The inaugural Positive Ageing Summit was set to inspire collaboration, share evidence-based strategies, and empower participants to achieve better outcomes in aged care.
The event truly delivered its promise – from the moment of entering the conference everyone knew that they were surrounded by like-minded people, people who believe that positivity matters, who believe that everyone deserves to age well! Every presenter of keynote addresses, panel discussions and interactive workshops, discussed their clinical experiences, research evidence, and lived experience, discussing the best ways to support patient centred care.
Every speaker brought in valuable information and this blog will only cover a few sessions, rather give some snippets on some of the content. The journalist team of Australian Ageing Agenda (AAA) published fantastic articles as the Summit progressed, you can find all articles via this link. There are also many additional conference specific articles that you can find at the end of this blog.
From left to right – Dr Justin Keogh, Associate Professor – Bond University; Anita Hobson-Powell, Chief Allied Health Officer – Department of Health, Disability and Ageing; Dr Jennie Hewitt, General Manager – Clinical Research & Reablement, Whiddon; Christina Wyatt, Professional Practice Advisor – Occupational Therapy Australia; Jo Boylan, Chief Executive Officer – Clayton Church Homes
Day one started with the keynote presentation from Dr Justin Keogh, who set the tone of the event, discussing the importance of reablement and allied health, summarising the research evidence that supports the effect that exercise, and strength training have towards our health, wellness and quality of life. This message was emphasized by many speakers and panellists, really enforcing that Restorative care must be default approach.
Anita Hobson-Powell emphasized the role of allied health in ageing well.
“We are critical to effective delivery of health services particularly in prevention, management, treatment of chronic and complex conditions”.
“Our unique skills, knowledge and dedications are invaluable to the healthcare system.”
She also defined some core components of positive ageing and holistic health, consisting of mental, physical, emotional and social wellbeing. “Everyone, regardless of their age or health care status, has the right to experience a meaningful, filled life with dignity and purpose and wellbeing. Individuals receiving aged care services are entitled to this right.” You can ready a summary of Anita’s speech here.
The importance and opportunity of allied health professionals was further emphasized by many keynote speakers and discussion panels throughout the day, as discussed in this article in the Australia Ageing Agenda. The day was filled with brilliant speakers who all discussed the importance of allied health from retirement to end of life care.
Both panels, “Overcoming Barriers – the Allied Health Perspective” and “Reablement and Restorative Care across the sector” were made of a variety allied health professionals, truly reflecting the value of every profession, and the importance of the collaboration of an allied health team, supporting the person in the middle. Some of the discussions can found via these articles:
- Allied health not an ‘optional extra’
- Characteristics of multidisciplinary care
- Restorative care must be default approach
Jo Boylan’s talk “Mobilising Till End of Life” presented the role of positivity, mobility and activity while Kate Weger discussed better dying. Dr Jennie Hewitt changed the scope of falls prevention with the results from her earlier Sunbeam study providing the clear evidence for strength and balance exercises, now creating new models for positive, fall-free ageing at Whiddon.
From left to right – Dr Rajna Ogrin, Senior Research Fellow of Bolton Clarke; Anne Burgess Chair of the Council of Elders – Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and Judith Leeson Director of Vector Consultants; Pete Williams, Chief Executive Officer – OneCare; Dr. Chris Bollen Director – Bollen Health
Day two started with a breakfast session discussing the best dementia care practices. The panel, moderated by Marie Alford summarised some of the key points in quality care stating that dementia care requires carers and medical professionals to go back to basics and know the person, move away from overcomplicating care and prioritise person-centred care.
Hammond Care general manager Dr Duncan McKellar talked about medications, the lived environed and the journey lived by those affected by dementia.
“We need to have people who are able to come and walk alongside them rather than stand in front of them and tell them what to do.”
This was such a powerful breakfast session, summarised in this article.
The voice of consumers was presented by Vector Consultants director Judith Leeson and Council of Elders chair Anne Burgess, with the latter describing her formula for good ageing to be “two P’s and an F,” standing for purpose, people and fun. Both speakers emphasized the importance of purpose, and the importance of getting to know the people you care for, and always delivering care with compassion, with kindness and with empathy.
It is important to focus of patient centred care, allow people to be heard and to be part of the decision-making process. “Older people need the platform, need the opportunity, need to feel competent, need to feel that people want to listen to us and value our opinions – and that we can be influential,” said Ms Burgess.
It was great to catch up with people at the HUR booth. On the right image (From left): Natalie Galligani, SCC Inc; Dorothy Dominikowska, HUR Australia; Sally Uren, SCC Inc.; Dr Jennie Hewitt; Dr Justin Keogh
Dr Chris Bollen continued the message that first keynote speaker Dr Justin Keogh started, including exercise in the treatment plan. Dr Bollen in a general practitioner who truly supports Positive Ageing, and stated in an interview by Australia Ageing Agenda that “Positive ageing is more than just a philosophy – it’s a proactive approach to supporting older individuals in leading healthy, engaged and meaningful lives. For community aged care providers, embedding positive ageing practices means reshaping mindsets and services to focus on capability, not just care.”
