About Us

Production

Health Television Network

The Spiritual Care Series and Mental Health Care are productions of Health Television Network in Australia. They have been producing high-quality video education and training courses for the Australian health industry for more than twenty years. What began as a not-for-profit devoted to the continuing education of doctors and pharmacists, soon developed into a solid resource for the training of a wide range of health professionals.

In 2003, HTN officially launched the Aged Care Channel (ACC) delivering effective, mandatory training via satellite to care home facilities. ACC has now grown into the national training platform known as Altura Learning.

HTN has taken all of the lessons it has learned from its ground-breaking courses in medicinal and therapeutic training to create the Spiritual Care Series, equipping health professionals and volunteers with the skills necessary to help older people discover pathways to meaningful ageing. HTN is also currently developing similar ‘quality of life’ courses to assist professionals and volunteers working with the developmentally disabled and those suffering from mental health challenges.

Canadian Distribution

CHAT Canada – The Centre for Healthy Aging Transitions

CHAT Canada (The Centre for Healthy Aging Transitions) facilitates the ongoing conversation around healthy aging – physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. 

Established in 2012 by founding partners – Beulah Garden Homes Society, Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, and Carey Theological College – the Centre for Healthy Aging Transitions developed out of an exploration of Older Adult Resourcing with the conviction that God’s plan extends into every stage in life.

CHAT’s hope is to provide a faith-informed approach to healthy aging and life’s transitions through seminars, workshops, and online resources for learning and connecting with each other, with the belief that these will lead to help and transformation for God’s people around the world.

 

Meet the Facilitators

Leigh Hatcher

Leigh Hatcher

Host

 

Leigh Hatcher is one of Australia’s most respected and experienced broadcast journalists.He’s had a career of 40+ years in radio and television.Leigh has a deep and intimate knowledge of Australian politics, having worked in the Canberra press gallery. He worked at the Seven Network in a range of capacities, including Canberra correspondent, Chief Olympic correspondent and European correspondent, based in London.Leigh was also a senior presenter at Sky News for 13 years, as it led the whole emergence of ‘the 24-hour news cycle’.For the last three years he has worked on ‘the other side’ of media as Director of Public Affairs, and senior consultant for HammondCare.He has authored 3 books including the Australian best-seller, ‘I’m Not Crazy, I’m Just a Little Unwell’.

John Swinton

John Swinton

Subject Matter Expert

 

Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care. (Personal chair). Honorary Professor of Nursing, Centre for Advanced Studies in Nursing, University of Aberdeen. Professor John Swinton is a world-renowned expert in dementia and meaningful ageing, and the founder of the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Spirituality, Health And Disability. Professor John Swinton is also a registered nurse for people with learning disabilities and a registered mental health nurse.

Baptist Housing and HTN share a vision to promote and pursue excellence in the provision of pastoral and spiritual care for the benefit of older people, their significant others and their carers. For over 15 years, HTN has produced high quality evidence-based educational programs, which promote and respond to the physical, mental and spiritual needs of our ageing population. Baptist Housing has been providing housing and spiritual care to seniors in Canada since 1964 and is currently using the Spiritual Care Series to equip a number of volunteers to provide Spiritual Care to residents. The Spiritual Care Series provides volunteers, family, and friends of older people with a recognised standard for delivering pastoral and spiritual care to older people, particularly those living in residential care settings.