2024 Women to Watch
This year we showcase over 80 South Australian women to watch throughout the year. From business, to careers, arts to science. This year’s selected women highlight the depth and diversity of the women in our state and also the vast array of opportunities to develop a business or career in South Australia. Find our more about our inaugural Women to Watch initiative here.
Wendy Hall has worked in health and aged care for over 30 years, she is the Managing Director and founder of Dementia Doulas International and creator of the Dementia Doula role. She is author of, Dementia can’t take everything!, The Dementia Doula, and Through the darkness of dementia. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing, a Diploma of Applied Science (Ambulance Studies), a Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment & Training and a Certificate IV in Celebrancy. Wendy has used her diverse skill set within a variety of settings including the acute care, pre-hospital, community & residential sectors. Her role in the development of training and mentoring for emerging Dementia Doula’s has been evolving over many years and brings together her areas of passion to better serve those she represents. Her interactive approach challenges mindsets and encourages those supporting someone or working within the area of dementia to explore a different way of thinking. Her goal is to shift preconceived ideas about existing barriers to dementia care and influence the palliative care space ensuring no one goes it alone.
// Favourite inspirational quote
Shared by a daughter supporting her dad with dementia at the end of a family information session I was conducting. This quote was very humbling and keeps my focus exactly where it needs to be:
I wasn’t going to come tonight; I was ready to give up on my dad. I just thought I couldn’t deal with it anymore and my heart was broken. But now I have hope, I know there are things I can now do to be the daughter he needs me to be …
// Let’s get to know you
I set up Dementia Doulas International and was founder of the Dementia Doula role 5 years ago. I had seen firsthand the need for an innovative approach to supporting someone living with dementia and their families during the advancing stages of the disease. I was tired of saying, ‘I wish there was more I could do’, and realised I needed to try something, anything, and that was going to be better than doing nothing. I had witnessed and been a part of so many people dying alone with dementia (but surrounded by lots of people) and it was just heartbreaking. It’s like if you picture yourself at a party of 100 people and you don’t know anyone and have no connections.
The Dementia Doula role was created in response to these and many other unequal end-of-life care practices that were in place when compared with other life-limiting illnesses such as cancer. People with dementia and their families were not receiving any specialised services or supports and it was important to me to try and fill this gap I had seen in my years as a Registered Nurse and Paramedic. I wanted to be a part of setting a new industry standard. The Dementia Doula role would bring about a more consistent approach for the provision of support, advocacy, information, and education so that families were better prepared for future decision making and the opportunity to play a more active role in their loved one’s care.
// What makes you a Woman to Watch for 2024?
This is the year I look forward to taking the advocacy part of my role and business to the next level. With 3 books already out there making a difference, I am looking forward to sharing more stories and learnings so that families impacted by dementia don’t feel like they are going it alone. This year I will publish my fourth book and I am hoping it will bring a sense of comfort and hope for families new to the dementia world so that they don’t feel alone right from the start of their journey and throughout. My wish is for all my books to generate more conversations and awareness raising through larger forums and media outlets for how we can together make a real difference in this space on a level never before seen.
// What is your goal or intention for the year ahead? And how are you going to achieve it?
This year I want to be able to do more and to create a way for our local communities to take more ownership for those impacted by dementia who are family, friends, neighbours and community members. I want to bring the Dementia Doula role to life even more and in the way it was always intended. I need to make Dementia Doulas more accessible to families for when they need it most and have other avenues for funding other than the current user pays system we needed to start with.
In order to take the next step, alongside my business, I am setting up a not-for-profit organisation with a group of passionate individuals so we can ensure families can access a Dementia Doula at any time from pre-diagnosis of their family member through to time of bereavement. As this can be anywhere up to 10+ years, the challenge will be in securing funding and income streams to ensure this happens within metropolitan, regional and remote areas and that services of a Dementia Doula are available in a timely manner.
// What would being a 2024 Woman to Watch mean to you?
It would mean greater exposure to the work we are doing to destigmatise dementia and raise awareness for dementia being a community responsibility and not just something that families need to try and deal with alone. With 70% of people with dementia in Australia living within the community (and expected to rise), we all need to know how to better support our families, neighbours and those we pass in the supermarket so that no one impacted by dementia feels too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help. It would also assist in the promotion of the Dementia Doula role by showcasing to staff within the sector that other opportunities for a meaningful career path exist. With large numbers of passionate and skilled staff leaving the sector at a large rate per year, we hope to play a role in contributing to staff retention through training in a role that brings meaning to families and lots of staff satisfaction.
// What would you like to see for the future of South Australian women and girls?
It is so important to develop more non-clinical leadership roles within the health and aged care sectors for women which would in turn create much needed and non-existent career pathways. We also want to see women recognised women for the true contribution they make and for the hours they actually work. Surveys have indicated that many women are planning to leave the aged care workforce in the next 1 to 5 years and had reported the need for more diversity in job opportunities within the sector. The government health website refers to women in aged care as nurses and personal care workers and that is where it stops. These traditional care roles place women with no viable leadership options and no future prospects. Many women we have spoken to have shared regrets of having to, ‘hang on until retirement because there’s nothing else I’m qualified to do’.
Even if a woman is in a senior management or clinical role, if they leave the sector for an extended period of time, it is near impossible to easily integrate back in without having to prove themselves through bridging type courses. We want to see a future for women in leadership roles that recognise the valuable role they play and the skill set they wouldn’t just lose because they’d stepped away from a particular role. We believe it is important to build up women to no longer feel guilty about asking to be adequately and professionally compensated for their time, skills and expertise.
Get in touch with Wendy:
LinkedIn: Wendy Hall
Website: www.dementiadoulas.com.au
Check out all of the incredible Women to Watch for 2024 here as their profiles are uploaded throughout the year.
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