New Government Carers' Strategy Launched - Alzheimers NZ
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AUTUMN 2020
ALZHEIMERS TAURANGA NEWSLETTER
New Government Carers’ Strategy Launched
Along with Carers NZ and the Carers Alliance, we The Carers Alliance was part of developing the national
welcome the Government’s new five-year Action Strategy for carers, a role all New Zealanders can expect
to have or be part of during their lives. The new five-year
Plan, aimed at better supporting New Zealand’s
Action Plan is the third since the Carers’ Strategy was
490,000+ family, whanau, and aiga carers. introduced in 2008.
The new Action Plan includes improvements to the quality
and availability of respite services so that carers can take
a break.
Catherine Hall, Chief Executive of Alzheimers NZ says,
“Dementia will become a major issue for
New Zealand in coming years. So we need to
put in place measures now to support all the
carers who will be looking after people who
are living with dementia.”
“Being able to take a break and have access
to respite services is very important for carers’
health and wellbeing and can help address
social isolation and loneliness in carers.”
The Mahi Aroha Action Plan covers the 2020-2024 period
and outlines key areas of focus to make carers’ lives easier. As such, is very important that the Mahi Aroha Action Plan
These include helping carers have respite breaks, and be more than words. It needs to be fully implemented
improved support for working age carers, young carers, older and resourced to make a difference for people living with
carers, Māori and Pacific carers, and those who become dementia and care partners.
isolated and lonely due to their caring role. Mental health and
addiction is another area of focus in the Action Plan. It is great to see that 11 Ministers from a range of
Government agencies have signed the new Carers’ Strategy
Alzheimers NZ is a member of the Carers Alliance, which Action Plan. This demonstrates a broad government
was established in 2004 as a coalition of not-for-profits commitment to carers.
working together towards big picture outcomes for carers,
a growing population of New Zealanders who care at Along with the Carers Alliance, we look forward to working
home for loved ones who are elderly, unwell, have a with all of the Ministries, Ministers, and departments to
disability or chronic condition, or support someone who monitor the delivery of Action Plan outcomes.
has had a life-changing injury.
What’s new in the New Year?
Welcome to 2020, by the time you read this edition of our quarterly newsletter we’ll be into the
third month of the year. It’s certainly been a busy and exciting start to the year for us here at
Alzheimers Tauranga.
Farewell’s to staff are always tough but also a chance to reflect on the difference our people make in
the community and in January we celebrated the huge impact Annette Walmsley has had on the lives
of so many people affected by Dementia over the past 8 years. We thank Annette immensely for all her
work with us and wish her all the best in her future adventures.
We are also delighted to announce that we have recruited Margie Proposch-Bacon who joined us
mid-February. Margie comes to us with a wealth of experience in the health sector and will look after
generally the same area and clients that have been with Annette.
In early January the full staff team spent a morning together to review our priorities and plan for the
coming year. A number of key areas of focus were identified and we’ll be working through these and
sharing updates with you throughout the year.
One example is the refinement of Education Sessions for service users and families. Late last year we
piloted increasing the frequency of our initial About Dementia education sessions and we’ll be continuing
to offer these monthly at both the Tauranga and the Mount / Arataki / Papamoa locations. New for 2020
will be the delivery of the follow up “Supporting Someone with Dementia” group education sessions
which we’ll be running regularly through the year, huge thanks to our educator Faye Philp for developing
these programmes in addition to her Volunteer Coordinator role. We’ll be starting these in April so keep
an eye out for an invite.
We’ll also be working hard to promote the fantastic Dementia Friends programme throughout the
community, enhance our relationships with Māori Health providers and with Residential Care facilities.
So, all in all, are excited about the year ahead please enjoy the variety of articles in our Autumn edition
and feel free to share with your friends and family.
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02
2019 Volunteer Celebration and Awards
On Monday 12th December 2019 we celebrated the year that had been with our volunteers at
the beautiful venue of Woodhill in Otumoetai.
The theme for volunteer international interaction, certainly work to achieve There was 2878 client interaction
day, which was on the 5th of an inclusive community and they do hours and over 600 hours of
December this year, was “Volunteer so in bucket loads, so we extend our fundraising hours given by volunteers
for an inclusive future”. This is about heartfelt thanks. Also, our thanks go (that we know of) in the year 2019.
empowering people to participate in out to those who Support us such
their own communities and fostering Legacy Funerals who give us the All our volunteers are special
inclusion, to have diversity and non- venue to celebrate in and this year the treasures to us; however, we had a
discrimination within our communities. Bob Owens Choir who came in and number of extra special treasures
entertained us. we acknowledge and long service
To give you a idea of what the acknowledgments on the day.
volunteering sector contributes to the
country, they have the same GDP input
as the contribution of the construction
industry. This doesn’t show the true
picture of what volunteering in our
community achieves such as the mahi
aroha at a Marae or organising a street
party or just popping in and checking
on a neighbour. It also does not
measure the impact that volunteers
have on a person’s well-being and
connectedness that they create with
their interaction, for themselves and
the person they interact with.
