In nursing home kitchens all around Australia, chefs are mastering the art of using food moulds in determined efforts to improve the dining experiences of aged care residents. Their creativity is not only enabling older people in residential care to gain greater enjoyment from their food, it is also providing residents' health and wellbeing with a much-needed boost. We spoke to two chefs about the moulds they use, their tips for success (and what to avoid), and along the way we...

 Just over two months ago, I wrote in Part One about my decision to get professional help to reverse the curve in my back. At that time I had a scheduled appointment, to follow three weeks of doing the recommended exercises, for my second visit to a local posture physiotherapist – whom I’d found through Google (remember back to the days when that would have been through the Yellow Pages?). And I was going to report back in HelloCare...

  The aged care watchdog may be given additional powers that allow it to impose fines on providers that fail to comply with new rules about reporting neglect and abuse in aged care homes. The proposal to increase the powers of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, which will be debated when parliament resumes next month, comes as data reveals an estimated 39.2 per cent of aged care residents experience some form of abuse. Between July and September, the regulator...

London is back in lockdown, and as anyone who has lived through harsh restrictions will tell you, it becomes more difficult the longer it goes on. However, the situation is made all the more difficult if people are living alone and in total isolation from all others.  This is where Give a Song volunteers come in. The musical group travels around South London, knocking on doors to give doorstep performances, brightening the days of the people listening on. ...

In Israel, a world first is occurring. An Israeli social enterprise has taken to crowdfunding a new initiative aimed at helping tackle loneliness and isolation among older people.  Traditionally, social impact bonds are funded by one or two big financial backers, investing the money to ensure the rollout of the project to make the biggest impact on society. But this latest bond is believed to be the first to get funding from the general public through crowdfunding. While the...

  Time is Too slow for those who wait, Too swift for those who fear, Too long for those who grieve, Too short for those who rejoice, But for those who love, Time is eternity. Henry Van Dyke Lately, I’ve been thinking about time, and especially how this single word covers such a wide range of experiences. So I looked up one of my favourite books, The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, to see if someone had done a pithy summary...

Residents from Ryman Healthcare’s Nellie Melba Retirement Village have been treated to an operatic experience like no other during Australia’s first virtual reality (VR) opera trial. With doors to theatres across Melbourne closed, and a cloud of uncertainty caused by COVID-19 still hanging over much of the industry, eight village residents, including Australian opera icon Nance Grant, and residents living with dementia, attended the exclusive trial. Ryman Healthcare Operations Quality Manager Joanne Wang said the VR opera pilot developed by...

As former England rugby player Steve Thompson revealed his diagnosis of early onset dementia, the world's eyes have turned to the class action being brought against World Rugby.  "It's the rugby that's put me through this," the 42-year-old said in an interview with The Guardian. "I finished up with nothing really at the end of it. "I have no recollection of winning the World Cup in 2003 or of being in Australia for the tournament," he said...

  There is a history of Alzheimer’s disease in the family of Iranian photographer, Jalal Shamsazaran. Both his father and his aunt had it, and his grandfather too. This thread running through the family history led Shamsazaran to begin documenting his father’s journey with Alzheimers’ in a project titled ‘The loss of oral history (The agony of remembering)’. “Perhaps the character and behavior of my father is a part of my character and behavior in future. I can say that...

  Whether it’s 50 Shades of Grey, Mary Poppins or Top Gun, residents should have a say in the movies being shown in their homes, and they should be able to make their own choices, says a highly experienced dementia and wellbeing consultant.  Yet, it has come to HelloCare’s attention that some aged care homes are only showing children’s movies to residents, regardless of the viewers’ interests, histories, cultural backgrounds or preferences. Disney favourites such as Frozen are routinely...

  Australians will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in a matter of weeks, however some key recipients of the vaccine – aged care workers – are nervous about the new drug, fearing it hasn’t been tested properly in the rush to stamp out the virus as it rages across the world, killing almost 2 million. HelloCare’s ‘Aged Care Worker Support Group’ Facebook page contains several posts and dozens of comments expressing concerns about inadequate testing, side effects, and whether or not...

Aged care workers have been carrying more than their fair share of the nation's burdens in 2020. Quietly going about their work, it is these dedicated staff who have been doing their utmost every day to keep older Australians living in aged care homes safe, and helping them endure periods of isolation away from family and friends. We should be recognising our aged care workers right now, and yet we are not: they remain underpaid, overworked and, as though that...