By ALESHA CAPONE
A TEAM from Sunshine Hospital have won a prestigious nursing award for developing a program which works with dementia patients and volunteers.
Clinical nurse consultant Kathy Kirby and her colleagues at Western Health won the Team Innovation category at the 2013 HESTA Australian Nursing Awards.
Ms Kirby and her team have established the Understanding Dementia program, which teaches non-clinical staff about dementia and has established a volunteer team to support patients with a cognitive impairment.
After winning the HESTA award, Ms Kirby – the program’s coordinator – accepted a $10,000 development grant.
“Everyone was very excited to find out that the program was a finalist and when we won, I was overwhelmed with excitement,” the young nurse said.
Ms Kirby has worked with Western Health for almost a decade, since starting out with the organisation as a graduate nurse.
“I enjoy nursing because there is so much variety. Every day you could do something new if you wanted to,” she said.
“I love my current role because I get to work with a great team and every day I am working with patients, staff and volunteers. I have always had a passion for older people.”
Ms Kirby said the Understanding Dementia program “has had a huge impact on both the staff and patients”.
“The staff and volunteers because they feel like they make a difference to a patients stay in hospital and feel that they have learnt new skills,” she said.
“Patients will have a more positive experience because staff will feel empowered to do things such as provide orientation each morning, provide redirection and simple things such as moving a meal tray closer to a patient.
“We hope that because of this, that we will see a reduction in the rates of patients experiencing delirium while in hospital.”
