Positive Ageing Summit brings allied health to the fore
The inaugural and much-anticipated Positive Ageing Summit will upskill the sector this May, with early bird savings now available for individuals plus small and large group discounted tickets.
Set to become a cornerstone for shaping the future of aged care, Positive Ageing Summit takes to Adelaide from 28-29 May with a packed program of experts, pioneers and innovators exploring a holistic and evidence-based approach to better ageing.
Over 30 industry leaders will share their expertise and experiences and debate the big issues via more than 20 interactive sessions over two days. These include keynote addresses, panel discussions and multiple networking opportunities for delegates to converse with their peers.
With a focus on allied health, reablement and advancements in business practices, and the support of industry partners including platinum sponsor Bolton Clarke, the event aims to spark collaboration and empower participants to achieve better outcomes in aged care.
Key sessions include Allied Health and Aged Care; Dementia: Evidence-Based Reablement and Outcomes; Reablement and Restorative Care across the Sector; Wellbeing and health literacy of workforce; and Retirement living, environment, and independence.
Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & VIC) chief executive officer David Moran, OneCare chief executive officer Peter Williams, Clayton Church Homes chief executive officer Jo Boylan, and Retirement Living Council executive director Daniel Gannon are among the sector’s leaders taking to the stage at Positive Ageing Summit.
Inspiring speakers
With older people’s wellbeing an overall focus of the conference, Associate Professor Justin Keogh from Bond University will set the scene on day one with his keynote on a holistic approach to healthy ageing.
An exercise scientist whose research focuses on better understanding the relationship between muscle mass, strength and physical performance in athletes and seniors at risk of poor health outcomes, Associate Professor Keogh will share his academic journey creating progressive evidence around exercise for older adults.
He’ll also focus on other impactful research in his presentation including positive evidence about exercise, uptake trends and the impacts of low participation on individuals and the health system.
All allied health disciplines are at the fore of Positive Ageing Summit, and who better to give an update on the state of play in this area than the nation’s Chief Allied Health Officer, Anita Hobson-Powell.
Ms Hobson-Powell has spent almost two decades working in associations, advocating for recognition and access to allied health professions, and establishing the quality assurances of self-regulation for health professions.
Appointed Chief Allied Health Officer in June last year, her role includes supporting the Department of Health and Aged Care to raise awareness of the value of allied health care and promote its inclusion in policies, programs and reforms.
Thought-provoking panel discussions
Day one also brings together allied health experts and practitioners Dr Claire Gough, Dr Tim Henwood and Simon Kerrigan for a sure to be spirited and engaging discussion on what reablement and restorative care can look like across the aged care sector.
The three panellists will bring their backgrounds in physiotherapy and exercise physiology and professional lived experiences of implementing reablement initiatives in residential, home and short-term restorative care programs to show what’s possible – think gyms, Olympic challenges and exercise-first approaches.
In addition to looking at the guidelines for the incoming Support at Home program, the discussion will explore the opportunities, potential outcomes, and risks of not embedding reablement and restorative practices.
Other panels during the event will explore how to overcome barriers to exercise participation among older Australia, strategies to boost independence in the retirement living settings and how to bring all the learnings together to achieve positive ageing.
Network with experts and peers
The event kicks off at 8am on Wednesday 28 May with refreshments and the chance to mingle during registration and day one closes with a two-hour evening cocktail reception.
The conference resumes from 8am on Thursday 29 May in the Grand Ballroom, where delegates can again converse over refreshments or join the reablement-themed breakfast masterclass hosted by Dementia Support Australia.
Additionally, both days provide several breaks throughout the program for conference participants to meet, catch up and converse over delicious food and beverages.
PAS MC: Jess Adamson
Positive Ageing Summit will be emceed by award winning journalist, event facilitator and South Australian local speaker Jess Adamson.
Forging a reputation as one of the state’s finest journalists after 24 years in television news, Ms Adamson is a board member of the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation and the Adelaide Crows Foundation.
She’s also a passionate ambassador for CanTeen – the Australian organisation for young people living with cancer – and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Summit addresses identified gap
Positive Ageing Summit targets a gap in knowledge and programs related to allied health and older people that will be of increased focus in incoming aged care policy.
The event aims to ensure that aged care professionals have access to the evidence-based strategies they can adopt to meet the growing demand for independence modifying and high-quality, person-centred care as recommended by the aged care royal commission.
Early bird tickets offering a saving of $300 are available until 31 March 2025 and include the two-day conference program, refreshments, breaks and networking event.Book now.
Positive Ageing Summit is an initiative of Australian Ageing Agenda and Community Care Review
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