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Memory and aging friendly South Ostrobothnia
Published on 20 May 2021
Finland
Länsi-Suomi
International Coordinator
About this good practice
Memory and age friendly company model has been developed in the South Ostrobothnia Memory Association's “Memory and Age Friendly South Ostrobothnia” project. This is the first project in Finland with SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) from different fields. SMEs have completed the coaching and have been able to develop their services to be memory and age friendly.
People with memory loss want to be treated as equal adults and do important things for themselves within the limits of their own ability to act. People living with a memory disorder often do well in their own everyday environment for a long time through various support measures. Successful everyday encounters support the ability to function and provide an experience of coping and becoming valued.
Objective was to look for SMEs that are interested to develop their own operations so that they would better serve citizens with memory and aging issues. Companies can be different sizes and from different fields. They focus on how their role as service providers affects the daily life of the elderly. Objective is to support the citizens so that they can independently operate the services.
Companies learn about:
• memory disorders, dementia prevention
• how to better understand and communicate with people with dementia
• how to support and help elderly customers
• Silver Economy.
Main stakeholders and beneficiaries are companies, third sector, local development organization (LAG) and citizens.
People with memory loss want to be treated as equal adults and do important things for themselves within the limits of their own ability to act. People living with a memory disorder often do well in their own everyday environment for a long time through various support measures. Successful everyday encounters support the ability to function and provide an experience of coping and becoming valued.
Objective was to look for SMEs that are interested to develop their own operations so that they would better serve citizens with memory and aging issues. Companies can be different sizes and from different fields. They focus on how their role as service providers affects the daily life of the elderly. Objective is to support the citizens so that they can independently operate the services.
Companies learn about:
• memory disorders, dementia prevention
• how to better understand and communicate with people with dementia
• how to support and help elderly customers
• Silver Economy.
Main stakeholders and beneficiaries are companies, third sector, local development organization (LAG) and citizens.
Resources needed
Funding by the state-owned Finnish gaming company Veikkaus, distributed by Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations. Altogether budget for the project between 2017-2019 was 373.000 €.
Evidence of success
About 1700 elderly were met and asked their opinion about what dementia friendly services are. This has been passed on to the SMEs.
136 companies in the region know how to better address elderly and people with memory loss. SMEs get certificates and Dementia Friendly stickers to show their specialized customer service. Concept has been awarded by the Finnish national act for the elderly in 2020. According to Bikva group interview made with the SMEs, they are really satisfied with the concept.
136 companies in the region know how to better address elderly and people with memory loss. SMEs get certificates and Dementia Friendly stickers to show their specialized customer service. Concept has been awarded by the Finnish national act for the elderly in 2020. According to Bikva group interview made with the SMEs, they are really satisfied with the concept.
Potential for learning or transfer
Memory and age-friendliness increase the quality of a company's service. It doesn't limit the suitability of the services to all customers but is diverse for a different customer group need. Model considers all services, increasing clarity, functionality, and quality of customer service. The starting point is understanding the target group. Customer needs can be better met with user-centric design. Although the customer is only one customer among others for the SME, for the customer the company representative may be the only and most important contact of the week. People living with a memory disorder often do well in their own everyday environment for a long time through various support measures. Making everyday environment memory- and age-friendly requires people and service providers around them to have aging-related skills and a willingness to adapt their services. Successful everyday encounters support the ability to function and provide an experience of coping and becoming valued.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
Organisation
South Ostrobothnia Memory Association
Finland
Länsi-Suomi
Contact
International Coordinator