Our volunteers here at Alzheimers
Tauranga, in which ever capacity they
volunteer, from fundraising to client The Bob Owens Choir performs at our volunteer celebration and awards afternoon.
Congratulations to...
Long Service Awards Extra Special Treasures
● Pauline Hynds – 10 years’ service ● Sarah Bolt
● Lou Rigg – 15 years’ service ● Jill Finch
● Janet Ross – 15 years’ service ● Laura Persing
● Koleta Vincent
Special Award Recipients ● Joanne Bell
● Chair Award – Ngaire Wilson ● Rolf Brandt
● Deputy Chair – Judy Pine ● Jill Reay
● Stand by Me Award – Heidi Colquhoun ● Toko Kukutai
● Tauranga Alzheimers Champion Award – Sandy Green ● Leah Hocken
03
Michelle’s Antarctic Marathon Raises over $3,000
It actually feels a bit surreal to be sitting in the noon that day. This late departure meant a late arrival onto King
sunshine at home in the Waikato, and to be compiling George Island (which was beyond freezing when we touched
a report on the marathon in Antarctica. Did it really down), and so the marathon was planned for a mid-late
happen?? To be honest, it all went past in the blink afternoon start. As it turned out, there were some challenges
with the course, which meant a late course change and so we
of an eye and I don’t think it’s actually sunk-in that
finally started running at 5.30ish that evening. Not ideal, but you
I’ve completed the marathon… and joined the Seven
have to be flexible when it comes to these events!
Continents Marathon Club.
The run itself was ten ‘out and backs’ with a lot of hills (we
climbed the equivalent elevation of five Mauao’s over the
course of the marathon). Needless to say it was cold, but the
biggest kicker was the wind which blustered up to 30-40 miles
per hour… and of course, it was on the hills that we were most
exposed to it. In terms of the run itself, I felt comfortable with
my level of fitness and this is what got me through – that and
having to dig really deep to stay committed to the task. At lap
seven, the sun finally went down (about 11pm) and thereafter
we had to resort to headlights to get the job done.
I finally finished at 1.40am and didn’t know whether to laugh or
cry… and from memory, I did both! We then were encouraged
to quickly get changed into dry warm clothes and hop into our
sleeping bags and tents (!) so that we could try and grab a few
zzz’s before the sun came up at 4am ish.
All in all, I am so pleased to have the challenge behind me and
the job done. I met some wonderful people at Antarctica and at
the other events I’ve travelled to participate in, and it’s been great
to be able to raise some funds for Tauranga Alzheimer’s with this
last event.
Thank you for your support and your interest in my marathons.
Time to hang up the shoes and look for new adventures!
As planned, I left New Zealand on the evening of Friday 24
January and travelled to join the marathon group in the
southern part of South America to a city called Punta Arenas
(travelling with a one-night stopover in Santiago). The weather
in Punta Arenas was cold and windy, so we bundled up warm
and explored the city for a couple of days, all anxiously waiting
for our flight to King George Island in Antarctica.
On Tuesday, we headed to the airport, but unfortunately our
plane could not take off as there was low to no visibility over the
island and thus the pilot could not make a safe landing. Come
Wednesday and we repeated the whole process again, but this
time our plane was able to take off and so we departed at about
Michelle Crook
04
Volunteering Makes a Difference
June Pym loves to knit; she has been knitting toy dolls for many years and has an amazing collection of dolls that
she has knitted over the years. Recently, the dementia journey has impacted her ability to continue this much-loved
hobby. So, in February 2019 a call was put out for a volunteer who could help June keep up this passion of hers,
and along came Frances Kelly.
