KeepAble is the place to find practical content and resources for home care providers, people working in the aged care sector, clients, and communities across Australia. Our team of dedicated professionals and subject matter experts are committed to developing free resources to be used that inspire older people to live independent, active and healthy lives.
Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) through Indigo Australasia Incorporated, iLA developed KeepAble as a sector support and development initiative. Although funding for KeepAble has been provided by the Australian Government, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Australian Government.
The team at KeepAble
Hilary O’Connell
Hilary is the Principal Advisor for Healthy Ageing at iLA. She is one of the driving forces behind the development of KeepAble and LiveUp and is excited to be the Healthy Ageing Ambassador for LiveUp.
Hilary is passionate about the future of ageing in Australia and wants to support people to achieve not only a long lifespan, but also a long health span.
Her 40-year career as an occupational therapist has encompassed work as a clinician, manager and project leader across the disability and aged care sectors, working within several clinical and community settings where her community care knowledge has enabled Hilary to pioneer the implementation of a number of major reform projects. Her passion throughout is with reabling and wellness focused service models in community care.
Hilary has presented extensively on wellness and reablement and has co-authored peer reviewed papers on the ‘Home Independence Program’ with Professor Gill Lewin and on ‘Falls Prevention in Community Care’ with Dr Elissa Burton. She is also very proud to be a co-author on the newly released book ‘Reablement in Long Term Care for Older People’.
If you’re looking for some advice, Hilary suggests “starting small and starting today. Don’t put off making a lifestyle change and build up slowly”. “Use it or lose it” certainly rings true where Hilary is concerned.
For further information on Falls prevention, please review the following links:
Guidebook for Preventing
Falls and Harm From Falls
in Older People
Kirsten Campbell
Kirsten is an occupational therapist who has worked in the full spectrum of aged care service provision from hospitals, through to day therapy, community home visiting and nursing homes. Over the years, she has developed a particular interest in education and organisational influences on service provision, whilst advocating for the rights and respect for older adults.
Kirsten is highly aware of the time constraints and other challenges faced by service providers, especially in the face of reform and accreditation processes. Her drive is to develop accessible, practical industry resources that support excellent client and organisational outcomes. Kirsten also works as a tutor/lecturer for occupational therapy students Edith Cowan University, which complements her work at iLA.
Our Goals
We value the lives of older people. Therefore, it’s our mission to harness actionable knowledge to make every opportunity matter so we can live well for longer – particularly those in our community who receive support in their homes.
Empowerment
To empower older Australians to actively participate in happier, healthier and more independent lives.Authority
To share credible, evidence-based resources that spark conversations and drive change.Accessibility
To encourage older Australians to realise their independence through actions big and small.Dynamism
To encourage society to think differently about ageing.
Our Brand Manifesto
We believe there’s a new way to think about ageing. An approach that no longer prioritises “aged care support services”, but rather encourages prevention and independence through wellness and reablement.
Much like iLA’s approach of “doing with you rather than doing for you”, KeepAble believes real wellness is about participation. Through helpful and comprehensive content, we engage, inform and inspire service providers to deliver a more progressive aged care program.
By engaging with KeepAble, service providers are able to incorporate elements of wellness and reablement at every opportunity.
At KeepAble, we’re advocates for independence. At the same time, we realise that people have different levels of ability. With that in mind, we seek to empower service providers to enhance the lives of every client. We aspire to be an icon for change and a motivating force for a community that seeks a better way.