Area of Focus: Eldercare
Partnership agency: The Salvation Army
Dementia refers to a group of disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Dementia, which leads to cognitive impairments like memory loss, language difficulties and intellectual ability deterioration.
It started innocuously enough. When Grandpa could not find his reading glasses, we all had a good laugh because they were perched at the tip of his nose. It became less amusing when he forgot to turn off the fire on the stove. And when the police called to say Grandpa was found wandering listlessly far from home, we knew that something was terribly wrong. The diagnosis was dementia, and the doctor recommended close supervision.
This signalled the start of a period marked by anxiety, fatigue and an overwhelming sadness as we witnessed the painful shut-down of Grandpa’s once-sharp mind. For him, it was vacillation between apathy, incessant repetition, agitation and depression.
Age-related disorders like dementia will become a significant health issue as the Singapore population ages rapidly. A National Mental Health Survey of the Elderly (2003) conducted by the Institute of Mental Health established that dementia is prevalent amongst 6% of people aged 65 years and above. By 2030, this figure will jump three fold to 47,922 (up from the 2003 number of 15,810). It affects 13.9% of elderly aged 75 and above.
Currently, dementia-stricken elderly tend to be housed in nursing homes, which may operate on a structured-care model, with specific care for early dementia residents to halt the progress of the disease.
Though dementia is incurable, the speed of deterioration can be halted – and the quality of life optimised – with the right environment. The Salvation Army and the Foundation saw this need, and reached out to plug the gap in healthcare services.
“Hope RLA (residential living area), which offers hostel living and respite care facilities, caters specifically to people with early dementia. It is a concept housed within Peacehaven, a nursing home operated by The Salvation Army,” explains Mdm Low Mui Lang, Assistant Executive Director (Clinical Services). Hope RLA has 34 beds and runs on a model of care which empowers early dementia residents to make their own decisions.
For example, the rooms are purposely furnished with only the bare necessities
so that residents can infuse the rooms with their own personalities – “We encourage
mementoes, photographs…anything to stimulate the mind and help them remember,” said
Mdm Low.
“We respect them as individuals at Hope RLA. For example, when visitors come, they have to seek permission before entering the resident’s bedroom. Our residents have the freedom to do as they please – they can cook, watch TV, do the laundry, learn how to use the computers or take part in organised activities. This hostel would be like a home to them, but with safety measures put in.” For example, the cooking area may be closed during off-peak hours if there is no staff in attendance.
Hope RLA is staffed by qualified nurses and care-givers trained in dementia care. So when interventional care is required, it can be provided on-site. Activities are tailored to individual needs and often, the environment will optimise the participation rate amongst residents for group events.
“We want our residents to integrate into the community, so we encourage the family
to bring their loved ones out, or bring them home for the night, or for the weekends – out
of the hostel to experience a different setting,” said Mdm Low.
At Hope RLA, residents are empowered to make as many of their own decisions as possible. Here is where dementia-afflicted residents can continue to enjoy an autonomy and a life of social integration and self dignity – a state made possible by the collaboration between Lien Foundation and The Salvation Army.
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