Frances fitted in straight away with Kelvin and June, and Kelvin reports that
it is wonderful to have Frances turn up on a Wednesday afternoon, he loves
to hear the giggles and laughter going on as Frances and June sit and knit
and natter together. They work on projects that June likes and Kelvin says
it is great to see June resurrect the interest in her knitting, and once the
needles get going instinct kicks in and June is completing projects to add to
her collection. Sometimes Frances will use old rhymes to get over a sticky
patch, such as “in through the front door, run around the back, peep through
the window, and off runs Jack”, we won’t share the one June really likes as it
involved pushing Jack off a cliff!! Kelvin jokes that anyone listening in to the
conversations might get very worried about his wellbeing
A further benefit is the much appreciated time out Kelvin gets in order to
concentrate on things he needs to do, however, it is always his job to ensure
Frances and June have their cuppa tea at the end of the 2 hours, where upon
he normally joins them.
Frances too enjoys the common interest she and June share, it often takes the
pressure off having to talk when they just knit and share companionship of
each other. Frances feels really privileged to spend time each week with June
and Kelvin and give Kelvin some time out, and she does enjoy the cuppa tea
and something sweet to eat at the end.
05
The Importance of Sleep Maxine Orange NZROT, Dementia Navigator
How did you sleep last night? Studies show that over 20-40% of the world’s population are unsatisfied with their
sleep – and that’s only the people who seek help from their doctor (Ohayon, 2011). Time and time again we are
asked about sleep here at Alzheimers Society WBOP and how people living with Dementia might be able to improve
their sleeping habits. The good news is, in some cases, confusion and wakefulness in the night may be preventable
with good sleep hygiene and nighttime routines.
According to the Sleep Foundation, a ‘good’ night’s sleep is
characterised as 7-8 hours for those over 65 years of age.
Quality sleep is vital to maintaining brain health, cardiovascular
health, memory, metabolic function, emotional regulation and
overall quality of life (Mukherjee et al, 2015). Studies show that
over half of caregivers report having only ‘fair’ to ‘poor’ sleep
and we know that this has a negative impact on mental and
physical health (Rowe, Kairalla & McCrae, 2009).
Since sleep is so important to just about every function in our
body it is important to look at ways of maximising your nights
rest; here are some tips you may find helpful:
The Basics
● Time each day to support circadian rhythm – the mechanism Sleep Hacks
in charge of knowing when to sleep (night) and when to be ● Eliminate TV, technology screens or blue light in the room
awake (day) and in the hours prior to bedtime
● Engage in meaningful activity and exercise throughout the ● Don’t drink an hour or two before bed to minimise needing
day (walks, socialising, daily chores) to get up to the toilet
● Get out in the sunlight each day, especially in the morning ● Keep a daily journal so you can track patterns in your diet,
after waking exercise and stress relative to sleep
● Make sure the room is cool and dark enough to ● Figure out a nighttime routine that works for you and make it
stimulate sleep a priority so your brain and body consistently know when to
expect a sleep state and when to be awake and ready to go
For the Person with Dementia
● Encourage time out of bed with relaxing music or a (Miller, 2015)
warm drink if you can’t sleep rather than spending hours
Improving sleep can increase quality of life so it is important
in bed restless
to talk to your doctor if you are concerned with your ability
● Talk to your loved ones or a professional about your to catch the ZZZ’s. Your Dementia Navigators are also here
feelings to reduce anxiety to help talk about personalised ways you can improve sleep
in your household and help you on your journey to living well
● Talk to your GP about medications that may affect sleep
with Dementia. If you have any questions or would like to know
when taken at nighttime
more, please do reach out to us. Sleep tight.
References
Miller, M. A. (2015). The role of sleep and sleep disorders in the development, diagnosis, and management of neurocognitive disorders.
Frontiers in Neurology, 224(6). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2015.00224
Mukherjee, S., Patel, S. R., Kales, S. N., Ayas, N. T., Strohl, K. P., Gozal, D., & Malhotra, A. (2015). An official American Thoracic Society statement:
The importance of healthy sleep. Recommendations and future priorities. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,
191(12), 1450-1458. doi:10.1164/rccm.201504-0767st
Ohayon, M. M. (2011). Epidemiological Overview of sleep Disorders in the General Population. Sleep Medicine Research,
2(1), 1-9. doi:10.17241/smr.2011.2.1.1
Rowe, M. A., Kairalla, J. A., & McCrae, C. S. (2010). Sleep in Dementia Caregivers and the effect of a nighttime monitoring system.
Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42(3), 338-347. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2010.01337.x
06
Kylie’s Tribute to Alister
The following story was written by 14-year-old Kylie change they believe in me, and that is how I know who I care
as a tribute to her grandfather, Alister. Kylie says “this about. These are the people that I want in my life, people who
story is what I think dementia might be like from the care and people who don’t give up after one wrong move.
perspective of someone that has it.” I can’t fight this sickness any longer. I want to live a proper
“Where am I?” “What am I doing?” These are the questions life again not a life that I’m stuck in a bed all day surrounded
I can never get out of my head, it’s like being constantly by people I don’t recognise. “Why am I still here?” “Is there
trapped with no escape. Each day I remember less and less even a meaning to life anymore?” All I’m doing is making
making it harder to know who cares about me, who I care other people’s lives harder. I don’t want to be the burden
for. I can only hope that they don’t miss me when I’m gone. that holds people back. I need them to know that I don’t
want to be here anymore, that once I’m gone the people I
I wonder when it’s going to end, a time when I don’t feel love can live up to their full potential.
pain, a time when I’m at peace with myself. I want there to
be a time when I can see clearly and I can make decisions I can feel it happening, everyone knew that this was coming.
for myself. I wish people could see me for who I was, not I’ve lost everything, all my memories, all the important things
who I have become. I want people to remember me as the in life, the people I love the most have lost me. It became
kind, loving, encouraging person I was. Who I have become harder and harder to breathe, as each breath came I could
is not who I am or who I wanted to be. Life used to be a feel my heart beat slowly softening until there was no air left
rollercoaster, unpredictable, now the same thing happens in my lungs.
each day. Although I forget what has happened, I feel like
I am finally in peace, no more struggling, no more suffering.
everyone around me is losing me more and more each day.
This is how I imagined going, effortlessly, painlessly and
People now see me as a person who is constantly angry,
peacefully.
always yelling and swearing. This is not who I am or who I
want to be remembered as.
Everyone I’ve met and everything I’ve learnt in the past 10
years is all gone, everything else is a blur. All I want is a full
life again, a life I can live and explore in. I don’t want to be
trapped anymore. I don’t want to be in this life anymore,
I can’t do anything, see anything, hear anything. There is
nothing left to live for, life will be easier for everyone else if
I’m gone. I don’t want to be trapped any longer. I don’t want
to be the person that I have become.
Life becomes harder each day as my brain slowly breaks down,
as I forget more and more important things in my life. Although
the same thing happens every day I still can’t do it properly,
making it harder and harder for the people around me to help.
As I get worse and worse each day. But the people who really
care don’t just look the other way and they don’t lock me up
because I’m not myself anymore, they still have hope that I can Kylie (Author) and Alister enjoying a laugh.
Seniors (55+) are
you concerned
about your
memory recall &
Research indicates 60-70% of aged people who undertake the “right kind” of core
cognitive abilities?
executive cognitive exercising restore and even re-empower their cognitive abilities.
The BrainXtra “Sustain Your Brain” Clinic (8 Weeks) offers the “right kind” of intensive training
and standardised international assessments to strengthen your memory & cognition abilities.
More information check our next Tauranga Clinic dates online at: www.BrainXtra.com P: 0275 366 254
07
Membership
Being a member of Alzheimers
Tauranga/WBOP means we can
keep in touch with you, invite you
to local events, often receiving
discounts and given the first
option to attend education
sessions, fundraising events and
community presentations such as
the popular sessions with Brain
Research Trust researchers.
Importantly, your membership
helps us to help local families.
If you are a current member, your
renewal will be automatically sent
out to you when it is due. If you
would like to become a member,
please get in touch with us at
tauranga@alzheimers.org.nz or
fill in and return the coupon on
the back of this newsletter with
your details.
As we get increasingly digital,
we can offer more options for
keeping in touch. Please let us
know if you would prefer to
receive an electronic copy of this
newsletter, or both an electronic
and print version.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK!
Did you know that we are a charity? Only a small proportion of our costs are met by contracts and we work hard to fundraise
the rest locally. Please consider the ways you may be able to support us to continue to provide our services to everyone who
needs help dealing with dementia.
I/We would like to support people in my local community by:
Becoming a member - membership subscription is $40 per year Life membership $200
With a gift of $25 $50 $100 Other
By giving regularly and/or making a bequest (please send me further information)
Please charge my VISA Mastercard Card number
Expiry / CVC Signature of card holder
Name:
Address:
Phone: Email:
Gifts $5 and over are tax deductible.
For direct credit and/or automatic payment, Alzheimers Tauranga - WBOP bank details are:
Westpac, Tauranga Centre 03-0435-0470677-00. Use your name as a reference.
ALZHEIMERS TAURANGA - WBOP // 116 13th Avenue, Tauranga 3112
Phone: 07 - 577 6344 or 0800 004 001 // Email: tauranga@alzheimers.org.nz
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