24 August 

Aged Care Providers Must Move with the Times

 Providers of aged care in New Zealand face changing regulations, changing technology and changing consumer expectations and must learn how to move with the times if they are to maintain successful business models, the New Zealand Aged Care Association says.

In the build-up to the Association’s annual conference, where more than 350 aged-care providers will attend, the NZACA says rapid development and changes in these areas are having tangible effects on the elder-care industry and only operators who adapt and plan are likely to maintain successful business models.

 “It’s hugely important that providers of aged care in the country have an overview of the changing consumer environment and the economic drivers that will force them to adapt to meet demand in the future,” the chief executive of the NZACA, Mr Martin Taylor, says.  For instance, the sector is coming under increasing demand from Baby Boomers and their parents for different services and this pressure will only increase in the coming decades.

 This year’s NZACA annual conference is themed “Moving with the Times”, and is structured to focus industry leaders on what’s required in the short-medium term to ensure they are prepared for the inevitable changes.

 The 2013 conference has attracted numerous overseas speakers who are leading the aged-care evolution. The keynote speakers on the first day are Professor Martin Green, the chief executive of the English Community Care Association based in London, and Mr Stephen Becsi, the chief executive of Bethanie, a Western Australian provider of aged care and retirement living services.

 The English Community Care Association is the largest representative body for independent social care services in the UK. A registered charity, ECCA is at the forefront of the UK’s national policy agenda and is represented on various government policy groups as the UK. Mr Green writes and broadcasts extensively on social care issues and will provide an analysis of the changing landscape of social care in the UK and how rapid change has affected providers. He says there have been both winners and losers as the industry evolves to meet demand.

 Mr Becsi has been the chief executive of Bethanie, Western Australia’s largest provider of private rest homes, since 2011, although has been involved with the company for many years. A former career officer in the Royal Australian Navy, Mr Becsi will examine the necessary development of strategic plans and how to implement and embed culture transformation. He says that a corporate culture has up to eight times the influence on the bottom line of a company’s performance than strategy.

The NZACA says a further international speaker, Professor Andrew Carle, from the George Mason University in Virginia in the United States, will be informative and entertaining as he brings delegates up-to-date on “nana technology trends”. The GPS shoe has been listed as one of the 100 most important inventions in the history of mankind in 2012 by the National Museum of Science and Technology in Sweden. Delegates to the conference will hear about ways in which their businesses can use nana technology to protect the safety of their elderly tenants. Professor Carle says there are new technologies on the horizon for health and wellness, safety, cognition, communication, sensory mobility, lifestyle and robotics.

 As well as guest speakers from overseas, the conference has attracted a raft of Kiwi speakers. Download the conference programme at http://nzaca.org.nz/events/conference-2013/documents/ConfProg2013final.pdf.

 Mr Taylor says the NZACA annual conferences are an important way for aged care providers in New Zealand to meet and discuss important developments in the industry. At a time of rapid and inevitable change, the need to keep abreast of these developments is more important than ever.

The NZACA annual conference will be held at Sky City, Auckland, from 28 – 30 August. Further information can be obtained at http://nzaca.org.nz/events/conference-2013/index.htm.

ENDS

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