Leaders learning from leaders at first Aged Care Symposium

Over two days participants heard from respected leaders like Chairman of the Aged Care Financing Authority Lynda O’Grady, CEO of Collingwood Football Club Gary Pert and Director of KPMG Dr Matt Pearce.

They were amongst a number of speakers from social, economic and political sectors who shared their knowledge and experience on leadership and how this can be applied in the Aged Care industry.

One of the people behind the Aged Care Leaders Symposium, DPS Publishing CEO David Baker, is pleased with the overwhelmingly positive feedback he received.

“Our vision for the symposium was leaders learning from leaders to collectively drive the future of aged and community care. Based on the response from people I think we certainly succeeded at that.”

Topics discussed during the symposium included ‘How to stand out in the marketplace’, presented by Network Ten and Gruen Transfer’s panellist Russel Howcroft who shared his views on effective advertising strategies.

Southern Cross Care (SA & NT) CEO Andrew Larpent spoke about his experiences in the first gulf war and how this lead to his ‘10 leadership truths’, and Samantha Bushell, founder of the Acorn Network had participants reflect on ageism in their workplace.

Kerry Rennison, Facility Manager at Adventist Residential Care in Perth says she found the symposium “very interesting with a lot of great speakers”.

“Gary Pert was very good. He had some great strategies about how to get the best from your organisation and your resources,” she says.

A panel of experts including Cam Ansell, managing director of Ansell Strategies and Marcus Willison from Real Estate Advisory Services discussed the financial side of aged care, looking at funding and general economic.

Katherine Wild from NSW Nurses & Midwives Association, says “Marcus (Willison) had interesting insights in what’s been happening in the industry”.

“Overall ‘I’ll take home a greater understanding of goal setting and how to apply this in our own organisation,” Ms Wild says.

After the success of the first Aged Care Leaders Symposium, David Baker says it is the organiser’s intention to hold a symposium annually.

“Leadership is such a broad topic and there are so many avenues to explore,” he says.

“DPS Publishing has always taken a leadership role in delivering aged care information and disseminating news via DPS News, the AgedCareGuide website and the DPS Guides to Aged Care and the Aged Care Leaders Symposium is an extension of that,” Mr Baker says.

Keep an eye out for more detailed reports on a selection of speakers later this week in DPS News.