We are a quarter of the way through the year, and with Easter just around the corner, April is always a busy and disruptive month in terms of programming. There are three national holidays this month with Good Friday, Easter Monday and Anzac Day.
While Easter is not celebrated by everyone, it does give us an opportunity to reflect and come up with different ideas to ensure inclusivity and a blend of spirituality, connectedness and fun within your program. ANZAC Day is often a pinnacle event in terms of programming and we would love to hear what types of programs were implemented. Please send through some photos of what you did to celebrate.
We are working in conjunction with LGBTIQ+ Health Australia on The Silver Rainbow Project, which is designed to improve the experiences of LGBTIQ+ people as they age and enter the Australian aged care system. The long term goal is to ensure aged care services are inclusive of the diverse genders, bodies, sexualities and relationships of older Australians. Collaboratively we are developing digital and printed factsheets for aged care workers, the LGBTIQ+ Diversional Therapy booklet, and down the track we will also be participating with the Silver Rainbow podcast.
There was also a lengthy discussion at the Board meeting in March about how we, as an association move the profession forward. We have a Community of Practice group that have been looking at development of the profession, and working to be recognised as an equal allied health profession in our own right; particularly with NDIS, Medicare, AHPA and AHPRA. These organisations have various rules and regulations about what constitutes a health profession, what as a profession we would be required to do, and how to meet these requirements.
The board will hold three (3) Town Hall meetings. They will take place on
Saturday April 2nd, 10am
Tuesday April 5th, 4pm
Wednesday April 6th, 7pm
We are seeking your thoughts and ideas on how we move forward as an association. We have also put together three possible options and outlined the strengths and weaknesses, but in no way is this an exhaustive list. This is why we are looking for your input to extend on the options identified, and work towards a resolution that meets our members needs to move the profession forward.
Until May,
Charlise Bennett
DRTA President