Dementia Hero: Dr Bill Thomas

Dr. Bill Thomas is an author, entrepreneur, musician and physician whose wide-ranging work explores the vast terrain of human ageing. He is the founder of a global non-profit The Eden Alternative – dedicated to creating real quality of life for the elderly – and best known for his incredible healthcare system innovations in America and across the world, as well as being the creator of The Green House, a revolutionary form of small care home in the US.

He is now working to transform the acute care services provided to the elderly, while travelling America sharing his ideas on ageing. While attendees of his talks might be expecting Powerpoint slides and an hour-long monologue, what he actually delivers is a multimedia extravaganza, where he uses a host of props to drive home his point about how we see ageing, and how we must change our mindset: “I show up with a guitar, a bass player, a theatre set, costumes, music, art, mythology, storytelling, biography, and neuroscience all mixed up,” he says.

He has been described as one of the nation’s ‘Top 10 innovators’, changing the future of retirement in America and recently starred in the Sundance award-winning documentary Alive Inside. Crucially, throughout all his work, he challenges the negative stereotypes about ageing in the hopes of changing the narrative. “It’s the story that matters,” he says. “How people interpret their experience goes a long way to determining their wellbeing. So I decided to go out into the world and start changing the story of ageing.”

He also recently developed the Disrupt Dementia tour – a first-of-its kind event, which invites people living with dementia and those who care about them to experience the power of music and storytelling to deepen human connections, increase resilience and the ability to live well with cognitive change.

“It is the tragedy narrative of dementia, not dementia itself, which causes isolation and loneliness,” he says.

You can watch his inspirational Ted Talk here, and find out more here.