Speakers
Palliaitve Care Tasmania are delighted to announce the below Speakers who will be joining us for the 2022 Tasmanian Palliative Care Conference., alongside concurrent sessions that focus on the Conference theme of Quality of Life.
Want to be part of the program? The Call for Presenters is currently open – click here to find out how to be involved.
Kimberly D. Acquaviva, Betty Norman Norris Endowed Professor, University of Virginia School of Nursing, United States of America
Kimberly D. Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, CSE, FNAP serves as the Betty Norman Norris Endowed Professor at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Prior to coming to UVA in August 2019, she spent fifteen years as a faculty member at the George Washington University (GW) School of Nursing and the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. During her time at GW she served as both founding faculty and the inaugural Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the School of Nursing. As a social worker teaching within a school of nursing, her scholarship is interdisciplinary and collaborative. Her scholarly work focuses on LGBTQIA+ aging and end-of-life issues, and her clinical work has been with patients and families facing life-limiting illnesses in both hospital and hospice settings. Her book, LGBTQ-Inclusive Hospice & Palliative Care: A Practical Guide to Transforming Professional Practice, was published by Harrington Park Press and distributed by Columbia University Press. The book was awarded first place in the AJN Book of the Year Awards in the Palliative Care and Hospice Category. She’s the host of em dash podcast, a show that explores the lived experiences of patients and healthcare professionals in the healthcare arena. Dr. Acquaviva has a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality Education from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, an M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences. She is an AASECT-certified Sexuality Educator.
Presentation Title: The Impact of LGBTQIA-Inclusive Palliative Care on Quality of Life: A Personal & Professional Perspective
Dr Steven Z Pantilat, Kates-Burnard and Hellman Distinguished Professor in Palliative Care. University of California San Francisco, United States of America
Steven Pantilat, MD is Professor of Medicine, the Kates-Burnard and Hellman Distinguished Professor in Palliative Care, and the inaugural Chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine at UCSF. Dr. Pantilat is an internationally recognized expert in Palliative Care who has published over 130 peer-reviewed papers, authored more than two dozen book chapters, and co-edited two textbooks on palliative care titled, “Care at the Close of Life” and “Hospital Based Palliative Medicine.” In 2007 Dr. Pantilat was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Sydney, Curtin University and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia.” Dr. Pantilat is Board Chair for the Palliative Care Quality Collaborative, dedicated to improving the quality of palliative care and chairs the Advisory Board for the Cambia Health Foundation’s Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program. He is the author of, “Life After the Diagnosis: Expert Advice on Living Well with Serious Illness for Patients and their Caregivers” published by DaCapo Lifelong Books. Dr. Pantilat and the palliative care team at UCSF are featured in the Academy Award-nominated, Netflix documentary “End Game” and in 2018 he gave a TEDMED talk.
Presentation Title: Hope in the Face of Serious Illness: The Truths Behind the Myths About Palliative Care
Dr Leeroy William, Clinical Director, Supportive and Palliative Care Service, Eastern Health Clinical School , Vic
Adjunct Clinical Professor Leeroy William has been a palliative medicine specialist since 2009 and is based in Melbourne. He trained in the UK and New Zealand, before settling in Australia.
He is currently the Clinical Director of the Supportive and Palliative Care Service at Eastern Health, with academic positions at Monash and La Trobe Universities. He continues to be involved in clinical, educational, research, and leadership activities to improve the healthcare system for all.
His interests have extended beyond palliative care, into being a Schwartz Round Clinical Lead and part of the Leadership and Innovation in Health course run by Monash University and Harvard Macy.
Presentation Title: Quality of Life and Our Lens of Optimism
Dr Lidia Engel, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University & Honorary Fellow, National Ageing Research Institute, VIC
Dr Katrin Gerber, Research Fellow, National Ageing Research Institute, VIC
Dr Lidia Engel is a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University and an Honorary Fellow at the National Ageing Research Institute. She holds a 2-year Dementia Australia Post-Doctoral Fellowship, focusing on incorporating carer outcomes in cost-effectiveness analyses of dementia interventions. As a health economist by training, she specialised in the measurement and valuation of quality of life and informal care, as well as the economics of mental health and ageing. She has advanced skills in undertaking economic evaluations, systematic literature reviews, psychometric validation studies and qualitative research. Lidia has been successful in attracting research income as principal investigator and co-investigator, totalling more than $6.3 million, and has been an author on 53 peer-reviewed journal publications. She is currently a member of the EuroQol group, a membership officer for the Australian Health Economics Society, and sits on the scientific advisory committee of Ending Loneliness Together.
Dr Katrin Gerber is an end-of-life researcher with a PhD in Psychology from the University of Melbourne. She is a research fellow at the National Ageing Research Institute and an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne. Experienced in innovative, collaborative, mixed-methods research, her work encompasses a wide range of end-of-life experiences. This includes helping grieving older people after a significant bereavement, supporting end-of-life decision-making, and training clinicians in the recognition of dying. In recognition of her achievements, Dr Gerber was nominated for a National Palliative Care Award in 2019 and received the Robert Helme Award for Excellence in Research in 2021. Through her work, Dr Gerber demonstrates her commitment to enhancing palliative care, bereavement support and mental health. Her passion for these areas of research stems from her work as a hospice volunteer and her lived experience as a family caregiver.
