Global Speakers

Rebecca is the Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Health Research, an independent, not-for-profit public policy research institute specializing in performance, policy and productivity reform across Health, disability and ageing sectors. Rebecca is also an External Advisory Board Member with The Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research (QPS) at Deakin University. Rebecca, an experienced health strategist and health communicator, is a recipient of the Victorian Women’s Governance Scholarship from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and the office of Women’s Affairs of the Department of Health Services, Victorian Government. She is the founder of www.DeathOverDinner.org.au in Australia and has published on the importance of creating choice in End of Life Care through conversations.

At her incumbent position in St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, a facility of St Vincent’s Health Australia, Australia’s largest Catholic not-for-profit health and aged care provider,  Jenny is also the head of St Vincent’s Palliative Care Consultancy Service and Co-Deputy Director of the Centre for Palliative Care, a collaborative centre of the University of Melbourne. Her extensive research and clinical experience in Palliative Care has largely contributed to her developing models of palliative care for particular disease types.

Associate Professor Brian is the director of Palliative Care at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, including the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The Royal Melbourne Hospital. Brian is a specialist in both Palliative Medicine and Medical Oncology, and is an Associate Professor of the University of Melbourne. Brian is the current Chair of the Training Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, responsible for training of all palliative medicine specialists in Australia and New Zealand. Brian is involved with many other Commonwealth and State governmental and not-for-profit organisations concerning Palliative Care, and is a past chairman of Palliative Care Victoria. Brian is involved with research in the areas of palliative and supportive care, including clinical trials of novel therapies, and research into palliative care integration and benefits for patients and carers.

Professor Paul is the Chief of the Pain and Palliative Care Service and Attending Physician in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC). Prior to his current roles, Paul was head of Palliative Care at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) and Sydney, South West Area Health Service. In addition, he was also the Director of Statewide Centre to Improve Palliative Care and the President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) as well as the NSW Society of Palliative Medicine. As an Associate Editor of the textbook Palliative Medicine, Paul has published more than 60 peer reviewed articles on clinical practice of Palliative Care including pain therapies, opioid pharmacology and many more.

Ilsa Hampton has extensive experience in the strategic integration of pastoral and spiritual care in aged care. Prior to joining Meaningful Ageing Australia, Ilsa worked for 8 years at Baptcare in a number of senior roles; and held various sector positions such as Chair of the multi-faith Diploma of Pastoral Care and Ageing Committee, and Chair of Spiritual Health Victoria’s Aged Care Advisory Group. Also, Ilsa has a long-standing interest in how life’s inevitable losses can be creatively and gently supported in the lives of professionals, volunteers, organizations, and those they are serving.

Regarded as one of Australia’s most innovative health and aged care providers, HammondCare founded the Dementia Centre in 1995. With the aim to improve quality of life for people living with dementia, Dementia Centre of HammondCare is recognized both nationally and internationally as a leading resource and research centre for aged care.

Marie Alford is the Head of Implementation for the Dementia Centre, HammondCare leading the development of the national Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Services and Severe Behaviour Response Teams. Previously heading up operations for the Dementia Centre, HammondCare she led the development.

Marie has lectured and tutored at Universities, worked in research and advocacy and presented at major dementia and aged care conferences in Australia and internationally and led the development of a range of innovative dementia training and education resources and packages including www.isitdementia.com.au

With such a strong foundation for her work, Marie is committed to ensuring that all people have access to information and support to enable them to make informed decisions that can positively affect their lives. Of equal importance is the translation of consumer needs and experiences into training and education opportunities. She is passionate about supporting human rights and equality – dementia is a disease that affects almost every family in Australia and doesn’t discriminate against gender, race, age or sexuality.

The future holds many challenges for the care and support of people living with dementia and Marie is looking forward to working with existing and new caregivers and service providers to challenge and change care practices to create better lives for people living with dementia.

A cultural change expert Madeline is passionate not only about ensuring Lifeview’s residents receive the highest quality of life but also about leading and changing the industry for the betterment of all. A visionary thinker Madeline encourages her team to challenge the traditional model of aged care and introduce more innovative care and lifestyle practices.

Having led Lifeview’s senior management team since 2008 Madeline over 15 years management experience in residential aged care, previously holding senior roles with Blue Cross, Third Age and the Sisters of Mercy.

The winner of the 2016 SACS Consulting – Leadership of the Year Award, and a finalist in Ageing Asia’s Changemaker of the Year Award, Madeline’s modern leadership style see’s Lifeview at the forefront of innovative partnerships with organisations such as Alzheimer’s Australia Vic., on projects such as The Virtual Forest and the Better Visit Program.

