Thursday Three - 22 08 2024

• Belonging to a Tribe: AAG Division events - connecting & belonging
• Welcome Christina Micallef to the AAG team
• Mental health webinar series: Episode 4 Mental health presentations in persons with dementia

Belonging to a Tribe: AAG Division events - connecting & belonging

It’s been an exciting time for AAG members with a flurry of multi-disciplinary events to connect and inspire!

• Gerontological Alliance of Nurses Australia (GANA) & AAG co-hosted an online event in celebration of Aged Care Worker Week, titled “Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat: The Magic of Rural and Remote Nurses.”
• It appeared that Tuesday 13^th August was the magic day, with fantastic events across three divisions!
  • AAG Victoria hosted a Vic Member Meet-Up (bring a non-member!), strengthening connections within our AAG family.
  • In NSW, the Student and Early Career Group (SECG) delivered an insightful webinar on Building Your Profile and Crafting Your CV.
  • Over in WA, members enjoyed an event showcasing the research of early-career professionals in ageing.
• South Australia is up next with the much-anticipated SAGe24 tomorrow! And
• AAG Queensland hosting a webinar, Nourishing Wisdom: Nutrition for Older Adults next Tuesday 27^th of August.

Congratulations to the dedicated organising teams for making these events happen and fostering our “tribe” of like-minded professionals.

Missed a webinar? No worries, catch up in our video library. And be sure to keep an eye out for more events on the horizon!

Welcome Christina Micallef to the AAG team

We are pleased to introduce our newest member to the AAG team. Christina Micallef has joined (last week!) as Policy, Research & Communications Officer.

She will be working 4 days per week, with 2 days dedicated to Research Trust grants administration and 2 days supporting the communications, member engagement and policy work. Christina brings a wealth of knowledge following an extensive career leading multi-disciplinary healthy ageing and in-home support teams in both local government and community health. Tertiary qualifications in psychology and post graduate studies in ageing and pastoral counselling support an enduring interest in supporting people’s capacities to age well. Christina is a skilled researcher and writer with professional experience in business communications.

In recent years, Christina packed up her family and 9-year-old rescue dog, Indy, for a tree change along the Campaspe River in North Central Victoria. Walks with Indy, a Greyhound X, have never been the same, with an abundance of rabbits to chase and plenty of sticks to fetch from the river.

Mental health webinar series: Episode 4 Mental health presentations in persons with dementia

AAG is pleased to support the 2024 National Mental Health Webinar Series, convened by Professor Joseph Ibrahim, Professor at the Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care at La Trobe University.

This series of five free webinars addresses topics relating to access to mental health services for older people, wellness and social inclusion, mental health presentations and crisis management. They are designed for aged care staff, nurses, facility managers, allied health staff and medical practitioners.

More information about the series and the episodes can be found here

Episode 4 of the series:

• When: Wednesday 4 May, from 1-2 pm
• Addresses: Mental health presentations in persons with dementia by A/Prof Stephen Macfarlane Head of Clinical Services, The Dementia Centre, HammondCare
• Includes a panel discussion with subject matter experts; A/Prof Stephen Macfarlane, A/Prof Sanetta Dutoit, Carolyn Kirby, Dr Christine While as detailed on the registration page.