Events
November 2012
Information and photos from events the Ambassador for Ageing attended in November 2012.
Alzheimer's Australia VIC AGM and End of Year Celebration - 29 November 2012
Noeline was asked to attend the Alzheimer's Australia VIC AGM and End of Year Celebration to talk about healthy ageing and brain health."I am a big fan of Alzheimer's Australia because I am well aware of their unfailing commitment to the prevention of dementia and their great support for people living with the condition," Noeline said.
In September 2012, Alzheimer's Australia launched a brain health program called Your Brain Matters: A Guide to Healthy Hearts and Minds. The resource was designed to help Australians live a brain healthy life and to help them reduce their risk of developing dementia.
"Your Brain Matters has three key areas to help people live a brain healthy life," Noeline said. "The first area is about keeping your brain challenged and socially active. You can do this by catching up with family and friends on a regular basis. You can go with them for a walk, organise a card or games night or join a local community club."
The next area of the Your Brain Matters program relates to keeping active and eating well. "Eating a nutritious diet and being physically active are very important for a healthy body and healthy brain, particularly as we age," Noeline said.
The last area of the program is about looking after our hearts. "Looking after our heart is also good for our brain," Noeline said. "We need to stop smoking because it is bad for our health. We also need to manage our blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and body weight. I recommend that people have their blood pressure checked regularly and if they are over 45 they should get regular heart and stroke risk assessments done," she said.
If you have any concerns, or you would like more information about 'Your Brian Matters', please call the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500.
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Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria - Volunteer Luncheon and Launch of the Legal Topics for Older People Diary 2013 - 28 November 2012
To acknowledge the hard work of local volunteers Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria organised a luncheon at a grand hotel in the heart of Melbourne and during the event Noeline was asked to launch the Legal Topics for Older People Diary 2013.COTA Victoria received a grant to produce the 2013 Diary, which contains legal information on a variety of topics relevant to seniors, including definitions, stories and referrals.
"What a fabulous idea creating a Diary that contains lots of helpful information," Noeline said. "I'm sure it will be a very helpful resource for the people who get themselves a copy."
During her presentation Noeline thanked all the volunteers for the great work they do and she congratulated COTA for their on-going efforts of representing the interests of older Australians.
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Australian Association of Gerontology Conference - 21 November 2012
The Australian Association of Gerontology National Conference is the major annual activity for the Association and other professionals involved with ageing in Australia. The 400+ delegates included social scientists, health professionals, psychologists, planners, economists, representatives of older people’s organisations and other professionals working in research, education, service provision and policy.The topic of the 2012 conference was Challenging the Boundaries,a theme which emphasised the importance of challenging and breaking through perceived boundaries to research, policy and practice. The conference was designed to connect, challenge and inspire the exchange of innovative ideas between older people, researchers, practitioners, educators, industry, voluntary and community organisations and policy makers. The aim of the forum was to grow knowledge and create enthusiasm around new ideas, as well as advance research, policy and service delivery in the ageing sector.
"I was asked to officially open the conference and talk about my role and the aims of the Ambassador for Ageing Program," Noeline said.
"These conferences are so important because they bring together many health professionals to discuss ways to improve the lives of older people. The knowledge shared and the skills gained at conferences like this are invaluable and I hope everyone attending will be inspired to continue to strive to build a better world for older Australians."
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4th National Transition Care Forum - 20 November 2012
The 4th National Transition Care Forum was held in Brisbane on 20 November. A range of health professionals from all around Australia attended to discuss transition services and they also looked at ways of enhancing services that will better meet the needs of older people.During Noeline's speech she talked about Minister Butler's extensive consultations with older people last year. "One of the key messages Minister Butler heard during his conversations with older people around the country was that older Australians want to have more control over their life and the way that aged care services are delivered," Noeline said.
As a result of these consultations the Australian Government is committing $880 million over the next five years to expand the Home Care Packages Program. The funding injection means that the number of Home Care Packages will increase by nearly 40,000 to around 100,000 packages across Australia, and a further 40,000 packages will be made available over the following five years to 2021-22.
"I'm pleased this increase in packages will help more older Australians to remain living at home, rather than go into residential care earlier than they need to," Noeline said.
As part of the Living Longer Living Better aged care reforms there are two new types of Home Care Packages which will be introduced from July next year. These new packages will complement the existing Community Aged Care packages and the Extended Aged Care at Home Packages. Under the new program, people will still need to be assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) before they are offered a package so as to ensure the packages are offered to those who need them most.
