Last week was all about education and connection, in Australia and abroad!
Earlier in the week I was lucky to join the global HUR team to take part in the Finland–Indonesia seminar on “Strength Training, Digital Rehabilitation and Healthy Ageing” held in Jakarta.
From left to right: Dr. Hilmi Zadah Faidullah and Opifia Dian ; Parmono Dwi Putro, President, IFI;
Assistant Professor Yulisna Mutia Sari
The event was organised in collaboration with JAMK University of Applied Sciences, the Indonesian Physiotherapy Association (IFI), and HUR, with the purpose of exchanging knowledge and exploring the many opportunities for future collaboration in rehabilitation, research and innovation.
The program included a number of guest speakers, Dr. Eeva Aartolahti, Dr. Yulisna Mutia Sari, Minna Eriksen, Dr. Hilmi Zadah Faidullah and myself, discussing evidence-based strength training and active ageing, the opportunities for digital rehabilitation and human-centered AI solutions, the identification of pathways for scalable implementation and sustainable service development, as well as collaboration between Indonesian and Finnish partners.
From left to right: Dr. Tuire Karaharju-Huisman; Dr. Hilmi Zadah Faidullah; Opifia Dian; Dr. Eeva Aartolahti, Institute of Rehabilitation, JAMK; Minna Eriksen, Institute of Rehabilitation, JAMK;
H.E. Ville Tavio, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Finland
The Panel discussion “Advancing Strength Training, Healthy Ageing and Rehabilitation Innovation in Indonesia” had representatives from the ministry of Health, as well as the ministry of Social Affairs. Ageing population is a global discussion point and it was interesting to hear about the different view on health care.
It was an honour to part to be of this panel with the representatives from several ministries; to learn about the care models and future plans for health care. It was a wonderful conversation that taught me so much about a model where family, kindness and care are the centre. What a privilege!
We were honoured by the presence of H.E. Ville Tavio, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, and H.E. Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury, Ambassador-designate of Finland to Indonesia. Their presence at the event emphasized the importance of the discussions, and also further strengthened the relations between the two countries and the organisations.
It was a privilege to be part of this event – as a speaker and as a panelist. It was wonderful to see the collaboration Indonesia and Finland, and to see the knowledge share that leads into continuing in collaboration in research and innovation, as well as better care in both countries.
It was wonderful to see HUR Australia participating in this event, and to know that we are part of the rehabilitation opportunity in Indonesia. Whilst reablement is well established in Australia with government funding supporting for active ageing, the care models do not yet support exercise and medicine in Indonesia.
From left to right: Team members from GEA Medical and HUR Global team with organiser Opifia Dian; HUR CEO Mats Mandebacka, H.E. Ville Tavio, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, and H.E. Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury, Ambassador-designate of Finland to Indonesia; Pasi Rajander, Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On the second day in Jakarta, we got to spend a day with the GEA Medical team, the distributors of HUR in Indonesia. It was wonderful to meet with the sales and technical teams and discuss the HUR methodology and technology, as well as the many opportunities HUR equipment offer to rehabilitation in hospitals, sport, specialist medical fields, and aged care, among others.
Like for many countries around the world, chronic diseases are national problem in Indonesia. Chronic diseases, mainly non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, are the reason behind almost 76% of all deaths in Indonesia, accounting about 60% of the national health insurance.
The inclusion of exercise is a necessity when battling the impact of Chronic diseases, thus it is of importance to maximise the many ways exercise assists in health management and disease prevention. Thus, it is wonderful to see HUR equipment now distributed via GEA Medical, an Indonesian leader in medical equipment distribution. With the business supported by professional experts and experienced technicians as well as a large network of authorized distributors and representatives, the GEA team is committed to providing high-quality products and service for customers.
It was a great day of education and connection, discussing the technical and clinical features of the equipment and ecosystem, as well as a briefing of the research evidence that supports the use of strength training as part of a good rehabilitation program.
It was also great to work together with HUR’s tech team, Hannu Rauhala and Juho Karhula, to see how the global support teams are trained. It was wonderful to be invited to be part of this and to meet the team.
HUR Australia Day
The education continued when I returned to Australia. After many years of thinking about it, we decided that the time was right for our first HUR Australia Day.
From left to right: Team HUR Australia – Mateusz Dominikowski, Lassi Ruutu, Dorothy Dominikowska, Tuire Karaharju-Huisman and Agnes Antecka; Our guest speakers Richelle Street and Justin Keogh.
The purpose of the seminar afternoon was to meet with our clients, to share the most up-to-date knowledge on the research evidence and clinical experiences, as well as introduce everyone to our new products and software solutions. It was also an opportunity for us to introduce our users to our full team. Usually, they see our names on emails, or meet us over the phone, but this time it was a real face-to-face meet!
We are so grateful that Avanti Health, led by their CEO Darryl Grundy, welcomed us to host the event at their Southport facility, providing us with a wonderful space for the presentations, but also the ability to try out the equipment.
We were so happy to have our external presenters. Professor Justin Keogh is an exercise scientist and is the Associate Dean of Research and the Head of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University. Justin’s talk “Research evidence for building and maintaining health as we age” nicely presented the many aspects of research findings that guide us to appropriate exercise prescription, as well as the psychological aspects of engaging and maintaining exercise attendance.
Richelle Street is as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist with 15 years of work experience in Aged Care, currently coordinating the Exercise Physiology Allied Health Discipline within Blue Care. Richelle’s work ethics is strongly built around passion, compassion and dedication, clearly seen throughout her presentation, “Stronger today, independent tomorrow: Transforming Lives Through Exercise Physiology in Aged Care”. So many great insights on engagement, appropriate personal details and progressions, and kindness that works!
Avanti Health’s exercise physiologists Tanner Zeytinli and Dirk Van Zyl, talked about the benefits of exercise for people over 50, and how Avanti makes this work, including services and patient journeys. With six sites in Queensland and Victoria, these staff members have many stories to share.
HUR Australia’s technical super team, Mateusz and Lassi, presented to everyone the novel aspects that HUR has introduced this year – HUR Cardio, HUR Health Station, our new Smart Touch Screen, also including new training aspects.
These new features and equipment complete the HUR Ecosystem and give new aspects that can guide training and give another level of motivation when reaching for goals.
Apart from the talks and training, it was great to see everyone chatting – discussing models, searching for knowledge and experiences, making new friends and just having a chat. The room was filled by people who share a passion and mission for better health for all Australians!
It was such a great afternoon! We want to thank everyone who came along and made the day what it was. It matters to us that we go a journey together – that we don’t just deliver equipment but rather continue the connection over the years. A journey where we want to see all the sites grow stronger, providing the best service to all the users.
New research evidence is published continuously, covering many areas from physiology and exercise modalities to psychology and quality of life as well as finance management. We want to share this knowledge, and we are lucky to have great friends who are happy to come along and share their insights. May this day be the first of many more to come!
Knowledge is power! It is the backbone of excellence in clinical practice and exercise modalities, but also a point of connection – something that brings us together to discuss and explore the possibilities! There are so many people with a strong passion for sharing the benefits of exercise, guiding everyone to a better health, supporting everyone to live a life with activity.
Best wishes,
Dr Tuire Karaharju-Huisman
Physiotherapist, Accredited Exercise Physiologist (ESSAM), PhD (Biomechanics)
Research Lead, Area Account Manager (Vic, Tas, SA, NT, WA)
