In a wonderful initiative, HammondCare’s Dementia Support Australia (DSA) program and Estia Health’s Nambour aged care home on the QLD Sunshine Coast have filled a room with a model train layout around a miniature town to help residents living with dementia.
Initially a pilot project after assessing the needs of six residents, including a retired train driver, during a COVID-19 lockdown, it has become a much-loved asset for all residents.
A new weekly men’s group has been created and the train set had led to connections with the community, including the Sunshine Coast Model Railway Men’s Shed, Nambour Library and the Nambour Genealogical Society.
“This model railway layout is such a valuable thing for our home,” Estia Health Nambour Lifestyle Coordinator Wendy May said.
The model train layout features miniature replica Nambour shops, a golf course and even a sugar cane farm, and there are plans for more memory-jogging attractions.
Resident Allan Lanham (pictured), 90, said the train brought back memories.
“As kids, we’d get a half penny and go up and put it on the rails and the train would flatten it,” he said.
What a fantastic idea, and what joy it would give to those living in the home.
