Summit 2025

Steven Pitman

Summit MC – Nurse Practitioner

Steven Pitman is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner with East Hume Regional Consultancy Palliative Care Service. Steven has completed a Masters of Palliative Care and Masters of Nurse Practitioner through Flinders University. Steven has had over 20 years experience working in palliative care and his special interests include aged care, communication and fostering practical wisdom in palliative care. 

Aaron Wong

Aaron is a dual qualified Consultant Geriatrician and Palliative Medicine Physician and is the Clinical Director of Supportive & Palliative Care at Eastern Health.

He has previously held leadership roles as the Medical Lead for the RMH Residential InReach Service, RAPID Assist Palliative Care Service, Palliative Care@Home program and the Austin Palliative Care Outpatient Service .
 He has an honorary appointment at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and is an honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer with the Department of Medicine University of Melbourne and Monash University.   

Aaron is passionate about holistic compassionate care of older people and optimising quality of life across the continuum of illness. He has a keen interest in improving the quality of palliative care in aged care, interdisciplinary education and has led several collaborative geriatric/palliative care quality improvement projects at a local and health service partnership level.  

 His research and education interests include dementia care, delirium, frailty, polypharmacy and quality use of medicines, multimorbidity, models of care, supportive care in advanced illness, cancer pain/symptom management and end of life care.  

 Outside of medicine, he enjoys watching movies, playing the guitar and drums, travelling and trying out new food places with his wife and 2 daughters.

Charlotte Coulson

RN, BSc-District Nur (hons), MclinNur-PallCare  PEPA Aged Care Educator (she/her)

The interactive workshop will explore how a palliative care approach towards changed behaviours can assist in supporting those living with dementia.

Lucinda Fraser 

Art Therapist – Creative self-care

Limited capacity BOOK EARLY!

Join us for a 60 minute workshop to explore creative self-care activities, and learn about the powerful effects on wellbeing that can occur in the process of art making. We will also share ideas that can help you to creatively express and honour grief encountered in your work companioning people with dementia.  

This workshop will be facilitated by Registered Arts Therapists. You do not need to be an artist or “good at art” to benefit from this workshop. We will be focusing more on the process of art making rather than the outcome. Bring along your curiosity and show up as you are – all are welcome.  

Art materials will be supplied.

Dementia Australia

Enabling EDIE VR experience

Limited capacity BOOK EARLY! *

Enabling EDIE (Educational Dementia Immersive Experience) Acute is an immersive workshop that enables you to see the world through the eyes of a person living with dementia. Using our virtual reality technology, this workshop enhances knowledge of dementia while exploring environmental factors particularly associated with an acute care environment and strategies to improve dementia support.

You will gain knowledge in:

• The perspective of someone living with dementia.
• Identifying environmental factors particularly associated with an acute care environment and how to reduce the impact.
• How to support people living with dementia, through communication and their environment.

This session enhances knowledge of dementia through virtual reality technology that allows participants to see the world through the eyes of a person living with dementia.

* Before booking please read this NOTE ON THE USE OF EDIE.

Tiffany Button – PCV

Tiffany is a Project Officer working with Palliative Care Victoria. Alongside her team, she has developed the Dignified and Respectful Decisions resources for aged care services launched in February this year. Tiffany has been a registered nurse of more than 15 years and began her career in aged care as a personal care worker before moving into critical care as a registered nurse. Over the course of her clinical career, she has pursued roles in education, management, and co-ordination both within Australia and Internationally. She is a passionate advocate for equitable access to health care and improving patient outcomes which led her to complete a Masters in Public Health in 2022. Tiffany now seeks to inspire the next generation of nurses to deliver high quality care and pioneer new ways of working in an ever-changing health care system.

Dr Aaron Wong

Dr Wong will return to the stage to answer any questions you have about palliative care and Dementia.

Linda Harrison – LGBTIQ+ Health

Linda is Director Training and Capacity Building (Disability and Aged Care) at LGBTIQ+ Health Australia. Linda has worked in human services for over 20 years in roles spanning direct support, operational management, quality improvement and policy both in the ACT and Victoria. Linda is a trained Improvement Coach and Lead Auditor with qualifications in applied Human Rights, Health Education, Disability and Social Work.

Linda is passionate about contributing to better health and social outcomes through system improvement, participatory practice and the power of lived experience.

Sarah Bascomb

Project Manager at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre

The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre is one of the research and teaching centres at the University of Tasmania. Sarah oversees the Wicking Centre’s free, large online educational programs designed for the aged care sector: DREAM and Equip. DREAM (Dementia Respite Education and Mentoring) includes online modules, a virtual network and in-person coaching, and was developed to support workers caring for people living with dementia. Equip Aged Care Learning includes short online modules that cover the fundamentals of aged care in Australia, with new modules on the new Aged Care Act and Support at Home currently in production. In addition to these short courses, the Wicking Centre is internationally recognised for its other online teaching programs including the Understanding Dementia and Preventing Dementia Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), recently adding Parkinson’s Disease and MND MOOCs to their offerings. Postgraduate dementia courses are also offered from diploma, bachelor, through to Masters.https://www.utas.edu.au/wicking

Sam and Rose

Hume Palliative Care Aged & Disability Link Nurses

Hi! Sam and Rose here. We are your Aged and Disability Palliative Resource Nurses. We aim to build the capacity of Residential Aged Care Facilities and Disability Accommodation Services in the Hume Region to provide high quality care which meets individual needs/preferences of clients with life limiting illnesses.