Our Allied Health
Patricia (Tricia) Maggs
B.App Sc (Phty) Grad Dip in Phty (Neurology)
Our Physiotherapist
Patricia Maggs (Tricia) completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy at Lincoln Institute in Melbourne. She then worked in Melbourne, England and in Germany before returning to Australia and working in the fields of Gerontology and Neurology and completing her Post Graduate Diploma in Neurology (Physiotherapy) at Melbourne University. For the last nine years Tricia has worked as the Aged Care Physiotherapy team leader at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Park Campus managing the physiotherapy service to 94 Geriatric Evaluation and Management beds as well as Community Therapy Services to the Aged Care population. During her time at Royal Park, Tricia has developed, co-ordinated and presented at an annual multi-disciplinary dementia seminar day for which she was nominated for an excellence award. She has published in the Australian Physiotherapy Journal on balance and mobility outcomes for stroke, presented at the Australian Physiotherapy Association on Physiotherapists Knowledge about Dementia and had a poster at the Australian and New Zealand Sarcopenia and Frailty Research Conference on the importance of ambulation and the feasibility and efficacy of progressive resistance exercise training.
At Age Right Physiotherapy, Tricia provides specialised rooms- based therapy as well as mobile and telehealth physiotherapy services to older adults. She sees her role as a Gerontological Physiotherapist is to improve people’s lives through exercise following acute and acute on chronic injuries and for chronic disease management. She can also provide guidance to healthy aging clients to maximise their ongoing independence and well-being. In her first session with the client, she completes a thorough physical assessment based on the client’s history. During this assessment she will assess the client’s functional capacity to move around the bed, transfer, walk, ascend and descend steps. She will identify specific signs such as strength, range of movement, balance, speed and exercise tolerance that she can use to remeasure progress. She will also use objective measures such as the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). In a follow-up review she will use the information gained from this assessment to create an individualised exercise program. She will discuss with the client (and their carer if appropriate) how much support they would like to complete these exercises at home or in the Age Right rooms and devise with them an ongoing management plan.
The client can have as much or as little support to achieve their physical goals as they would like at Age Right. Following the client’s assessment and exercise program development, Tricia can provide them with a program and any necessary equipment to do the exercises independently. The client can choose whether to work independently or with ongoing support 1:1 or in the rooms in a small group or in a combination of these possibilities. Exercise can change your life – but you have to do it! At Age Right we want to help make it possible.
Dr Margaret Pozzebon
Our Speech Pathologist
Dr Margaret Pozzebon is a Speech Pathologist who has extensive clinical experience helping people with speech, language, cognitive-memory, and swallowing difficulties arising due to a neurocognitive illness such as dementia, cognitive decline, stroke, or a neurodegenerative condition. She has worked leading Melbourne-based health services across the various points of care; such as in specialist dementia diagnostic clinic (called ‘CDAMS’), inpatient wards, rehabilitation centres, community-outreach programs, residential aged care facilities, and in private practice.
Margaret takes a client-centred and wholistic approach when working with individuals and their partner/families to help and support them in dealing with their current circumstances. Her underlying working philosophy is based on ‘knowing the person’ and that communication is essentially for making an emotional connection with others. Margaret is dedicated to providing a high-quality service to her clients, and in doing so strives to help people live their best life despite the illness challenges.
Dr Margaret Pozzebon is a Speech Pathologist who has extensive clinical experience helping people with speech, language, cognitive-memory, and swallowing difficulties arising due to a neurocognitive illness such as dementia, cognitive decline, stroke, or a neurodegenerative condition. She has worked leading Melbourne-based health services across the various points of care; such as in specialist dementia diagnostic clinic (called ‘CDAMS’), inpatient wards, rehabilitation centres, community-outreach programs, residential aged care facilities, and in private practice.
Margaret takes a client-centred and wholistic approach when working with individuals and their partner/families to help and support them in dealing with their current circumstances. Her underlying working philosophy is based on ‘knowing the person’ and that communication is essentially for making an emotional connection with others. Margaret is dedicated to providing a high-quality service to her clients, and in doing so strives to help people live their best life despite the illness challenges. Her PhD completed in 2019 investigated the spousal experience of supporting their partner living with dementia, specifically Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). This research resulted in several well cited journal publications. Margaret continues to work collaboratively with a small consortium group of international speech pathologists who are seeking better understand the emotional-communicative needs of people living with a language-led dementia (such as PPA) and applying this knowledge to inform practical and evidence-based approaches to intervention.
Geriatricians, Neuropsychiatrists, GPs, Neuropsychologists, aged care services and concerned family members all seek out Margaret’s high-quality expertise, particularly for diagnostic evaluations for possible language-led dementia conditions, as well as to provide therapeutic intervention and management for adults diagnosed with common and atypical forms of dementias.
Margaret is available for face-to-face consultations at the Age Right consulting rooms in Malvern East, for home-based visits and in residential aged care facilities. Telehealth consultations can also be arranged on request.
Gigi Lai
Our DIETITIAN
Gigi completed her Bachelor of Nutrition Science, followed by a Master of Dietetics degree at Monash University. She works at different clinics across Melbourne as a private practice dietitian. Gigi’s warm, caring, and patient personality allows her to become a competent dietitian working in the community. According to patients’ medical needs, Gigi will listen and understand their eating habits and pattern, tailor-made individual and package dietetics counselling sessions for our customers to help them regain health and enjoy a fruitful life. Gigi always creates plans together with her clients to make sure they are satisfied and confident in making lifestyle changes and can include their favourite food in a healthy, balanced eating plan, as she believes that creating a sustainable strategy is more realistic than giving out perfect meal plans. Throughout her career, Gigi has developed her interest in working with older adults. She believes every person deserves to enjoy their favourite food, regardless of their health conditions. Gigi ensures her clients leave their appointment with confidence, feeling positive and empowered to achieve their health goals. Gigi has the professional knowledge and experience to assess the nutritional needs and recommend appropriate nutrition treatment for referred patients. Gigi will evaluate and monitor dietetic intervention to help ensure a positive effect on patients’ nutritional status, aid the recovery process, control symptoms, and improve well-being.
Gigi enjoys cooking and baking; she spends lots of time developing new healthy recipes. She also loves to go hiking, volunteer, and eat out with friends on her days off.
Gigi is available for consultations on-site, home visits, and residential aged care facilities.
She offers nutritional advice on a range of health conditions including:
– General healthy eating, Malnutrition, Sarcopenia, Anaemia, Bone health and osteoporosis, Weight management, High blood pressure, High cholesterol and high triglyceride, Stroke, Gout, Fatty liver, Diarrhoea and constipation, Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Chronic liver diseases Kidney diseases, Cancer plus Preoperative and postoperative care.
