To News Editor
For immediate release
29th October 2010
10th Anniversary of Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing
cum the Announcement of the New Chinese Name of Dementia
The Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing was inaugurated in June 2000. On
the 6th of October, 2010, the 10th Anniversary of Jockey Club Centre for Positive
Ageing and “Changing the Way You See Dementia – Renaming Competition”
Prize Giving Ceremony was held at Shatin Hospital Soccer Pitch. Guests from
the medical social welfare sectors will be invited to the event, including Mr T
Brian Stevenson, SBS, JP, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Prof Jack
Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dr Leong
Che-hung, GBM, GBS, JP, Chairman of Elderly Commission and Ms Sandra
Lee, JP, Permanent Secretary for Food and Health. Nobel Laureate for Physics
Prof Charles Kao and Mrs Gwen Kao were also invited to celebrate the 10th
Anniversary of JCCPA.
JCCPA is the first specialized dementia care centre in Hong Kong. It strives to
enhance public awareness of dementia and promote brain health. “Besides
JCCPA, an innovation multi-year project called CADENZA: A Jockey Club
Initiative for Seniors was initiated to raise Hong Kong's elderly care to a new
level. I sincerely hope that the Hong Kong Government can share the same
vision with us” said Mr T Brian Stevenson, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey
Club.
Prof Kao and Mrs Kao, representing service users and caregivers, showed their
appreciation to The Jockey Club by presenting souvenir to Mr. Stevenson. To
celebrate the 10th Anniversary of JCCPA, “Changing the Way You See
Dementia – Renaming Competition” in Chinese was held from April. Followed
by the guests’ speeches, it was the announcement of the “Renaming
Competition” result. The Champion is Luk Tsz Ting from Si Yuan School of the
Precious Blood by the name “腦退化症”, meaning “the deterioration of the brain”.
According to Mr Luk, he was inspired by a video about a granny who forgot her
way home, for which he recalled his grandpa who once got lost too. He thought
that the original Chinese name was not an appropriate name at all, thus created
the new name.
“The population in Hong Kong is on an ageing trend now. Service and facility for
elderly is under serious shortage nowadays and there is not enough day care
centre specialized for dementia patients. People with dementia have to wait for
6 to 9 months to use the services. Thus the support from the government and
the community is most important for the development of service for people with
dementia. The renaming competition by JCCPA, with “腦退化症”, meaning “the
deterioration of the brain”, being the new name, provides a good opportunity for
the public to have a positive view towards the disease. We hope that the social
stigma attached can be eradicated by having a suitable, positive, practical and
creative name.” said Prof Timothy Kwok, Director of JCCPA and one of the
judges of the competition.
About the Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing
The Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing is a local organization that mainly focuses on
promoting the integrated services of dementia. Since 2000, the organization provide day care
service, short-term accommodation, training and professional assessment. These one-stop
services aim to relieve the physical and mental pressure of the family caregivers. At the same
time, to improve quality of life of the elderly as well as, maintain or improve the functional
independence through provision of an enriched environment, flexible programming and choice
of activities. For more details, please visit www.jccpa.org.hk.
About Dementia
Dementia is an illness that entails the loss of cognitive ability. In dementia, the earliest and most
prominent feature is usually memory loss, resulting in forgetfulness. Other symptoms include
difficulties with language, getting lost, disorientation, inability to cope with daily activities and
physical care, mood changes and behavioural problems. There are now at least seventy
thousands of people suffering from dementia in Hong Kong. Rates of dementia increase with
ageing. Although patients with this disease are mostly elderly, people under 65-year-old may
also be suffering from dementia. With the ageing of the population, it is not surprising that more
people will suffer from dementia in Hong Kong.
Supporting organizations:
Department of Health
Hospital Authority
Elderly Commission
Equal Opportunities Commission
Hong Kong Housing Society
CUHK Faculty of Medicine
CUHK Faculty of Social Work
HKU Sau Po Centre on Ageing
HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Dept of Social Work
Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Association of Gerontology
Hong Kong Council Social Service
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council
Senior Citizen Home Safety Association
St James’ Settlement Kin Chi Dementia Care Support
The Hong Kong Society For Rehabilitation
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
Media sponsors:
RoadShow
Yellow Bus E-mag
Yellow Bus Light Magazine
Released by: Seedland International Limited
On Behalf of Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing
Enquiries: Training and Marketing Manager Miss Eunice Hui at 2636-6323
Press enquiries: Miss Jackie Liu at 9197-6791 / 3583-3100
E-mail: info@seedland.hk