Interviews

Hassan started his journey as a caregiver in 2018 when his father was diagnosed with dementia, facing struggles which inspired him to found 5IBA to raise awareness, promote education and inspire research for Alzheimer’s across Europe. He will be talking at the conference on the destigmatization of dementia and empowering communities toward better care practices.

Specializing in gerontology, palliative care, and expressive arts therapy, Vennus leads interdisciplinary teams in developing innovative elderly care services. As a Namaste Care International Champion, Vennus has spearheaded projects focusing on spiritual end-of-life care featuring Namaste Care for individuals with terminal illnesses living in nursing homes and community through the collective effort of spiritual care teams and compassionate connectors.

Serena is a Research Associate at Lancaster University’s Department of Health and Research. Currently, she is involved in a European-led project focusing on non-pharmacological palliative care interventions for people with advanced dementia living in care homes. She holds a MSc in Developmental Psychology and a PhD in Behavioural Economics.

Emily Brown is the Namaste Practitioner at Medway NHS Hospital in Kent, UK. She is very honoured to do what she does and see a wide variety of patients – from people living with dementia, to patients at the end of their life and palliative patients. Emily first met Joyce in 2013 where she taught her the magic of Namaste Care and decided, with the support from the end-of-life team to bring it to Medway NHS Hospital.

Michael is an author, documentary maker, motivational speaker, and the founder of Memory Bridge, a multiple-award-winning international non-profit dedicated to ending the emotional isolation of people with dementia. He has a MA in literary studies, in theology, and is now completing his dissertation for his PhD, focusing on the area of empathic communication.

Hanneke has a background in psychology. After her PhD, she worked at the Amsterdam UMC on a study on the effect of Namaste Care on people with dementia and their relatives. Her research is focused on improving the quality of life of people with cognitive impairments in long-term care, in particular dementia and intellectual disability. She investigates how technology can be used to enhance quality of life and care.

Rishi’s parents came from overseas to the UK in the 1970s, training as mental health nurses before becoming nursing managers at the NHS. They opened their first dementia care home in the 1980s, which Rishi grew up in. He eventually took over as Director for the Jawa Group and has now been for over 12 years. He has been a pioneer in the field of care management software, with the launch of Care Vision – an innovative cloud-based app for use in care home settings.

Joyce has been in the long-term care industry since 1978, working with large healthcare organisations to provide services for nursing facilities and assisted living communities. She is recognised for developing innovative programs for people with all levels of memory loss. Joyce has authored numerous books, articles and chapters on dementia-related issues and is widely in demand as a speaker throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Dr. Martin is a Healthcare leader in Singapore with a background spanning many kinds of care. He has a particular passion for Namaste Care, as a person-centred approach for individuals with advanced dementia or approaching end of life. He remains deeply committed to advancing nursing education and practice through research, innovation, and person-centred care.

Dr. Sara has a clinical background in palliative care across specialist, community and acute palliative and supportive care services. Sara joined the project team on the first Australian-funded research study into the benefits of the multisensory, psychosocial Namaste Care program for people living with advanced dementia in Residential Aged Care Facilities. She continues to promote the program’s philosophy

A Registered General Nurse with a PhD in Medicine and Health, Nicola has extensive clinical and academic expertise in dementia palliative care, end-of-life planning, and healthcare design. She currently coordinates the In-Touch Horizon Europe project, a multinational cluster randomized controlled trial across seven EU countries, evaluating a non-pharmacological palliative care intervention aimed at improving comfort and quality of life for people with advanced dementia in care homes.