Changes

G'day, everyone! My name is Tracey and I'm a University Innovation Fellow. I'm originally from Australia, but currently live in the US [[File:2019. Headshot.jpg|thumb|2019. Headshot.jpg]]with my American husband and have gone back to school for a second time to get a degree in Interior Architecture and Design. I was a teacher for seven years and taught in Australia, Japan and London before settling down in beautiful Fort Collins, CO.&nbsp;<span style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-family: Arial;">After I graduate I am really interested in designing aged-care facilities for people suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's.&nbsp; A mentor told me her personal design story regarding an old woman with Alzheimer’s who would forget to eat. The poor old woman would have to be tube-fed every few days to keep her alive, which was terribly distressing for the patient, the patient’s family and the staff. My mentor said that she thought research-based design could alleviate this problem, so she designed a central kitchen where patients could roll up in their wheelchairs and see, smell and hear their food being prepared. This sensory information - sights, sounds, smells - triggered memories and old habits. My mentor said that within a week of the kitchen being completed the old woman was feeding herself again and no longer needed to be tube-fed.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-family: Arial;">&nbsp;</span>