2010 Events

NSW Falls Prevention Network Rural AHS Falls Prevention Forum Videoconference Sessions November 8th &15th 2010

The NSW Falls Prevention Network and CEC Videoconference Falls Forum for NSW Rural Area Health Services is for NSW Rural Area Health staff in the four Rural Area Health Services and will be conducted in the following sites:
• Hunter New England: Newcastle, Tamworth and Taree.
• Greater Southern: Griffith, Wagga and Queanbeyan.
• North Coast: Coffs Harbour, Lismore and Port Macquarie.
• Greater Western: Dubbo, Orange and Broken Hill.
Presentations by experts will include: a review of the evidence, confusion and falls, supporting older people to prevent falls, Vitamin D and Calcium, exercise prescription, medication and falls, implementation of guidelines in hospitals and implementation of the guidelines in residential aged care. These presentations will be recorded and available on CD.

Session1 8th November Presentations

Falls Prevention Guidelines, Falls Risk Assessment and Vision Interventions in Older People, Professor Stephen Lord, Neuroscience Research Australia
Engaging Older people in fall prevention activities, A/Prof Lindy Clemson, Faculty of Health Sciences, Sydney University
Exercise Prescriptions for hospital, community and residential aged care, Dr Cathie Sherrington, The George Institute for Global Health
Confusion & Falls in Older People, Ms Colleen McKinnon, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service, Area Dementia/Delirium CNC

Session 2 15th November Presentations

Medication and falls, Mr Daniel Lalor, Project Manager, Medication Safety, Clinical Excellence Commission.
The role of vitamin D and calcium in preventing falls in older people, Mr John Senior, CNC Clinical Practice, Auburn Hospital, Sydney West Area Health Service.
Preventing falls and harm from falls- implementing best practice in hospital, Ms Kathy Bullen, Service Manager/DON, Rankin Park Centre, Hunter New England Area Health Service.
Falls injury prevention in residential aged care: Guide to best practice, Dr John Ward, Clinical Leader Aged Care, Hunter New England Area Health Service.

2010 NSW Falls Prevention Network Meeting

The 2010 NSW Falls Prevention Network Meeting was held on Wednesday 23^rd June at the Mathews Theatres and Pavilions, University of NSW with over 200 professionals in attendance. This year the focus was on Dementia and Delirium and falls prevention as we have had many requests from the network to provide information on the care of the confused older person across the continuum of care.

The afternoon concurrent focused on hospital, community and residential aged care settings and featured short presentations (10 minutes) with time for broader discussion.

Falls Meeting Final Program

Plenary Sessions

Plenary Session 1

Associate Professor Jacqueline Close, Senior Staff Specialist in Geriatric Medicine, Prince of Wales Hospital and Neuroscience Research Australia – Preventing falls in people with cognitive impaitment, is there any evidence?
Dr Eneida Mioshi, Research Occupational Therapist, Frontotemporal Dementia Research Group, Neuroscience Research Australia - Frontotemporal Dementia and its challenges
Ms Isabel Baker, CNC Dementia and Behaviour Management Team, Greater Southern Area Health Service – Falls and dementia “What’s that walker doing there?”
Ms Daneill Haberfield, Occupational Therapist, Behaviour Assessment and Interventions Service (BASIS team), Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service – Practical approaches to dementia care – wandering

Plenary Session 2

Professor Stephen Lord, NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, Neuroscience Research Australia – Falls and fracture prevention- research update
Ms Joanne Smith, Director, Centre for Health Advancement, NSW Department of Health – NSW Health Plan for Prevention of Falls and Harm from Falls among Older People:2010-2014
Ms Lorraine Lovitt – Leader, NSW Falls Prevention Program Clinical Excellence Commission – Falls prevention: a community resource and web-based directory

Concurrent Sessions

Session 1 Hospital

Ms Denise Tomassini, Clinical Quality Manager, & Ms Gaye Sykes, Quality/Accreditation Manager, Wollongong Hospital, Southern Hospitals Network, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service – Sharing ideas- two successful programs
Ms Cheryl Baldwin, Ortho-Geriatric CNC, Gosford Hospital, Northern Sydney Central Coast Health (NSCCH) & Margaret Armstrong, NSCCH Falls Prevention Coordinator – Implementation of an in-hospital post fall sticker
Dr Cathie Sherrington, Senior Research Fellow, George Institute for International Health – Development of the Prediction of Falls In Rehabilitation Settings Tool (Predict_FIRST): a prospective cohort study
Ms Elizabeth Taylor, Physiotherapist, St Joseph’s Hospital, Sydney West Area Health Service - The challenges of falls prevention in people with Motor Neurone Disease
Ms Margaret Hargraves, Hospital Pharmacist, Prince of Wales Hospital, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service – Reduction in the use of night sedation to reduce the risk of falls

Session 2 Community

Ms Kath Hayes, Senior Case Manager, Central Coast Case Management Services –WIIFY (What’s In It For You) Program
Ms Shilo Preston-Stanley, Therapy ACT, ACT Government -Falls Prevention Pilot Project
Ms Monique Johns, Project Officer, Statewide Major Projects Branch, Centre for Health Advancement, NSW Department of Health – Translating evidence into practice: Implementing the “Stepping On Program”
Ms Amanda Bates, Health Promotion Service, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service – BEST at Home
Ms Josephine Mortimer, Occupational Therapist, & Ms Minh Pham, Physiotherapist, Fairfield Hospital, Sydney South West Area Health Service – Incorporating exercises in activities of daily living: will it result in increased adherence to exercises post-program?
Dr Stuart Smith, Senior Research Officer, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) – Video games for falls risk reduction (large file 3.6MB)
Ms Jenny Bawden, Falls Prevention Coordinator, Sydney West Area Health Service & Ms Sharon Butler, Better Balance Coordinator, Anglican Retirement Villages – The “Challenge”: social marketing for falls prevention

Session 3 Residential Aged Care

Mrs Sally Castell, Physical Activity Coordinator, Northern Sydney Central Coast Health – “Basic Steps”A 3 hour exercise training project for staff working in Residential Care Settings: Lessons Learnt
Ms Anne Meller, CNC Advanced Care Directives, Prince of Wales Hospital, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service – Advanced Care Planning in Residential Aged Care
Ms Mandy Harden, CNC Aged Care Education/Community Aged Care Services, Hunter New England Area Health Service - Developing forms to promote action and improved outcomes in falls prevention