Under Madeline’s leadership Lifeview, and a number of its staff, have been recognized for their innovative work and commitment to best practice including being named LASA Vic Large Provider of the Year 2015, LASA Vic Employee of the Year 2015, Australian Aged Care Quality Association – Better Practice Award 2013 for its Positive Ageing Celebration, Ageing Asia Best Active Ageing Program 2016 – Positive Ageing Celebration, and LASA Vic Community Inclusiveness Award 2016 – for work within the LGBTI and multicultural communities.

With close to 25 years’ experience within healthcare, David sits on a number of advisory groups for government, peak bodies and aged care providers. His experiences in a variety of both for-profit and not-for-profit aged care settings across Australasia have enabled him to provide experts advice relating to service planning, governance, sustainability, efficiency and expansion. As a Registered Nurse with post graduate clinical qualifications and an MBA, together with his experience in operational, business development and executive roles, David has the unique ability of applying clinical, governance and business metrics to the aged care environment.

Assoc Prof Bill Silvester was the founder and Director of Respecting Patient Choices from 2002 until the end of 2015, was the Chair of Decision Assist and is the Immediate Past President of the International Society of Advance Care Planning and End of Life Care. As an intensive care specialist he chairs the Australian & New Zealand Intensive Care Society Death and Organ Donation Committee and the Australian & New Zealand Intensive Care Society End-of-Life Committee.

Dr Rodney Syme has practiced medicine for more than fifty years, primarily as a urological surgeon, and has had extensive clinical experience with cancer patients and people with spinal injuries. That experience has led to his view that people with unbearable and unrelievable suffering should have the right to seek and obtain medical assistance to end their life with dignity and to choose the time, place and manner of their death.

Rodney regularly appears in the media as a key spokesperson of the movement for law reform including several articles in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and appearances on QandA and The Project.

Most recently, his case before VCAT generated a lot of media attention, when VCAT ruled in favour of Dr Syme’s actions in counselling a man suffering from the latter stages of a terminal illness. In determining that Dr Syme’s practises and counselling are intended to relieve suffering and not primarily aimed at ending a person’s life, VCAT ultimately found that Dr Syme’s practises are not a risk or a danger to the community. This is a landmark ruling from a legal body such as VCAT.

In his role as an advocate for voluntary assisted dying, Rodney is recognised as an authority on counselling patients on end of life matters. He also oversees the submissions to government departments and Inquiries made by Dying With Dignity Victoria, of which he is Vice President.

Danny Vadasz is the CEO of Health Issues Centre (HIC) the leading consumer health advocacy body in Victoria.

Danny’s background is in consumer engagement and communications across a range of sectors including health, environment, local government, telecommunications and consumer goods.

HIC operates in the aged care sector to canvass and represent consumer needs, priorities and fears around end of life issues. In particular, HIC seeks to gain a better understanding of the barriers discouraging public discourse about end of life and has pioneered the use of social media as a research tool. In 2016, HIC created and curated a performance art event “Unspoken: What Will Become of Me?” to provide a safe space for consumers to ponder the consequences of physical and cognitive ageing and decline.

Danny currently serves on several government advisory committees addressing legislative reform and implementation around palliative care, advance care planning and voluntary assisted death.

Professor Johanna Westbrook, is Director of the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University. She is internationally recognized for her research evaluating the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) in health care. She has over 390 publications and been awarded > $40M in research grants. Johanna has led important research in the development and application of approaches to evaluate ICT, including new tools and methods which have been adopted internationally. She has contributed to theoretical models regarding the design of complex multi-method ICT evaluations. Her research has led to significant advances in our understanding of how clinical information systems deliver (or fail to deliver) expected benefits and supported translation of this evidence into policy, practice, and IT system changes. Johanna is currently leading research investigating the role and impact of ICT in the community and aged care sector. Johanna is an elected International Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, and an Associate Editor of JAMIA. In 2014 she was named Australian ICT professional of the year by the Australian Information Industry Association for her research contributions. In 2016 she was appointed by the Federal Minister for Health to the Board of the Australian Digital Health Agency.

