Dementia-friendly Workshop - Westfield Tuggerah

On the 18th of June, 30 participants attended a workshop focussing on being a Dementia-friendly Community held by Dementia Australia. The participants included Westfield security, cleaning and management team members. They joined businesses operating within the Westfield centre, including banks, the cinema, cafes and other food retailers attended with interest to see how they can all work together to ‘make enjoying life easier’ for those living with dementia.

The key discussion points included how the shopping centre experience of someone living with dementia can be impacted by environmental design, language, awareness and education. The representatives of each group learnt how they all have the opportunity to create a positive impact on each customer, and also their carers. Besides being the right thing to do, it’s good business sense to make every customer feel welcome, through growing an understanding of their needs.

Together with the retailers trading in the centre, the Westfield team are putting together some tips and an action plan to work towards being a dementia-friendly community.