The Arts and Disability: In aid of a paradigm shift

Sue Austen has been in a wheelchair since 1996, when she contracted ME. To free herself from its limitations, she has adapted a wheelchair design, creating one that can be used underwater. "Portal" has enabled her to fly underwater. She plays with the notion of transformation: transforming attitudes, preconceived notions of being "wheelchair bound", and notion of disability and limitations.

Have a look at her TED talk and you'll see that, her imagination reflects a courageous and positively empowering woman.

Dementia and Care with Dignity

I few weeks ago I wrote about an environmental and arts in health  program that I had been involved in to enhance the environment of a medical ward housing demetia patients in the West of Ireland. With the recent deaths in Canada of Alzheimer patients who have wandered out of their care facility, I have been compelled to undertake further research and explorations into what is possible for the care of the elderly with severe Alzheimer disease.

What follows is a video done by CNN during which we are invited by Dr. Gupta to travel to Hogewey, a small village in Weesp, the Netherlands, to a nursing home that is really a village complete with shops, hair salons and community programmes. The architectural adaptations, nursing care, and arts activities such as music, cooking and other projects, allow patients to participate in their community and succeeds in providing a safe, healthy living environment.

We are taken to a wonderful village in which people are enabled to lead a life with dignity despite their severe dementia. It illustrates what can be done with creativity, architectural adaptations and proper training for all staff.

We in Canada need to learn a lesson!

Alzheimer's and environment

Another component of Launch International is using the arts within a healthcare environment to ease patient experience and the workload of the medical staff, by transforming austere medical enviornments into places of healing.

There has been much press recently about the care of elderly people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. While in Ireland I was part of a project that addressed challenging, and sometimes violent behaviour of patients, while at the same time easing the workload of clinical staff due to the constant attention required to care for this population. In addition, the medical units became reminders of the past with ambient lighting, fake fireplaces and a view created by a mural montage of surrounding nature.

The project was undertaken by Mount Carmel Hospital in Clonakilty County Cork, and saw the transformation medical wards into bedrooms, living rooms, a kitchen and garden. The medical units were renamed Saoirse which in the Irish language means Freedom, in the hopes of encouraging a more liberal approach to the regimental care, and in shifting attitudes of staff and family visitors. The women were encouraged to do what they had traditionally done such as wash dishes, mend trousers, and sit around a "fire" drinking tea and chatting. The men were encouraged to dress when they wanted rather than the required practice of 9 a.m.  One male patient was allowed to sleep with his clothes on as he had been a farmer when he was younger and had never married. In several instances, once moved on Saoirse, there was a marked difference in patients who had been highly aggressive.

Rather than write more about it, let me show you some before and after shots . . . .

Here is the hallway where the patients would walk up and down - in some cases, try to escape

Here is the hallway after the transformation into a series of shop windows

The patient is calm and comforted as she and nurse are seemingly out for a walk in the neighbourhood.

Here is a standard six bed room

During the project a similar six bed room is transformed into a kitchen where Alzheimer's patients can wash up after dinner

 Or into a living room where they can sit and chat by the fire

The result was less medication and happier staff and calmer patients.