{"id":13406,"date":"2018-06-21T08:37:25","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T12:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=13406"},"modified":"2018-06-21T08:37:25","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T12:37:25","slug":"feelings-matter-most-a-new-approach-to-dementia-care-arrives-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/21\/feelings-matter-most-a-new-approach-to-dementia-care-arrives-in-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Feelings Matter Most – A New Approach to Dementia Care Arrives in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Giving priority and attention to the emotions of people living with dementia is the key to restoring people’s capacity to live a meaningful life and communicate with family and caregivers says Dementia Care Matters, which is owned by The Salvation Army (Australia<\/span>), an international charity. Dementia Care Matters is set to expand in Canada<\/span> in the fall, 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Leveraging evidence and caregiving experience gathered in the UK, Ireland<\/span> and Australia<\/span>, and now Canada<\/span>, Dementia Care Matters is proposing a new model of care and bringing hope that it is possible to really reach and connect with people living with dementia.<\/p>\n

“People with dementia are no longer always able to cognitively deal with the world of facts, logic and reason, they are more feeling beings than thinking beings,” says Dementia Care Matters founder, Dr. David Sheard<\/span>. “But they still have strong emotions and can remain connected to family and their caregivers if their care is rooted in an understanding of their feelings.”<\/p>\n

Dementia Care Matters, an international transformative support and culture change organization with 23 years of experience in this field, asserts that “feelings matter most” for those living with dementia. New to Canada<\/span>, Dementia Care Matters is shifting perceptions and care protocols with the introduction of their trademarked “The Butterfly Household Model of Care”. The Model addresses the holistic needs of the individual in need of care and supports quality of life for each person living with a dementia across the whole of the person’s lived experience.<\/p>\n

Dementia Care Matters’ latest success story in Canada<\/span> is the adoption of the Butterfly Model in partnership with the Region of Peel ‘s Malton Village Long Term Care Centre in Mississauga<\/span>, Ontario.<\/p>\n

After a one-year transition, the Centre has evolved from a model of care focused on meeting the physical and clinical needs of people living with dementia, to one where people and staff are engaged in creating a positive lived experience. Recently, the Toronto Star<\/i> reported on the steps in that transition and the impact on all involved \u2013 administrators, nursing and other care staff, family members and the individuals themselves. http:\/\/projects.thestar.com\/dementia-program\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Dementia Care Matters’ philosophy and its model of in-depth culture change and training delivers emotionally intelligent care that maximizes quality of life and is centred on the individual, their life story and matching care to the specific point of dementia each person is individually experiencing. And the organization is proud to call itself a “disruptor”. Introducing the Butterfly Model requires radical changes to program design, leadership and nursing roles, quality of the interior environment, professional standards and training, and day-to-day operations. Early results in Canada<\/span>, already replicated over many years in other countries, show improvements in the use of anti-psychotic medications, more social engagement, fewer falls and improved staff satisfaction.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Malton Village Long Term Care Centre, Dementia Care Matters has accredited Butterfly Homes in the following settings within Canada<\/span>:<\/p>\n