Hong Kong aged care home using art therapy to help keep dementia sufferers’ minds active

Art is breathing new life into the Jockey Club Sunshine Complex for the Elderly where four out of five new residents suffer from some form of dementia.

Helen Fong, a senior supervisor at the Wong Chuk Hang home, is leading the development of an art therapy programme for the centre’s residents and said it can boost brain activity in people with the slow and progressive brain disease.

“Many lack the ability to even feed themselves,” she said.

Fong – a self-taught amateur watercolour painter – said she introduced one of the first art-integrated care home concepts in the city, and is creating a standard protocol and programme plan.

“Art therapy is a trend around the world. It is now all about brain training and keeping minds active,” she said.

Memory loss, incontinence, loss of reasoning and fine motor skills are just some of the realities facing those with dementia.