Udbodh Dementia Day Care Centre in Kerala, a centre for stimulating cognitive abilities of those with dementia

Kochi's Udbodh Dementia Day Care Centre offers free services to dementia patients, providing therapies, reminiscence activities, and transportation. The centre in Kerala has become a model for the well-being of dementia sufferers, with three experienced caregivers helping them reconnect with language and lead a dignified life. A pilot study showed increasing prevalence of dementia among those aged 60+.

Two years since its launch, the Udbodh Dementia Day Care Centre, an initiative of the Kochi Corporation in Kerala, offering free services has emerged as a model for the well-being of people suffering from dementia.

The centre at Pachalam has emerged as a great blessing to caregivers as taking care of dementia patients along with work obligations remains a great challenge. Though the centre has the capacity to accommodate 15, it now tends to 12 dementia patients who are promptly picked up from their houses in the morning and dropped back in the evening.

“More than a mere day care home, it serves as a therapeutic and activity-oriented centre focussed on stimulating fast-fading cognitive abilities. We have three dementia caregivers with more than a quarter-century’s experience. They help them reconnect with words and language and aid them in leading a dignified daily life through continuous training and therapies,” says Biby Dominic, psychologist and care home manager.

In many instances, those afflicted with dementia even forget language and lose their speech after being in isolation for long. Sometimes, they need to be taught everything from scratch. The centre offers music and aroma therapies. Besides, reminiscence therapy is being held to stimulate memories about their past with the help of family photographs.

“While dementia patients certified by neurologists are admitted to the centre, in many cases, families bring them straight to the centre after noticing loss of memory of recent happenings. We conduct a mental status examination and those who emerge with low scores are referred to neurologists for certification,” says Ms. Dominic.

A pilot study conducted ahead of the launch of the centre showed that the prevalence of dementia was increasing among people aged above 60 years. Since there remains no cure for the disease, such centres for checking sudden cognitive degradation slowly leading to death and for increasing the life expectancy of the afflicted by 10-15 years remains the only option, she says.

Earlier, Kerala Minister for Industries P. Rajeeve inaugurated the second anniversary celebrations of the centre. Hibi Eden, MP, delivered the keynote address. T.J. Vinod, MLA, and Mayor M. Anilkumar were among those present.