"Another really important part of the reforms is the introduction of Consumer Directed Care into all new Home Care Packages from next year," Noeline said. "Consumer Directed Care is a way of delivering services that allows consumers and their carers to have greater control over their own lives. It allows them to make choices about the types of care they access and the delivery of those services, including who will deliver the services and when."
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Master Builders Australia Awards - 16 November 2012
Noeline attended the Master Builders Australia Awards for the third year in a row and she was again impressed by the calibre of entries for every category.These prestigious Awards were held at Parliament House in Canberra and Noeline presented two Australian Government sponsored Life Style and Housing for Seniors Awards.
"These Awards are really important because in the not too distant future a quarter of our population will be people aged over 65 years old so we need to build houses and cities that will cater to the growing number of older people," Noeline said.
"And there is certainly an opportunity for the building industry to capitalise on the older people market. Usually people want to downsize as they grow older and this is when they will be looking for dwellings which better meet their needs."
Noeline finished her speech by saying she hoped the building industry continues to strive to create designs that support social inclusion and help older Australians to remain living independently in their communities.
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South West Rocks (Kempsey Shire) Senior Citizens Afternoon Tea - 7 November 2012
Noeline attended an afternoon tea put on by the local Senior Citizens group at the South West Rocks Nursing Home in the Kempsey Shire on 7 November 2012.During the well attended function Noeline was asked to talk about how she remains physically active as she ages. "I live on top of a mountain and I walk my little dog every day when I'm not travelling," Noeline said. "But I don't know who takes who for a walk really, sometimes I think it is my dog who is walking me."
Noeline also talked about her time on 'Dancing with the Stars' and how dancing is good for balance and cardio fitness. "I also love to skip," Noeline said. "It gets the heart rate up which is good for weight management."
Noeline was also asked to talk about how she stays connected to the community. "In addition to being the Ambassador for Ageing, which is a role I am very proud to hold, I am still a working actor and I hope to continue on with this career that I have been involved with for the past 50 years," Noeline said. "I am also involved in several charities which keeps me very busy."
In addition, Noeline has always been interested in social and political issues and she regularly attends cultural and community events when she can.
To finish off Noeline's presentation she was asked what advice she gives people to remain active and socially connected? "I like to encourage older Australians to join the University of the Third Age or some other further learning organisation because I know they not only provide an environment where people can learn something new, they also get to mingle with other people," Noeline said.
"I also like to suggest that people join a choir because it's good for you physically and socially, or they can join a walking group or take up dancing. And I think everyone should belong to a Library," Noeline said.
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Community Options Regional Conference (Kempsey Shire) - 7 November 2012
Noeline was invited to be guest speaker at the Community Options Regional Conference dinner organised by Macleay Community Care on 7 November 2012.The event provided an opportunity for community workers to get together to discuss regional issues. This year's conference was based around overweight and obesity in the over 65's and over 55's for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.
Noeline was asked to talk about eating a good diet – fuelling the body with foods that help keep us strong and healthy as we age.
"A balanced nutritious diet, combined with physical and social activity is the best recipe for good health as we grow older," Noeline said. "Ageing starts as soon as we are born so the earlier we start to look after our health, the better our older age will be. Personally I have always looked after my health because I wanted to live a long and illness free older age. I have always had a love affair with vegetables, fruits, fish and lean meats and I really enjoy being physically and mentally active."
Since becoming Ambassador Noeline has learned many things that help people age better. For instance, Noeline is now aware that as we age our body’s ability to absorb some nutrients becomes less efficient and that medications, smoking and alcohol consumption can affect our nutrient intake.
"I’ve also learned that while our absorption ability decreases, the nutrient needs of older people are mostly the same as other adults," Noeline said. "But in some cases our needs are greater – for instance, some of the nutrients older people require in greater amounts include protein, calcium and Vitamin D."
According to Noeline, the reason protein requirements are higher as people age is because of the increased incidence of surgery and injury people sustain as they grow older. And the need for a higher calcium intake is because as people age they lose bone mass - this means they need to eat foods high in calcium which in turn will slow down the rate of age-related bone loss. "And with less exposure to sunlight, older people need to ensure they have enough Vitamin D so they can adequately absorb calcium," Noeline said.
Noeline was asked what foods people should eat as they age to help them maintain a healthy weight and diet.
"On a daily basis we need to eat vegetables, fruits, breads and cereals (preferably whole grain) and legumes," she said. "Lean meat, fish, poultry, milk products and water is also essential for good health."
The Australian Government has developed a set of dietary guidelines for older Australians which highlight the special nutritional needs of older people. To obtain a copy of any of these FREE guidelines just contact the federal Department of Health and Ageing – just call 1800 200 422.
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