National Dementia Awareness Week

Sep 9 2010

By 2050 it is projected that there will be nearly one million people living with dementia unless there is a medical breakthrough [1].

This National Dementia Awareness Week 15-22 September, Alzheimer’s Australia and National Dementia Awareness Week Ambassador, Dr Andrew Rochford will be promoting the benefit of early diagnosis and where worried friends and family can access help [2].

Tunstall Healthcare, the world’s leading provider of telehealthcare supports people living with the early stages of dementia to continue living in their own home in a safe and supported environment.

Jack is 83 and lives on his own in a retirement village. He is prone to walking about some nights, sometimes becoming disoriented and unable to find his way home.

Generally capable of caring for himself, Jack wants to continue living on his own. To manage the potential risks of Jack living independently with dementia, Jack’s family organised for a Tunstall dementia package to be installed in his home.

Designed to suit Jack’s needs, the package includes a Tunstall property exit sensor and personal alarm.

The property exit sensor detects if Jack leaves the property at inappropriate times of the day or night and uses the personal alarm to immediately alert the onsite village managers, so they can quickly guide Jack back to his home.

With this type of assistive technology solution in place, living with dementia does not have to mean the loss of independence.

The public and industry professionals can view assistive technology in action at the Queensland Smart Home Initiative demonstrator based at Lifetec in Newmarket (Brisbane), and the Baptist Community Service Age Friendly Home based in Marsfield NSW.

To find out more about the demonstrators call 1300 885 886 Queensland and 1300 275 227 New South Wales.

www.dementiatechnology.org.au and www.alzheimers-support.com also exist to assist friends and family of someone living with dementia identify what assistive technology is available and relevant to the person’s current stage of dementia.

To find out more about Tunstall’s dementia solutions visit www.tunstallhealthcare.com.au or call 1300 760 333.

[1] http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/AAR_BROCHURE_2009.pdf

[2] http://www.alzheimers.org.au/content.cfm?infopageid=6831