At nursing homes around the country, activity rosters are marked with the likes of biscuit baking, card games and group dancing. Residents bathe and eat at set times. And the average resident age is 84, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
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Mother of two, Vicki Wilkinson, would know. Until recently, she was one of the residents. Despite the fact she’s almost half the average resident age. Wilkinson, who has multiple postgraduate qualifications and an accomplished career history, moved to a nursing home in 2010, after an accident ultimately left her unable to support her neck and head or control her muscles enough to move as independently as she previously had.
Occupational therapist (OT) and researcher, Libby Callaway, knows stories like these all too well.
‘‘These people are just like you and me,’’ Callaway says. ‘‘They have hopes and dreams for their future.
‘‘At the moment there is a limited range of options for support, equipment or accessible housing for these people. That means aged care nursing homes are really the only option for them....
‘‘There’s a really fundamental human rights issue central to young people living in nursing homes. And that strongly drives me to work hard to address this issue.’’
Callaway wears various hats: she’s a researcher at Monash University’s occupational therapy department in the School of Primary Health Care; she’s an OT at her private practice Neuroskills; and she’s the research manager at the Summer Foundation, an organisation committed to fixing the issue of young people living in nursing homes through building research evidence, demonstrating new housing models and raising awareness of the issue of young people in these environments (Vicki Wilkinson is a Summer Foundation Ambassador).
Callaway’s qualifications include a bachelor of applied science (occupational therapy) and a master of occupational therapy. Her first OT role was at Ivanhoe Manor Private Rehabilitation Hospital in 1994.
‘‘I entered the workforce and began working in a rehabilitation hospital for people with acquired brain injury and other trauma.
It became really apparent that OT could offer a diverse and really multi-faceted career pathway, particularly in the field of neurological rehabilitation.’’ Callaway is presently completing a PhD examining the outcomes of people with spinal cord injuries returning to community living.
She says she’s hopeful this work, combined with her current roles, will significantly benefit people with neurological disability.
‘‘This research should significantly add to the evidence base on the long-term outcomes of people with acquired neurological disability,’’ she says.
