Positive Ageing Summit announced
A new event on reablement and restorative care aims to help people working in home and community care implement evidence-based practice.
We are thrilled to launch Positive Ageing Summit – a two-day conference where experts, health and aged care professionals, policymakers and consumers will showcase the critical role of allied health and therapy in transforming the outcomes for older Australians.
The conference – hosted by Positive Impact Media and its aged care sector titles Australian Ageing Agenda and Community Care Review – is centred on three core pillars that underpin wellbeing and quality of life: reablement, mental health and nutrition.
Taking place in Adelaide next May, the event will deliver practical sessions on how to translate allied health, therapy and active engagement evidence into practice from prevention to end of life.
Dr Tim Henwood – principal consultant at AgeFIT Solutions and conference advisor – says the evidence shows that reablement and restorative care offer a pathway to independence for older adults regardless of their age, comorbidity or functional capacity, yet it remains underutilised.
“We are seeing more older adults stuck in hospital and in their home. We have an increase in acuity in the community, and we have a shortage of staff to service the ever-increasing demand. We need to do something different, and the answer is reablement and restorative care,” Dr Henwood tells Community Care Review.
Anyone with the will to transform services should attend the event, he says.
“If you are on the board or on the floor, passionate about the client having their best health, and recognise the role that allied health, therapy and engagement has in the promotion of wellbeing, you should attend this event.
“Equally, you should attend if you are sceptical but willing to learn because you see that care is disabling and recognise that if aged care continues to just care, the health crisis will continue to expand.”
Topics to be covered include preventing falls, better dying and the wellbeing and health literacy of the workforce. Delegates will also have opportunities to network with their peers and hear the perspectives of a range of stakeholders including older people and carers.
In addition to Dr Henwood, confirmed speakers at the summit include:
- Dr Jennie Hewitt, a physiotherapist and general manager of clinical research and reablement at aged care provider Whiddon
- Jo Boylan, Clayton Church Homes chief executive officer and co-author of Healthcare Insights: The Voice of the Consumer; the Provider and the Work Design.
“From prevention to death, reablement and restorative care are the only countermeasures we have in our tool kit that improves health, function, quality of life, and reduces hospitalisation and carer burden,” says Dr Henwood. “Be part of the revolution.”
Positive Ageing Summit takes place at Hilton Adelaide on 28 and 29 May 2025.
Register and find out more at positiveageingsummit.com.au
Send all speaking and sponsorship enquiries to info@positiveageingsummit.com.au
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