Vale Jill Emberson

The Karista team are saddened by the loss of ABC broadcaster and Ovarian cancer advocate Jill Emberson.

After being diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer in 2016, Jill decided, despite her own suffering to help women like her use their own voices to advocate for better detection rates and increased research funding. "My hope is that women will feel more able to raise their symptoms with their doctors, that their doctors will pick them up a bit better." Jill told the ABC.

According to Ovarian Cancer Australia: “If women are diagnosed at an early stage, they have a 44% chance of being alive and well within five years of diagnosis. However, approximately 75% of women are diagnosed at an advanced stage, where the cancer has spread and is difficult to treat successfully."

“There is no early detection test for ovarian cancer, so the best way of detecting the disease is to know and recognise the signs and symptoms. Ovarian cancer cannot be detected by a pap test or cervical smear”.

As a part of her advocacy work, Jill founded the Pink Meets Teal campaign, which inspires breast cancer survivors to fight for fair research funding between the two cancers.

Jill must also be recognised for successfully lobbying Health Minister Greg Hunt for better funding. After their meeting, Minister Hunt announced a $20 million contribution to Ovarian Cancer Research.

If you would like to read more about Jill Emberson please follow this link and to watch her Australian Story click here.

For further reading into Ovarian Cancer, please visit their website https://ovariancancer.net.au/

Sources: ABC, Ovarian Cancer Australia.

Men's Health Week

The week - June 10-16th - marks Men’s Health Week. It is an important week as the gap between Australian men and women’s health outcomes is widening.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a boy born in 2010 has a life expectancy of 78.0, while a girl born in the same year has a life expectancy of 82.3 years old.

Accidents, cancer, and heart disease are the leading causes of male deaths. The most worrying statistic is that men, on average, account for 6 of the 8 suicides in Australia everyday. The number of men who die by suicide each year is double the national road toll. Sadly, men over 85 are at the highest risk of suicide followed by those aged between 30 and 49.

Services like Beyond Blue encourage us to remember everybody’s mental health will vary during our lifetime and that help is available to effectively manage your mental well-being. Remembering that you don’t need to go it alone is a key message - speak to your GP, partner, mates or colleagues if you need to talk. GP’s can help you find the right services to support you. There is no shame in asking for help, in fact it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.

Events like Men’s Health Week are encouraging men to be more proactive when it comes to their health. While it is good that men will often visit their GP after a friend or relative has a health emergency, we are encouraging men to make a visit to their GP a regular occurrence.

If you need to speak to someone urgently, Lifeline is available at any time on 13 11 14.

For more information about Men’s Health Week please visit www.menshealthweek.org.au . For more information about managing your mental health visit Beyond Blue

Sources: ABC, Beyond Blue, Men’s Health Week.

There is a Royal Commission into Aged Care but what are the positives coming?

The Royal Commission into Aged Care started on the 18th of January and already we have heard many difficult stories. Only in the early stages, the commission has learnt a lot from the public submissions and witness appearances.

While this is a process that had to happen, there is also a lot to celebrate in the aged care sector.

Today in the Karista blog we look at some of the early learnings from the Royal Commission and what interesting and exciting innovations are to come.

What have we learnt at the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety so far?

• The elderly are afraid of entering into care and would much prefer to stay home, they are no longer willing to put up with the care their parents received

• The Aged Care sector is in a financial crisis - there is at least a 12 month wait for a high level Home Care Package (HCP)

• There is an overuse of chemical restraints. When confronted with a difficult patient, support staff are turning first to psychotropic drugs, sedation or restricted movement

• Dementia is considered the new chronic condition of the 21st Century. Dementia Australia gave evidence saying about 436,000 Australians are living with dementia today. It is expected by 2050, that number will rise to 1.1 million

• The aged care workforce is underpaid and under-resourced,. To keep up with the ageing Australian population, the workforce will need to triple by 2050

• Witnesses Clive and Barbara Springs supported the idea of a national database for aged care workers. Currently, there is no database of support staff which makes it difficult for employers to know if potential new hires have had complaints or recorded poor behaviour in the past