Stuart Shaw is a seasoned presenter at local, national and international conferences including the US, Austria and most part of Australia, particularly focusing on values and culture as key requirement for a successful and healthy workforce. As the former President of the Retirement Villages Association (Victoria), former Vice President of the Aged Care (Victoria) as well as former Chairperson of the Peninsula Care Planning Group and convenor of the Workforce Innovation Network for the Region, Stuart will be joining the upcoming IAHSA Global Ageing Conference in Switzerland.

Fiona Onslow is the Director of State Operations at The District Nurses in Tasmania. Fiona is a Registered Nurse with a Post-Graduate in Family and Community Health. Fiona has worked in rural, regional and metropolitan facilities during her 19 year career in nursing and management positions. She is the recipient of the 2015 Aged Care Bursary to attend an International SAGE Tour, the National finalist for HESTA Nursing Awards Team Innovation 2015, and her organisation were Awarded 2014 Aged Care Organisation of the year. Fiona has had two publications in 2016 firstly on a participatory care model that supports connectedness and mental health outcomes in community-dwelling older people and secondly in regards to an after hours model for palliative care helping people remain in their home and reducing the burden the ambulance and emergency departments.

Anthony has background in technology focusing on telehealthcare. Since 2013 he has lead the client technology department to deliver emergency response solutions and developed our safe and smart home offering nationally to over 3000 clients. Additionally, Feros Care have now managed over 500 clients using MHCAH Telehealth, vital signs monitored with Video Conferencing, between Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to Joining Feros Care in 2012, Anthony held management positions in the construction and hospitality industry specializing in technology focused customer service.

Clinical Associate Professor Peter Shine is a Gomeroi man from north-western NSW. He has worked and been involved in Aboriginal health and social emotional wellbeing for many years. He is currently the Director of Aboriginal Health Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD). He wrote the NSLHD Aboriginal Health Services Plan 2013-2016. www.nslhd.health.nsw.gov.au This is the very first Aboriginal Health Plan written for NSLHD.

He is a member of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) and a member of The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples.  Peter’s professional specialities are Aboriginal Health, Aboriginal Social Emotional Well Being, The Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health, The Social Determinants of Health and Health Promotion. As a member of the Stolen Generations Peter has faced the reality of the trauma associated with being taken at 10 years of age. He is a strong advocate for Aboriginal health equity, Aboriginal people and dismantling Institutional and individual racism from all societies. Peter is married to Jo, a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. They have three adult children. He enjoys his vegetable garden, painting, playing the piano and guitar. He also plays cricket at grade level.

Paula has a background in General Nursing with extensive clinical and management experience in both community and residential aged care sectors.

Paula has had a focus on the quality of life of older people throughout her career; her passion is to drive the type of change, both policy and in practice, that will really make a difference to the quality of life of older Australians.

Paula joined Benetas in 2007 and has held a number of roles within the organization including Regional Residential Services Manager and General Manager of Community Services. She now has responsibility for all aspects of Benetas’ residential aged care division and the delivery of the organisation’s strategic quality management framework.

Samantha Edmonds is leading the Australia’s National Aged Care Projects of the LGBTI Health Alliance, identifying current opportunities and making recommendations for sector engagement in the National Aged Care strategy. She is the representative of the National LGBTI Health Alliance at state and National forums, promulgating a LGBTI inclusive elderly care practice.

Tim is the CEO of Homestyle Aged Care. He joined Homestyle in January 2014 and brings with him over 13 years of health experience including 11 years within aged care. Prior to Homestyle Tim was CEO of Provider Assist, a large aged care consulting service. With over 20 years of business experience the variety of the roles he has fulfilled include, finance – up to CFO, IT up to CIO, Project manager, Recruitment specialist and CEO most recently. He has worked across a variety of industries including: materials handling, acute health, logistics, recruitment, aged care, community/home care, and disability services. Tim has worked within privately owned, publicly listed and not for profit organizations.

Tim is currently a Director, and on the audit and finance committee for the Victorian Cytology Service; and sits on the school council of the Wattle Park Primary School.

Matiu Bush is Design Integration Lead at RSL Care + RDNS, one of Australia’s largest independent not-for-profit service providers of health, wellbeing, aged care and retirement living. Matiu is part of an accelerator network that helps people across the business to generate, test and implement ideas for transforming the customer experience. Matiu has a Master’s degree in Public Health and broad clinical and managerial nursing experience, including working in Tijuana Mexico in international boarder aid, emergency, oncology, intensive care nursing and is a sexual health nurse practitioner. After working in system redesign Matiu has embraced design thinking to transform healthcare through creative problem-solving, and incorporating customer and employee insights into every step of the improvement and innovation cycle.