Caring for our residents living with dementia
The Forrest Centre understands the complex and changing needs of people with dementia and we take pride in providing specialised, evidence-based support underpinned by compassion and respect.
As Tania Tellus, Executive Manager – Care at The Forrest Centre explains, our focus is on tailoring care to meet the individual and unique wellbeing needs of residents. “We take a holistic approach to caring for our residents who have memory deficits and behavioural changes.
“We undertake education and training and identify new ways of approaching our dementia care. This includes all our staff staying up to date with the research from the Joanna Briggs Institute and implementing evidence-based techniques and best practice guidelines for compassionate and effective aged care.”
When taking care of a resident with memory support needs, we always start with a family consultation on admission to find out what type of life the person has lived – working life, personal life, social life – and understand what it is they like to do and would like to continue to do, within their limitations. This whole picture of the person is considered when formulating a care plan.
“It’s about individualised care, focusing on the resident’s abilities and preserving their mobility, dexterity and skills as long as possible. These care plans are then revised and adapted over time as the dementia progresses or if a clinical event, like a fall or illness, occurs.”
The Forrest Centre has dedicated dementia care facilities at both the Mary Potter Nursing Home and Loreto Home of Compassion. Drawing on evidence-based research, the highly skilled team provides dementia care that also promotes social wellbeing and living well with full-time support.
The physical environment is also very important when caring for people with dementia. As well as ensuring their security and safety, we also ensure our residents can get out into garden courtyards to enjoy the outdoors and some gardening while remaining in safe and enclosed spaces.
Our Forrest Community Services also provides a range of supports to help older people living with dementia in their own home. We offer support with daily tasks such as personal care, cleaning and washing, and home maintenance, as well as one-on-one support, respite care, and activities to help these older individuals to live as normal and full a life as possible.
You can read about The Forrest Centre’s approach to dementia care here: https://forrestcentre.com.au/dementia-care