Is the Aged Care Industry Finally Seeing the Light in Regard to the Arts?
Announcement posted by Tall Trees Care Communities 23 Jan 2014
Aged care facilities on the Gold Coast and Brisbane areas are optimistic that a recent presentation may change the face of aged care in Australia and provide countless benefits to the elderly.
Australia, 23 January 2014 - On 12-14 November 2013, the annual Arts and Health Australia conference was held in Sydney. The theme of the conference was “ageing creatively” and many in the aged care community are optimistic with the findings reported at the conference. There were numerous presentations and all of them demonstrated that the elderly can benefit directly from exposure to the arts.
Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP)
Gary Glazner from the US is the director of the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project in New York. Their mission is to use poetry to enrich the lives of those with Alzheimer’s disease. APP encourages those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia to recite familiar poems and create their own original poetry.
The APP is based on three factors: building a community, communicating with emphasis on listening and learning to collaborate. Participants recite poetry that is familiar to them in a call and response pattern and are encouraged to write original poetry. Mr Glazner was not only informative, but entertaining. His characterisation of collaboration as “when the vegemite hits the bread” was especially well-received.
Room for Imagination
Room for Imagination is a program where dementia patients are encouraged to participate in the arts and is under the aegis of Equal Arts UK. Equal Arts UK director Alice Thwaite introduced the program, which included 8 months of diverse artistic activities in 9 aged care centres. The purpose was to help improve the cognitive function of dementia patients, allow them to communicate more effectively and increase both their self-esteem and their overall ability to enjoy life.
Ms Thwaite said that a study conducted as part of the program demonstrated that involvement in the arts raised the quality of life in not only the patients, but the carers and other staff members who worked with them as well. According to Ms Thwaite, the program was also able to create a paradigm shift on the part of the workers, including administration staff, carers and maintenance staff, who were better able to see each patient as an individual person after being involved in the program.
The Baring Foundation
The Baring Foundation was represented by Director David Cutler. They are the leading contributors of funding to assist the elderly with participation in the arts. They have provided 44 direct grants to artistic providers since 2009, when their self-funded study found that many of the elderly were denied access to the arts.
Mr Cutler provided two main takeaways from his presentation. The first is that the artistic community has been much more generous and motivated to provide arts for the elderly than those who make decisions in various governments.
The second is that a program in the UK, in which aged care workers are being trained to work with aged care residents to help them participate in the arts, was found to not only give the residents a greater sense of wellbeing, but the care providers and other staff who also worked with them.
Tall Trees Care
Tall Trees Care Communities routinely include participation in the arts as part of their care plan and have obtained positive outcomes for their residents. Founder Phil Usher is encouraged by recent studies because they verify his belief that the arts are beneficial to the elderly.
Tall Trees Care Communities provide aged care in the Brisbane and Gold Coast areas. Call (07) 3442 9378 to learn more or visit their website: http://talltrees.net.au/.
Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP)
Gary Glazner from the US is the director of the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project in New York. Their mission is to use poetry to enrich the lives of those with Alzheimer’s disease. APP encourages those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia to recite familiar poems and create their own original poetry.
The APP is based on three factors: building a community, communicating with emphasis on listening and learning to collaborate. Participants recite poetry that is familiar to them in a call and response pattern and are encouraged to write original poetry. Mr Glazner was not only informative, but entertaining. His characterisation of collaboration as “when the vegemite hits the bread” was especially well-received.
Room for Imagination
Room for Imagination is a program where dementia patients are encouraged to participate in the arts and is under the aegis of Equal Arts UK. Equal Arts UK director Alice Thwaite introduced the program, which included 8 months of diverse artistic activities in 9 aged care centres. The purpose was to help improve the cognitive function of dementia patients, allow them to communicate more effectively and increase both their self-esteem and their overall ability to enjoy life.
Ms Thwaite said that a study conducted as part of the program demonstrated that involvement in the arts raised the quality of life in not only the patients, but the carers and other staff members who worked with them as well. According to Ms Thwaite, the program was also able to create a paradigm shift on the part of the workers, including administration staff, carers and maintenance staff, who were better able to see each patient as an individual person after being involved in the program.
The Baring Foundation
The Baring Foundation was represented by Director David Cutler. They are the leading contributors of funding to assist the elderly with participation in the arts. They have provided 44 direct grants to artistic providers since 2009, when their self-funded study found that many of the elderly were denied access to the arts.
Mr Cutler provided two main takeaways from his presentation. The first is that the artistic community has been much more generous and motivated to provide arts for the elderly than those who make decisions in various governments.
The second is that a program in the UK, in which aged care workers are being trained to work with aged care residents to help them participate in the arts, was found to not only give the residents a greater sense of wellbeing, but the care providers and other staff who also worked with them.
Tall Trees Care
Tall Trees Care Communities routinely include participation in the arts as part of their care plan and have obtained positive outcomes for their residents. Founder Phil Usher is encouraged by recent studies because they verify his belief that the arts are beneficial to the elderly.
Tall Trees Care Communities provide aged care in the Brisbane and Gold Coast areas. Call (07) 3442 9378 to learn more or visit their website: http://talltrees.net.au/.