The Port Macquarie Museum has capped off Dementia Awareness Month with renewal of its Dementia Friendly accreditation and endorsement of its dementia friendly action plan for 2018-19.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The museum first received accreditation in June 2016 and each year reviews and updates its action plan for the forthcoming year.
“We are very pleased to have our dementia-friendly action plan endorsed by Dementia Australia,” Clive Smith, Port Macquarie Historical Society president, said.
“Over the past three years we have been making continual improvements to our facilities, raising our members’ and volunteers’ awareness of dementia and working on dementia-friendly programs with a number of community partners, however there is still more work to do.
“Our main barrier to achieving full dementia-friendly status is our building.
“I give full credit and thanks to our predecessors for their foresight, determination and hard work in securing our premises and building the various extensions but building codes were very different then, there was little in the way of museum design standards and community expectations were lower.
“Despite our many improvements to lighting and facilities, the gallery spaces are tired, and the overall museum layout is confusing. Worse still, our upper levels are inaccessible to a proportion of our visitors and our own volunteers as there is no lift access.”
The Museum has applied to the NSW Regional Cultural Fund for funding towards the development of an upgrade master plan and schematic design to improve its facilities.
If successful, it will engage professional and experienced consultants to develop a sustainable upgrade solution to deliver a well-designed regional museum building and cultural facility that is fit for purpose and will provide enduring cultural worth to the people of Port Macquarie and the region.
“The master planning project will involve wide community and stakeholder consultation to ensure we meet the needs and expectations of all stakeholders,” Mr Smith said.
“The project has attracted strong community support and is one of the many actions identified in our dementia friendly action plan.”
The museum is also encouraging its volunteers and members to increase their dementia awareness by becoming Dementia Friends.
This involves completing an online dementia awareness program at www.dementiafriendly.org.au/user/register.
