop’ approach – so Braemar is focused on ensuring that the social and emotional well-being of our residents living with this disease is central in the care plans we develop, to take each individual’s needs, wants and experience into account,” he says.

“Family member input is often key to successful dementia outcomes, so we are very thankful to Alzheimer’s Western Australia for hosting this valuable public service. The feedback we’ve had from those who attended has been extremely positive. Hosting workshops like this goes hand-in-hand with the best-practice approach of helping family members to understand dementia and how they can support their loved ones with the disease.”

Alzheimer’s Western Australia promotes a person-centred and relationship-based model of care, incorporating a social and emotional definition of wellbeing, which promotes the need for people to continue to be themselves in supportive and dementia-friendly communities. Braemar is a strong advocate of this model, with relationship-centred care being a key pillar of the Braemar care approach. 

Find out more about Braemar Presbyterian Care.