Rewarding good IDEAs in dementia care

The shortlist has been announced for the International Dementia Excellence Awards (IDEAs), to be presented this week during the Risky Business conference in Sydney.

Twenty three leading projects, services, teams and individuals providing outstanding support for people with dementia around the world have been short-listed for the International Dementia Excellence Awards (IDEAs), to be announced in Sydney next week.

The IDEAs are organised by the University of Stirling’s UK Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), and will be presented at the Bayside Gallery, Darling Harbour this Thursday as part of this week’s Risky Business international dementia conference, which runs over 28 and 29 June at Darling Harbour.

The Risky Business conference is presented by HammondCare, the Dementia Centre and the DSDC, all of which are regular contributors to Australian Ageing Agenda magazine.

DSDC director, Professor June Andrews, said the awards provided a balance to the challenging news often reported about dementia by highlighting the pinnacle of innovation and good practice in dementia care.

“It would be great if there was a cure for dementia, and lots of really clever people are working on that right now,” Professor Andrews said.

“But in the meantime, there are people with dementia and their families, and there is a lot we can do to make life easier for them. It is vital that we raise awareness regarding innovation and good practice in dementia care as well as highlighting those who, through passion and commitment, make a real difference in the lives of those living with dementia.”

Dozens of nominations were received from across the globe with the shortlist featuring nominees from Europe, the US and across Australia. 

This year’s IDEAs include three Australian-specific awards for team of the year, employee of the year and volunteer of the year, while a special ‘Risky Business’ award “highlights the risks often taken to ensure quality of life for people with dementia”.

The short-listed nominees are:

Volunteer of the Year (Australia only)

Team of the Year (Australia only)

  • Lifestyle Team, Garden City Retirement Home, Queensland.
  • Woonona Cottage staff, HammondCare, NSW.
  • Arcare Greenhill Sensitive Care Team, Victoria.

Employee of the Year (Australia only)

Dementia Design Innovation of the Year

Risky Business

  • Dementia Adventure, Neil Maples, Director, Essex UK
  • Alzheimer’s Queensland
  • Michael C. LaFerney, dementia specialist nurse, United States.

Dementia and the Arts

Life Engagement

  • The Side by Side project, Life Care, South Australia.
  • The Common Wheel project, Katherine Waumsley and team, Scotland.
  • Helen ‘Eleni’ Kostaglou, artist.

Researcher of the Year

  • Details to be announced at the presentation ceremony.

The international judging panel includes Professor June Andrews, Australian dementia advocate Sue Pieters-Hawke, Dr Marie-Jo Guisset Martinez of Fondation Médéric Alzheimer, France, and the CEO of Alzheimer’s Australia, Glen Rees.

Official supporters of the awards are the Department of Health and Ageing, Australian Ageing Agenda and Alzheimer’s Australia.

The ceremony will run from 5:00 till 6:45 this Thursday. For more information or to register to attend the awards ceremony visit www.ideawards2012.com.

Tags: awards-for-excellence, dementia, international, risky-business,

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