Carrie Spinks1, Perri Waddell2, Nicole Smith3
1IPC Consultant and Facilitator, Australasian College for Infection Prevention & Control (ACIPC), 2ACIPC (FIPC Course Facilitator), 4 Coojong Road, Dalyellup, WA 6230, perri.waddell@acipc.org.au, 3Chief Operating Officer, Community Home Australia (AUS)
Biography:
Award winning Aged Care nurse, Perri Waddell is a migrant, hospital trained nurse who has called Australia home for the past 22 years. She has committed herself to role modeling aged care as a nursing career pathway. Perri holds a Masters in Clinical Nursing~Gerontology (ECU), Bachelor of Dementia (UTAS) and Post Graduate Certificate in Infection Control (Griffith). Perri is a credentialled IPC- Primary and contracted facilitator for ACIPC’s FIPC course and has facilitated over 700 students through the FIPC course. Perri is a Clinical Aged Care Manager in residential care in a very remote desert community in Western Australia. Perri recognises the challenges aged care IPC leads face when driving best practice from the front line, especially when supporting people living with dementia.
Carrie is an experienced infection prevention control consultant, holding a BSc (RN), a Master of Science (Advanced Nurse Practitioner) and a Master of Advanced Practice (Infection Prevention and Control). In addition, she has post graduate qualifications in chemotherapy, gastroenterology/endoscopy, genetics, immunisation, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. As a registered nurse Carrie has experience across many healthcare settings in both Australia and the UK – where she became a Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Endoscopists. For the past 17 years she has specialised in aged care management, quality/governance and infection prevention and control. Carrie is a full time member of the ACIPC Team as an IPC Consultant and also facilitates and develops aged care content for the ACIPC’s IPC Foundations (FIPC) course, ACIPC IPC Aged Care short course. Carrie is passionate about IPC and especially strengthening the aged care sector; she believes the future is bright with ongoing research, technological advances, and new knowledge bringing practice change in so many areas.
Nicole Smith is a passionate advocate for empathetic, enabling, and relationship-centred approaches in aged care. With a nursing background and a strong commitment to improving the lives of people living with dementia, she has led initiatives that promote inclusive, supportive communities—most notably Open the Doors 2030.
In partnership with Dr Rodney Jilek, Nicole co-founded Community Home Australia (CHA) and CHAIR—an all-inclusive Indonesian resort that reimagines care and accommodation for older people.
As a Clinical First Responder with Aspen Medical, funded by the Commonwealth, Nicole worked across four states during the pandemic. This experience gave her a deep understanding of the challenges facing aged care homes and reinforced her drive for meaningful reform.
Combining clinical experience, gerontology expertise, and community-building insight, Nicole continues to influence aged care practice and policy, striving to improve quality of life for people living with dementia and those who care for them.
Abstract:
This interactive workshop reimagines infection prevention and control (IPC) in aged care settings by viewing dementia care through a contemporary lens. We begin by shifting the parameters of traditional models of care, instead highlighting the strength, ability, enablement, and inclusion of people living with cognitive impairment. Drawing inspiration from the Open the Doors movement and the Community Home Australia (CHA) model, we view risk and restriction with the perspective that champions the rights and strengths of people living with dementia, promoting dignity and connection as central to safe care environments. Building on this foundation, the workshop transitions into a dynamic, hands-on activity using the hierarchy of controls to break the chain of infection as a practical framework for IPC. In teams, each representing an infection scenario, participants will explore and share real-world strategies for disrupting the infections/outbreaks. The emphasis will be that effective IPC is possible without compromising personhood.