Pat Braden 1948-2021
Amanda Bidnall is paying tribute to the life and legacy of her mother, Pat Braden by enhancing mental health care in Nova Scotia. Following her mother’s death in April 2021, Bidnall encouraged friends and family to make a gift to the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia to help improve the quality of care for clients of the Geriatric Psychiatry Acute Inpatient Unit (GPAIU), formerly known as Willow Hall. GPAIU is a mental health unit which provides care for seniors with a new onset of mental illness, or individuals of any age with dementia and complicated medical and/or psychological symptoms.
“Willow Hall is so much more than a wing of the Nova Scotia Hospital. It is a home, a social centre, and an anchor for people who are trying to find their footing in a changing mental and physical world,” says Amanda. “I wanted to make sure the funds would go directly to allow improvements that would not otherwise be budgeted by the province.”
Diagnosed with a combination of frontal temporal lobe dementia and Alzheimer’s, her mother’s case was unique. She was still physically active and verbally astute, but her decision-making abilities and emotional intuition were damaged. Amanda believes GPAIU was the best possible place for her at that vulnerable time in the progression of her illness.
“She received unparalleled care and supervision—not only because it is a small facility with an extraordinarily high staff-to-patient ratio, but because everyone working there was a specialist in their field,” Amanda notes. “The nurses and therapists draw on incredible reserves of education, experience, and empathy to understand their patients, work with and celebrate their personalities, and meet them where they at when it comes to the toughest mental health issues. Residents like Mom are just as much the unique and fabulous individuals as they ever were—they deserve as much respect and enrichment as we can offer.”
The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is dedicated to increasing financial support to mental health initiatives that provide hope and eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction, including programming within Nova Scotia Health that does not receive funding from capital or operating budgets. Since 2015, the Foundation has provided nearly $130,000 to enhance programming at the GPAIU through the Seniors Enhanced Quality of Life grant.
“There is so much more that goes into mental health than our health care system can provide,” says Starr Cunningham, President & CEO of the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia. “The smell of fresh bread, a salty sea breeze blowing through your hair, vocal harmonies that give you goosebumps- these moments bring meaning to our lives and the Foundation is proud to fund these many initiatives that bring excitement and enjoyment to inpatients.”
Funded in partnership with the Windsor Foundation, the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia has provided funding for a series of recreation therapy initiatives including the Wandering Garden, Cooking and Baking Programs, Mental Aerobics, Physical Fitness Sessions, Music Therapy- many of which Amanda’s mother benefited from directly.
“She had far more frequent and meaningful social interactions, preferring to spend her time in the common area rather than her room. When Mom was still mobile and the music therapist came out to play her guitar, Mom was the first one on her feet. One nurse told me that one day she heard a commotion down the hall and discovered our mother was getting the other residents up on the [dance] floor. “I have never seen some of those people dance before,” she remarked. It warmed the cockles of my heart to see Mom’s personality and sociability shine.”
If you would like pay tribute to someone you love or learn more about legacy giving to the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia visit mentalhealthns.ca