Dementia care specialist Group Homes Australia has held its first regional Rementia Together retreat in the NSW south coast town of Berry.
The free five-day retreats are designed for people recently diagnosed or in the early stages of dementia, along with their support partner, and have been developed to provide hope and optimism beyond diagnosis.
The live-in retreats are held regularly throughout the year in a dedicated GHA home in Sydney. In August, the provider held its first regional Rementia Together retreat in Berry in an effort to support the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions where dementia rates are expected to increase by 4% more than the national average.
GHA Founder and Executive Director
As with the Sydney-based Rementia Together retreats, the program provided participants living with dementia and their support partner with innovative dementia education, and tools and strategies to support their journey to live well with dementia. Throughout the retreat, the group also had the opportunity to connect with each other in a supportive environment, while making the most of the stunning south coast surroundings.
GHA's retreats are based on the concept of ‘rementia’, which is disrupting post-diagnostic care by positioning less on ‘dementia’ (to be ‘away from the mind’ in Latin) towards ‘rementia’ (to ‘return to the mind’ in Latin).
GHA's Founder and Executive Director, Tamar Krebs, said the retreats are unlike any other Australian short-stay dementia program.
“The retreats are all about hope. In the world of dementia often we look at deficit, and we look at the loss and what people no longer have. At GHA it’s really important that we look at a strength-based approach and look at the rementia,” she said.
“So, it’s all about creating this beautiful retreat, where people can come together and have the peer support, be able to share the messiness of what it’s like to wrestle with this disease, but then also learn those strategies and tools to create a sense of hope and anticipation of, ‘I can live well at home with dementia’.”
Funded by the Australian Government, accommodation, food, and all retreat inclusions are at no cost to participants.
To find out more, call GHA on 1300 015 406, email info@grouphomes.com.au or visit GHA's website.