New facility geared towards dementia
Its specially designed garden is aimed at providing cognitive and physical stimulation.
The Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot has opened an $8.6 million facility for Bupa Care at Banora Point on the NSW north coast.
The Banora Point facility has a particular focus on dementia care, with a garden aimed at improving the physical and mental wellbeing of residents.
The garden features a beach area, a green space for activities such as lawn bowls, an aviary open space.
The facility’s general manager, Jo Spirit-Jones, is confident the garden will be provide huge benefits to all residents.
“Research shows that spending time in a garden is very effective for improving the mood, physical health and mobility of elderly residents and especially for reducing anxiety in people with dementia,” she said.
“We also hope that this garden and the activities it provides will bring a lot of enjoyment for our residents and their family members when they visit.”
Bupa Care will conduct an ongoing clinical evaluation of the Banora Point garden to determine its impact on resident wellbeing and if the findings are positive, it will open similar gardens at its other facilities.
The organisation has also partnered with Alzheimer’s Australia to ensure all Banora Point nursing staff have increased knowledge and understanding of how to care for people with dementia.
Bupa Care Managing Director, Paul Gregersen, said the new facility at Banora Point was a testimony to the organisation’s commitment to personalised care.
“We’re incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication that has ensured Banora Point is a benchmark facility for person-centred care,” he said.
“Bupa Care is continuing to strive to improve the quality of dementia care across Australia.”
