Healthy Ageing

Better care of older people is a team game, and for teams to succeed in delivering outstanding care, training and coaching is the key to success.

Why join our Program?

With people aged 80+ as the fastest growing group in the Australian community with complex age-related conditions, the time is now to invest in the people who will care for this group.

The number of people with age-related conditions such as dementia, osteoporosis and physical frailty is rising.

  • 50% of people aged 65 and over in Australia now have at least 2 long term health conditions

  • 20% of people aged 65+ are living with Frailty, and are high risk for hospitalisation

  • 50% of people aged 75+ currently take 5+ medications daily (Polypharmacy)

  • 40% of people aged 75+ have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Delivering care for this group is complicated!

Currently health professionals report low levels of formal education and training in the issues of ageing and ‘geriatric syndromes’. If health professionals have an understanding of the proactive healthy ageing model and learn skills that will ensure the primary care team engage with their patients, this can lead to an increase in the value and satisfaction of their work ... .This is one support for your team to reduce the risk of their “burnout”.

The Bollen Health programs focus on delivering care for those that really need it in a General Practice. The emphasis is on planning for wellness versus care planning as a transactional task. Our approach is about learning together with peers who not only share their expertise, but also their personal support.

The Program

This is about the proactive care to differentiate it from many older people’s experiences of reactive care.

Why now?

Due to the recent recommendations by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, it is not just about what happens in Residential Aged Care, but also what happens for older people in every other healthcare setting, including primary care.

Prioritise dignity and respect in aged care. The phrase “you are getting old, what do you expect” is no longer valid. It is ageist. Support and empathetic care for older people and their specific needs should be a priority. It’s imperative that all health professionals interacting with older people undergo formal training and education to deliver better care.

In addition, the post COVID landscape involves flattening the curve of how older people with sub optimally managed chronic conditions are presenting late to crowded hospital emergency departments (EDs) with complications, and flare ups.

Improving health professional attitudes and their understanding of approaches will support proactive healthy ageing, making a difference to the communities they serve.

Why Bollen Health? 

Jane and Chris Bollen are dedicated clinicians who are passionate about improving the care of older people. They have a deep understanding of the unique needs and challenges faced by older people and have been working tirelessly since 2015 to review, research and develop impactful education sessions to support clinicians work more effectively with this population.

Together, we will challenge your assumptions about ageing, support you to work more effectively, and assist in keeping older people living in their own homes for longer, healthily and happily.

Who should do the Program?

GPs, Nurses, Medical Practice Assistants, Practice Managers and Allied Health Professionals working in primary healthcare practices who wish to make a difference for older people living in the community.

  • Better care of older people is a team game, and for teams to succeed in delivering outstanding care, training and coaching is the key to success.

  • The more diverse the audience, the better for the group case study sessions!

“This is a great initiative – thanks for providing proactive and practical tools to bring change to the lives of our patients”

Meet the Coaches

Jane and Chris Bollen are dedicated clinicians who are passionate about improving the care of older people. They have a deep understanding of the unique needs and challenges faced by older people and have been working tirelessly since 2015 to review, research and develop impactful education sessions to support clinicians work more effectively with this population.

Together, we will challenge your assumptions about ageing, support you to work more effectively, and assist in keeping older people living in their own homes for longer, healthily and happily

  • MBBS MBA FRACGP FACHSM MAICD

    Chris is a GP, working at Oakden Medical Centre, South Australia, having completed MBA and Fellowship of Health Service Management and is also director BMP Healthcare Consulting, a company helping organisations to deliver safe and effective care. Areas of expertise include chronic disease management, doctors’ health, care of older people, the primary health care/ community/hospital interfaces, quality improvement and change leadership.

    He has previously been CEO and Chair of several dynamic healthcare organizations plus a member of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare Clinical Communications Advisory Group, the Primary Care Education Advisory group to Kidney Health Australia, Arthritis SA’s Education Advisory Committee and ReturntoWorkSA’s Medical Adviser.

    Utilising research which shows the dissatisfaction of consumers with current models of care, Chris Bollen brings his experiences as a GP with an interest in chronic and complex healthcare needs, systems development and a view of healthcare through the lean thinking lens, to improve clinician and patient experiences of care.

  • RN Cert(CritCare) CertIVTAE DipAcct GAICD

    With a background of nursing and accounting, plus a focus on systems and organisation, Jane is a great believer in data driven improvement for your healthcare business. She is also passionate about nurses working to their full scope of practice in primary care. This passion resulted in Jane serving as a board Director with the Australian Primary Health Care Nurse Association (APNA) 2016-18.

    Jane loves to explore strategies for general practices to keep improving, as well as discuss the challenges they find implementing chronic disease management into their systems and processes. She coaches and supports nurses to improve the care of their patients and is a data queen - helping people make a difference by making data matter to them.

Program Details

Our courses are tailored to your requirements with a number of options available.

Program Offerings

  • On-site practice visits with a 1 hour “Reviewing Performance” Continuing Professional Development (CPD) education session

  • Interactive virtual meetings

  • A face-to-face education day

  • Evening practical team workshops

  • Individual online or over the phone coaching and mentoring of participants.e

  • Access to useful resources and readings

  • Assist with content development for the PHN ‘Healthy Ageing’ web page

  • Participation in the RACGP Accredited 75+ Health Assessment audit program to earn “Measuring Outcomes” CPD hours.

Topics include

“Getting to grips with Frailty and Polypharmacy”
This session introduces the issues of sarcopenia, physical frailty and polypharmacy

“Healthy Ageing and Frailty”
Understand the treatment options and referral pathways for frailty to reduce further decline

“Timely Diagnosis of Dementia”

  • Improve early assessment and management of people with dementia

  • Improve knowledge of what can be done whilst awaiting memory clinic assessment, including future planning