What is PALZ?
PALZ is a support organisation established to ensure all those from a high-powered work environment, and with the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, or similar, are able to maintain dignity and respect through active participation and interaction within a socially and intellectually stimulating environment.
PALZ is providing input into research currently being undertaken by NARI – the National Ageing Research Institute Inc.
PALZ has tax-deductability status.
How and when does PALZ operate?
- Autonomous groups with annual reporting requirements to PALZ Board.
- Each group co-ordinated by a facilitator; Secretary provided by Service club, Health-care agency, Council, or interested citizens
- Each group provided with a set of Standard Operating Procedures for guidance.
- Appropriate venue eg. Council Hall; corporate meeting room
- Bi-monthly meetings 10am-11.45am
- Corporate-style speakers
- Speakers briefed on audience need for multi-sensory inputs and repetition of key points
- Non-meeting months may be industry visits, social events, or specific professional groups eg engineers, managers, lawyers, electricians
- Future plans include an annual conference.
Who are the members of each group?
Those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease or similar diseases; who are at the early stages of the disease; who have worked within an environment that has been mentally challenging; and the departure from which has left that person with a sense of significant social and intellectual deprivation.
Where does PALZ operate?
PALZ is able to operate anywhere there is a need, and will be expanded across Australia and beyond over the coming years. It simply requires notification to the Board that there is intent to establish a group (as above) and adherence to governance requirements.
Why is there a need for PALZ?
Diagnosis is often accompanied by social and intellectual deprivation and feelings of loss of personal identity and self-worth. PALZ restores dignity whilst ensuring that intellectual and social capabilities, with like-minded high-thinkers, are maintained.
An early career in Medical Imaging, in both the public and private sector, led to senior management roles. Subsequently Cathy managed a busy function centre for a number of years before being approached to take up an executive management role with the Australian International Airshow, which she enjoyed very much. Cathy left this role to undertake the duties of Rotary International District Governor in 2005, following which she established her Executive Management Consultancy.
A move from Medical Imagining to Management saw Cathy add a number of Management Diplomas and a Business degree to her qualifications., with her currently undertaking a Masters degree in Leadership.
Cathy has been exceedingly active in both the business and wider community over many years with numerous leadership roles, including having been being elected the first female President of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, and the first female President of a Rotary Club in the ANZO region. Cathy has served on/chaired over thirty different Rotary club, District, and international committees with a number of these still current. She has represented the International President at conferences both nationally and internationally, on a number of occasions. In the community Cathy has likewise held a wide range of roles from Geelong Performing Arts Centre Trustee to Barwon Water Board Director, and in the health area as Chair of the McKellar Centre Hydrotherapy Centre fund-raising committee, Chair of the Mercy Health Rice Village Advisory committee, and as a member of the Anam Cara Board. Cathy also sits on the State Committee of the Order of Australia Association.
Cathy’s contributions have been acknowledged through both the Medal of the Order of Australia, her selection as a State finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year awards, and through a number of business and Rotary awards.
Tony Still Director
Twelve years in the Royal Australian Airforce, saw Tony working as an Air Traffic Controller in NSW, NT, Qld and Malaysia, controlling military aircraft and civilian passenger airplanes. Upon resigning his commission to settle in Newcastle with his young family, Tony opened a computer learning centre for children and an IT consultancy aimed at supporting small to medium businesses around the country. Tony sold these successful businesses in 1999 and joined a 50-year-old family Hire Company as its CIO. Tony, as part of the senior executive team was heavily involved strategic planning and acquisitions, as Kennard’s grew from 13 branches to 90 and revenue base of $30m to over $120m.
Nine years ago, Tony decided to transfer his business skills to the NGO sector. A Master Degree in Social Change and Development, coupled with an MBA has enabled Tony to straddle the world of business and Not for Profit and develop programs aimed at supporting people who have been marginalised and excluded from our community.
The opportunity to work with some of the world’s most vulnerable people saw Tony take on the senior role for Save the Children in Nauru in 2014/15. Supporting asylum seekers who were being held in detention after escaping war and persecution in their homeland, was a life changing experience, which has further ignited the passion to build stronger and more compassionate communities.
Now, back in Australia, Tony is using his business and NGO experience in assisting NGO’s to make the transition from charity to sustainable business.
Michael Woodward Patron
Associate Professor Michael Woodward AM (MB, BS, MD, FRACP)
Associate Professor Michael Woodward accepted the invitation to be the Patron of PALZ – Professionals with Alzheimer’s, in November 2016.
Associate Professor Michael Woodward is Head of Aged Care Research and the Memory Clinic at Austin Health in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is a specialist in geriatric medicine with a major interest in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias. As head of the Memory Clinic and the Medical and Cognitive Research Unit he is involved in currently over 30 research trials of new therapies for AD and related disorders. He is immediate Past President of the AC4R – the Australasian Consortium of Centres for Clinical Cognitive Research that brings together researchers into therapeutic agents for dementia. He is a board member of Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria and chairs their Dementia Research Foundation, which administers a $2 million fund that awards $300,000 of research funding each year.
Associate Professor Woodward’s publication record includes numerous original research and review articles and several book chapters. Recent publication-related roles include his chairmanship of the ‘Geriatric Therapeutics’ section of the editorial board of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice. He is also a member of the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Reference Committee, which approves drugs for Australian Veterans.
Recent professional organisational positions include Chair of the Committee for Physician Training and member of the Board of Censors, Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He is currently a member of the Education and Training Subcommittee of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine, having previously chaired that subcommittee. He was previously President of the Australian Association of Gerontology, Victorian branch.
Associate Professor Woodward is frequently called upon to share his broad knowledge and experience of geriatric medicine, especially dementia, at major scientific meetings in Australia and overseas.
