ACAA 2011 Congress Call for Papers
Get your submission now to give a presentation at the 2011 ACAA Annual Conference.
By Stephen Easton
Aged care stakeholders take note: Aged Care Association Australia (ACAA) is now accepting submissions for their 2011 Annual Congress, being held this November on the Gold Coast.
ACAA president Brian Dorman issued the invitation yesterday to anyone who would like to contribute “to ensure this event continues as a major exchange of ideas and networking for aged care providers”.
Prospective presenters are asked to submit an abstract for their 20-minute presentation in 250 words or less, plus a 100-word profile of the presenting author by 5pm on Friday, March 4, and must aim to fit into one of four categories.
Topics are Productivity Commission Review and Reform, Innovative Service Models, Community and a panel session titled Residential Care, Community Care and Retirement Living Interface.
The major focus of the conference will be on discussing the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for reform, the impact this is likely to have on service delivery in the future and the Australian Government’s response to the findings, according to ACAA CEO Rod Young.
Mr Young said the long term impact of the report inspired this year’s theme, “Magical Mystery Tour – the long and winding road”, and he listed some of the questions aged care stakeholders could help participants to work through at the congress:
“What are the risks and opportunities for the industry, will it continue to drive consolidation and will it truly deliver a continuum of care model and support people receiving care at various locations such as home, retirement living or residential care?”
“We are on a magical mystery tour with the PC report,” Mr Young said. “Lots of discussions are taking place in the industry about what it all means.”
“We are on a journey and it is a long and winding road, because we’re talking about much of this not taking place until five to ten years from now. Lots of these changes will need to be managed.”
The panel discussion will address another major shift taking place – the convergence of retirement living and residential aged care – which is seeing many retirement living providers source aged care services to allow their residents to stay for longer.
The other two categories look at how innovations in technology might change the care options available to consumers, and why Australians so strongly prefer to stay in their own homes rather than move into a retirement village or aged care facility.
This year is ACAA’s 30th Annual Congress, marking a significant milestone for the organisation.
For more details about the ACAA 2011 Congress Call for Papers including abstract specifications, and submission guidelines, please contact ACQ Conference + Event Management on 07 3725 5555 or email acaa2011@acqi.org.au.