The final panel of the summit was about retirement, moderated by Marcus Riley. I was privileged to sit down with Daniel Gannon, Executive Director – Retirement Living Council and Chief Executive Officer – Southern Cross Care. It is a changing industry with the retirement villages being recognised as places that can provide federally funded care under the new Aged Care Act being a significant acknowledgement of their role in the continuum of care for older people, says Retirement Living Council executive director Daniel Gannon.
If done well, “retirement villages can help alleviate pressure on overrun health and aged care systems by allowing older Australians to receive care in the communities they love.” At the end of the panel Marcus asked us all to give our hopes for the future, My hope was that we can provide everyone the best health and maximise the healthy years by providing appropriate facilities and allied health support.
The Positive Ageing Summit was a true success, and the organisers delivered what they set to do; the summit was filled with conversation on the best ways to age, from our fifties to the end of life. The speaker line up was brilliant and consisted of managers, clinicians, researchers, consumers, community advocates with one thing in common – positive mindset and passion for the best practice that leads to the highest quality of life! The wide range of topics discussed was carefully selected, allowing the conversation to include even the toughest topics, such as dying, in a positive, caring manner.
Catch Ups at HUR Booth. From left to right – Mark Ryu, Commercial manager, AAA; Dr Tuire Karaharju-Huisman, HUR Australia; Dr Jennie Hewitt; Dr Justin Keogh; Isabel King, ESSA
After the two symposia days, we also had an opportunity to visit sites that have truly put Positive Ageing in Practice. We first headed to the Adelaide Hills, to the Clayton Church Homes – Summerhill Residential Care Home, set amongst the vineyards on a ridge overlooking the Uraidla township and the serene Piccadilly Valley, offering residential aged care home that’s designed to offer high quality, person-centred, positive ageing care in a welcoming and supportive environment.
There are so many things that make this site special, from allied health support and an on-site gym, specialist nursing services, positive ageing experts, and large open spaces, all reflected by the smiles on every resident and staff member that we met during our visit. As said by CEO Jo Boylan, “Providers need to set up a model of care that is health promoting and incorporates healthy ageing actions into everyday living.” Jo’s vision can be clearly seen on site!
Our second visit led us to the beautiful Carmelite by Southern Cross Care Inc. (SA, NT, Vic), where SCC offers residential care, retirement living, Community health & wellness, as well as day therapy. We were welcomed by CEO David Moran who states that
“Every person has the right to experience a good quality of life.”
Carmelite is a beautiful site filled with light and positivity, reflecting the core values that David has set. “Our community-facing health and fitness centres provide allied health, exercise, reablement and restorative care services to thousands of older people each year. Our dementia respite cottages focus on a healthy ageing model that includes exercise, engaging activities and opportunities for clients to participate in activities of daily living,” David had earlier said in an interview with Australian Ageing Agenda.
As we walk away filled with positivity it is time to thank the team behind the event, Australian Ageing Agenda, Community Care Review and Positive Impact Media. A special thank you to Dr Tim Henwood, who has been working with the team to bring together the best speakers to create an agenda that explores every aspect of the industry, and pushes forward every area where allied health and reablement matter.
If you missed the event, you can still read about it. Throughout the article you can find links to articles and interviews by the team of journalists, you can also find them all via this link that collates all articles that relate to the summit.
You can also read a summary of interviews in this event special edition published by Australian Ageing Agenda,
Via this link you can see images and videos from the event. Hopefully these all encourage you to join next year if you missed it – with such great success, this event will definitely run again!
Congratulations to the team from Australian Ageing Agenda for an amazing conference! From left to right: Natasha Eagan, Editor; Katarina Lloyd Jones, Journalist; Shaughan Woodcock, Event Manager; Mark Ryu, Group Commercial Manager
Our mission for better, healthier retirement continues next week in Brisbane, when we will attend the National Retirement Living Summit, by the Property Council of Australia. The topic this year is – Navigating the changing landscape of the retirement industry.
As Australia faces a critical housing shortage and a growing demand for age-friendly communities, retirement communities can enhance the well-being of older Australians, paving the way for healthier, happier futures. We will be happy to discuss the best ways for an extended healthspan at booth 7.
Best wishes,
Dr Tuire Karaharju-Huisman
Physiotherapist, Accredited Exercise Physiologist (ESSAM), PhD (Biomechanics)
Research Lead, Area Account Manager (Vic, Tas, SA, NT)
