Albion Park guitarist Di Davies has put her musical skills to the best of uses. Photo: HammondCare.
Residents of the Illawarra’s newly opened Specialist Dementia Care Unit (SDCU) at HammondCare Horsley have benefitted from much-needed stress relief thanks to a musical volunteer.
Albion Park guitarist Di Davies presented a comforting repertoire to the residents to help alleviate the anxiety of relocation, including Pack Up Your Troubles, A Long Way To Tipperary and You Are My Sunshine.
Di aimed to play songs that would be “warmly familiar” to the residents, who were recently moved to HammondCare’s SDCU due to unsuitability for care in mainstream aged care services.
She said the volunteer gig was very rewarding.
“It’s great to be able to go into the lives of these residents, who have been doing it tough, and provide some happiness for them,” she said.
“I know in the case of one person who was said to hate music, he came out of his room to come along and listen.
“There wasn’t a great deal of singing going on, understandable, but they were enjoying it all.”
Opened in August, the SDCU, known as Hart cottage, is one of 19 units around Australia funded by the Commonwealth under the Specialist Dementia Care Program.
Hart cottage houses eight residents assessed for eligibility by Dementia Support Australia and referred by the Local Health District and other agencies. All are deemed to require a high level of support living, having had severe behavioural or psychological symptoms of dementia including aggression, severe agitation, vocalisations, severe depression or anxiety or suicidal ideation.
HammondCare General Manager Residential Care and Dementia Centre Angela Raguz said a team of staff trained in supporting people living with dementia, including trained care workers, allied health professionals, registered nurses, GPs and a geriatrician, worked together to reduce and stabilise severe symptoms.
“The objective for the team is to care for each individual, reduce their symptoms where possible and eventually support them to live in a less intensive care setting, including one of the cottages at Horsley,” Ms Raguz said.
“It’s rewarding for the team to see the residents engage and become less stressed.”
Along with Hart cottage, Di – a semi-retired guitarist and one half of Illawarra duo Kwozzi – has provided singalongs for residents living with dementia at HammondCare Horsley’s other cottages.
She is an example of everyday people using whatever skills they have up their sleeves to provide valuable volunteering services for people living with dementia.
Head of Volunteer Services Belinda Holst said HammondCare was seeking to recruit 40 more volunteers in the Illawarra – 20 for the Horsley dementia care village, including the Hart cottage, and 20 for HammondCare At Home services – to do a variety of tasks including driving buses, gardening, playing games, providing companionship or just taking a resident to the nearby Plant Room Cafe for a coffee and a chat.
Di’s volunteering journey with HammondCare started earlier this year after her mum Lorraine became a HammondCare Horsley Whitely cottage resident.
“If it’s something you can do, please think about it – you can change someone’s life,” Di said.
Learn more about volunteering at HammondCare.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact:
Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line – 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Loading ...
