Rights for the elderly
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) Rights and Responsibilities of Elderly People Forum has been held in Melbourne.
An audience of service providers and interested community members attended the event at the Beth Weizmann Community Centre.
Marilyn Kraner and Bill Appleby, Jewish Care, Gerard Mansour, Commissioner for Senior Victorians, Sabine Phillips, Russell Kennedy Lawyers, Assoc Prof David Fonda, Geriatrician, Ruth Wein, Psychologist and David Marlow, Executive Director JCCV
The audience included leaders from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Senior Rights Victoria, National Council of Jewish Women of Australia and B’nai B’rith Victoria.
Nina Bassat AM, President of the JCCV said that the community was very fortunate to have such a high powered panel of expert speakers discuss the issues facing elderly people in the Jewish community, including:
– Gerard Mansour, the Commissioner for Senior Victorians
– Bill Appleby, CEO of Jewish Care
– Associate Professor David Fonda, Geriatrician
– Sabine Phillips, Principal Russell Kennedy Lawyers
– Ruth Wein, Australian Jewish Psychologists and Elder Rights Advocacy
– Marilyn Kraner, Acting General Manager Community Services Jewish Care
The speakers explained and discussed a number of key issues facing the elderly within the Jewish community, including:
– The relatively more aged demographic profile of the Australian Jewish community, including a high percentage of Holocaust survivors
– The recent aged cared care reforms and changes
– Anxiety, loss of control, depression & powerlessness, feelings of safety & security and retriggering of traumatic memories through the ageing process
– Dementia and Elder finance abuse
– The changing community needs as the elderly were living longer and choosing to stay home longer
– The differences between medical and financial powers of attorney, guardianship and Advanced Care Plans
– The critical importance of having Advanced Care Directives in place
Assoc Prof David Fonda advised that less than 20% of the general community have Advanced Care Directives in place, and stressed that Advanced Care Plans were essential to ensure that a person’s wishes and values were adhered to as the person aged.
