G. Allen Power MD – Dementia Beyond Disease

G. Allen Power MD – Dementia Beyond Disease

You may have caught Dr. Al Power’s keynote address for Alzheimer’s Disease International in Perth earlier this year or have been lucky enough to attend his recent workshop on Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being for the QLD DTSC in Brisbane.

G. Allen Power, MD, FACP is a geriatrician, clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester, New York, and international educator on transformational models of care for older adults, particularly those living with changing cognitive abilities. Dr. Power is a Certified Eden Alternative® Educator and member of the Eden Alternative board of directors. He is also a trained musician and song writer.

Dr Power’s widely acclaimed Dementia beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care won a 2010 Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing. His latest book, Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being released in 2014 is described by dementia advocate and author Christine Bryden as “…transformational in regarding dementia as a shift in the way the person with dementia experiences the world, and then focusing on how to enhance the well-being of those in your care”.

The Brisbane, Dementia Beyond Disease, workshop in August challenged participants to focus on the well-being of people living with dementia while offering practical steps to create “a life worth living”. Dr Power explained the drawbacks of the traditional biomedical model of dementia and shared an alternate view that focuses on the shifting experiences of the person. He described an approach that focuses on enhancing seven domains of well-being as a primary goal for support and care. Participants responded to the day with enthusiasm and very positive feedback.