Braemar Receives High Commendation for Friendship Initiative

Braemar House in East Fremantle has received a high commendation for its dementia inclusiveness and friendship program. 

Awarded at the ACSA Aged Care awards on Friday 13 July, the accolade acknowledges the work undertaken at the facility’s specialist care service - called Lee House - designed for residents with high level dementia care needs. 

The highly commended program, called the Lee House Family Tree, sees residents create a ‘facility family tree’, displaying photos and a brief story about who they are, to share with fellow residents from Braemar House.

Residents from Braemar House are then invited to choose a pen pal from the family tree. Residents then write to their new pen-friends, and establish informal meet and greet sessions, such as morning tea, where they will be able to mingle and interact with their new friends.

Wayne Belcher (OAM), Chief Executive Officer of Braemar, said the aim was to encourage inclusion and friendship, and was the result of resident feedback.

“We want to help create bonds and relationships between those in the more secure part of the facility and those who are not affected by dementia; resulting in a better environment for everyone and reducing the stigma associated with dementia,” Mr Belcher said.

“Our focus at Braemar is to provide relationship centred care. This philosophy ensures that resident’s needs and wants are at the forefront of each activity undertaken across our facilities. When residents said they wanted to better understand and interact with their neighbours at Braemar House, our team worked closely with the residents to establish an engaging program to facilitate this request.”

Braemar House is a 58 room Aged Care facility in East Fremantle. With a 24 room specialist care service, Braemar House has a long history of providing quality care and friendship to the people of East Fremantle. 

Find out more about Braemar. 

Pictured: Bernadette Samura (site manager) and Wayne Belcher (CEO)