• The Food. For those of us who have or had loved ones in care, we know the food can often leave a lot to be desired. Poor quality food can leave residents malnourished and is being reviewed by the commission

Consumer Directed Care, Your Life - Your Choice

The commission and the Australian Government recognise that more Australians want to live at home as they age. The Government’s policy of consumer directed care and the Home Care Package (HCP) program is a step towards meeting this need. Consumer Directed care means the consumer holds the power, the money and they make their own decisions about what care they want, how that care is provided and who provides the care.

Karista is dedicated to making consumer directed care a reality. We show you what is available in your area and provide information to help you compare and choose your ideal provider.

Other Exciting Innovations

There are many clever people working around Australia and the world to find better solutions to the current status quo. There is a new message being spread, it is no longer about an expectation of boredom but of purposeful activity. Karista has done some research and here are our picks for interesting innovations in aged care:

• The Global Centre for Modern Ageing. Developed in 2018 by the South Australian Government after the closure of the motor industry, this center aims to help business and individuals to build and develop services and products with the specific intent of assisting the elderly to live and age well. The Global Centre for Modern Ageing also includes, LifeLab. LifeLab is a brand new facility allowing business, older people and researchers to develop new products and innovations.

• Australia’s first ‘Dementia Village’ Korongee is being built in Tasmania. Based on the De Hogeweyk Village in the Netherlands . The Dutch model gives residents an opportunity to live in an adapted village with its own supermarket, cafe, beauty salon, their own currency and much more while being supported by care staff

• The University of Wollongong is developing a-state-of-the-art aged care facility as a part of their innovation campus. Modeled on the Mayo Clinic in the US and the best of Scandinavian aged care designs, the Wollongong Center will allow researchers and residents to be integrated for the first time. The 700 hectare site will include an aged care and senior living village, 200 independent living homes and community health clinic. 650 students enrolled in courses in health and the ageing will be available to interact with the elderly community, a childcare center is also planned. The UOW envisages opportunities for the young and old alike to interact and provide mentor-ship and volunteer opportunities. Residents will also have full access to the university campus.

• Sleeptite. Developed by RMIT University, Canadian smart clothing company Hexoskin and mattress manufacturer Sleepeezee; together they have combined to create a non-invasive monitoring system set in silicone fabric which is able to monitor a patient’s heart rate and blood pressure and recognise if they have fallen from bed.

• PainChek, is a facial recognition software program that can detect pain in the elderly including people living with dementia, which after four years of trials and a name change is being rolled out nationally by Dementia Care Australia.

•  Being trialed in 50 homes, Billy is a system that gives the family or care manager a live data feed. With no cameras, nothing to wear or press, Billy works using discreetly placed sensors that monitor everything from movement to temperature and behaviour patterns which then creates a tool for prevention or intervention before incidents escalate into emergencies.

Sources: The Guardian Australia, Business Insider Australia, SBS News, Aged Care Guide, The ABC, University of Wollongong, The Global Centre for Modern Ageing, Sleeptite, PainChek, Billy

How A Victorian Man is Transforming Lives

On Tuesday night (23/10/18) the ABC’s Catalyst aired a program discussing medical bio mechanics, celebrating the people who design and develop new technology that is transforming many lives.

The program featured a story about Mat Bowtell, 2018 Victorian Local Hero who started his own prosthetic limb workshop at home after being retrenched.

With the help of crowdfunding, Mr Bowtell now has 12 3D printers in his workshop, along with prosthetic-grade scanners and sophisticated software and equipment to make the limbs that he gives away for free.

This new technique allows Mat to design and make limbs in a matter of days, whereas traditional methods can take several months. The delay in receiving limbs is particularly problematic for children as they can often outgrow the prosthetics not long after or prior to being fitted.

If you’d like to learn more about this remarkable technology and the man behind it please follow this link.