Presentation Title: The forgotten mourners – Effects of bereavement on older people’s quality of life
Miranda Harry, Social Worker, Bear Cottage, NSW
Nicole Armitage, Staff Specialist, Bear Cottage, NSW
Miranda Harry is one of the social workers at Bear Cottage, Sydney Children’s Hospice. She began her career in child protection and foster care, before moving into health. She also works in the acute hospital setting, with experience in emergency and general medicine, palliative care, maternity and paediatrics. Miranda is very passionate about the holistic care of the family and feels it is a privilege to work in paediatric palliative care.
Nicole Armitage is a Palliative Care Specialist. She is currently the Staff Specialist at Bear Cottage, Sydney Children’s Hospice.
Nicole studied medicine at Adelaide University and trained in paediatric palliative care at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick and Children’s Hospital Westmead in Westmead.
Nicole is passionate about providing high quality care for patients with a life limiting condition. Nicole feels it is a privilege to work with the professional and caring team at Bear Cottage and together with the team, help care for the patients, their families, and their communities.
Presentation Title: Bear Cottage: patient, family, community
Dr Sophie Lewis, Senior Lecturer, The University of Sydney, NSW
Dr Sophie Lewis, is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. A health sociologist and qualitative researcher, her research broadly focuses on understanding the experiences of living with long-term, often life limiting health conditions, and how to support people to live well with these conditions. This includes current Australian Research Council and NH&MRC projects exploring the experiences of loneliness for people living with chronic illnesses, living with uncertainty in the context of advanced incurable cancer, and end of life care decision-making. She has recently co-authored a book published in Routledge: Experiences of frontline health workers in the COVID-19 pandemic which shares the stories of frontline health workers during the second wave of COVID-19 in Australia.
Presentation Title: Caring for self and for others: Experiences of frontline health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Sarah McLelland, Interim CEO, the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council
Sarah McLelland has over 15 years’ experience in the Australian Public Service, working across aged care, disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Sarah is passionate about working with the aged care sector to improve workforce opportunities. She holds a Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development, business and arts degrees.
Hannah Morgan, National Palliative Care Coordinator, LGBTIQ+ Palliative, NSW
Hannah is a proud queer woman who is passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ Australians. She is currently the coordinator of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia’s National Palliative Care Project and participates in various volunteer roles in the LGBTIQ+ health sector. Hannah has worked as a social worker in a range of government and community settings and has noticed that there has been an increase in demand from healthcare professionals seeking to learn more about inclusive practice. Hannah believes that patient-centred palliative and end-of-life care must include an understanding and awareness of LGBTIQ+ experiences including LGBTIQ+ histories, intersectionality, power and privilege.
Presentation Title: End of the Rainbow: Inclusive palliative care for older LGBTIQ+ people
Rebecca Taylor, National Program Manager – Education, Advance Care Planning Australia, Vic
Rebecca is a Registered Nurse with broad experience across acute health care, palliative care, and aged care sectors. Rebecca has worked on local and state-based projects and research focusing on supporting the recognition of dying and understanding what matters most to people approaching their end of life within aged care facilities. Rebecca is currently coordinating and providing education nationally for Advance Care Planning Australia.
Presentation Title: Advance care planning in people over 85 years: what it tells us about their quality of life
Cherie Hugo, Founder, The Lantern Project
Dr Cherie Hugo is an accredited practising dietitian with over 20 years of experience consulting with her team of My Nutrition Clinic dietitians to community, healthcare centres, hospitals and aged care organisations across Australia. Dr Hugo founded The Lantern Project in 2013, a national aged care collaboration and action-based research initiative based at Bond University, focused on improving older Australian’s quality of life through the joy of good food. In 2018, Dr Hugo completed her PhD research centred around quantifying the value of nutrition in aged care.
Over the past 4 years, Dr Hugo has translated the research into the industry-endorsed aged care food, nutrition and mealtime experience ratings tool, Epicure. Epicure offers a guided way for aged care providers to transform culture, improve quality of care and quality of life for residents through systematically raising the bar on the food, nutrition and mealtime experience. The results of Lantern’s Epicure and Quality Improvement tools are now being demonstrated across aged care providers Australia-wide.
Presentation Title: Improving Quality of Life through Lantern’s Epicure Rating
Claire Johnson, National Director, Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program (PACOP), Australian Health Services Research Institute
Professor Claire Johnson (RN, PhD) is the national director of the Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program (PACOP) at the Australian Health Services Research Institute. Claire is leading the development and implementation of PACOP to promote excellence in end of life care in residential aged care. In previous roles, which included the Vivian Bullwinkel Chairof Palliative Care Nursing (Monash University) and Clinical Lead for End of Life Care (Eastern Health, Melbourne), Claire conducted clinical, behavioural and translational research to improve the quality and safety of care for people diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and of their families—irrespective of the setting of care.
Presentation Title: Promoting optimal quality of life at end of life in aged care