If you’d like to contribute to Mat Bowtell’s crowdfunding please click here

Source: ABC

Mat Bowtell and Catalyst presenter and surgeon Dr Nikki Stamp

How the Invictus Games are educating young people

The Invictus Games has been about more than the sports; it has also been an opportunity for the school kids of Sydney to learn lessons of resilience and inclusion.

A joint project of the NSW Education Department and the Invictus Games, the education project invites students to explore the ideas of resilience, empathy, service, inclusion and the healing nature of sport and community.

For Tilda Brownlow, (who was born with fibular hemimelia and had her left leg amputated at 2); the Games are a chance for her to see others who share the same physical challenges excel, and to be inspired by them. It is also just as inspiring for Tilda’s able bodied classmates and gives them a chance to experience life in a wheelchair by playing a game of wheelchair basketball.

To read more about this excellent program and Tilda, please see the attached link

Sources: ABC, Invictus Games

Tilda Brownlow

Photo Courtesy of the ABC

Feeling Lonely? We can Help

Loneliness, we’ve all felt it at some stage in our life. In a world where we are more technologically connected than ever, many people including older Australians are finding themselves isolated and lonely.

It’s not just in Australia that loneliness has become a problem, in the UK the Government has appointed a Minister for Loneliness. The United States is also looking into the issue with research showing that about half of all Americans have reported feeling lonely at some stage.

Why has social isolation and loneliness become a problem? Our population is aging, and more people are finding themselves loosing lifetime partners or friends and developing conditions that limit their mobility. It’s not just older Australians who are feeling isolated, interestingly a recent study in America showed that it was also Gen Z (people aged between 18-22), a generation we consider to be the most connected who are increasingly finding themselves socially isolated.

So, what can you do about it if you are feeling lonely and need some company? Plenty. There are many groups and organisations set up to help the older members of our community feel more connected. Some suggestions are:

• Join a group. Why not try that painting class you’ve been thinking about? Join a book club or Men’s Shed

• Make a date. How about a regular coffee or lunch date with a friends or family? Or visit your neighbour for a cuppa

• Volunteer. There are many organisations looking for willing volunteers

• Make a call. Why not call that friend you haven’t spoken to for a while

• Get active. Commit to a weekly exercise class. Always wanted to know what Yoga was about? Well, now’s your chance

• Ask for help. If you’re finding yourself struggling to do the shopping or clean the house, speak to My Aged Care or the NDIS to see what funding you might be eligible for

Source: ABC and Better Homes and Gardens

Cooking for the Homeless: Aged Care Residents using skills to help others

ABC aired a report last night (15/8/18) on 7:30 with Leigh Sales - about the residents of Blue Mountains residential facility, Uniting Springwood, who are helping to prepare meals for their local homeless community. Some of the residents also volunteer to serve meals.

An initiative of Uniting Springwood and Mama Lana's Community Foundation, this project has given the residents a renewed purpose and welcome feelings of achievement and giving. They really enjoyed the opportunity to be the givers of care rather than the ones always receiving care. The homeless community are delighted to be eating a home cooked meal with the opportunity to meet and thank those involved.

This program shows that everybody has something to contribute, especially our elderly. The residents of Uniting Springwood, like a lot of our elderly in residential care, have decades of cooking experience and other skills which are underutilised.  

To see more of this heartwarming story, click the link below.

Source: ABC 7:30

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/the-aged-care-residents-cooking-for-the-homeless/10124714

Good Eating: How to Have a Healthy Heart

It seems that even cardiologists have found it difficult to sort the fads from the truth when it comes to the best foods for a healthy heart. Combined with minimal practical nutritional training at medical school, this gap in cardiologists knowledge prompted Dr Andrew Freeman to write a research paper for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, guiding cardiologists in nutrition for their patients.  

His aim was to find the answers to the most common of patients questions. To see what foods Dr Freeman recommends to keep your heart in tip top shape follow the link below:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2018-07-24/which-foods-are-good-for-your-heart-health/10026910

Source: ABC and Journal of the American College of Cardiology