Gather at the Gallery Exhibit on now

MAREP's Lisa Meschino is featured in an article in the Kitchener Record about the Alzheimer Society's Gather at the Gallery program and exhibit. 

Gather at the Gallery, a 10 week collaborative program run with local art galleries, museums and studios, provides an opportunity for persons with dementia and their care partners to "learn and talk about art, and experiment with different media, including pottery, glass, fusion, paining, collage and drawing" (para. 4).

The Waterloo Community Arts Centre/Button Factory on Regina Street South in Waterloo is featuring a special exhibition of the participants' art until May 31st.

Lisa Meschino is working with the Alzheimer Society of KW to research the impacts of this program. For more information on Lisa's work, click here for an article posted in MAREP's newsletter.

Ontario Seniors Care Strategy

The McGuinty Government is moving forward with a seniors care strategy which will enable older adults to live healthy and longer at home.  The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care posted a news release yesterday, entitled 'Ontario Helping More Seniors Live At Home Longer',  which outlined the new strategy:

• Expansion of doctor’s house calls
• Increase in access to home care for seniors in need
• Establishing care co-ordinators to work with health care providers so seniors receive the right care, particularly as they recover from a hospital stay
• Allowing seniors to adapt their home to meet their needs as they age with the assistance of the Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit
• Helping seniors stay healthy by eating well and exercising regularly so they can manage their own care and stay mobile (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2012, Para. 2)

As stated in the article:

The Seniors Care Strategy will help our seniors get the right care, at the right time and in the right place – which for many seniors is at home, where they want to be. Ontario will benefit greatly from Dr. Sinha’s advice on how to develop and implement this strategy. (Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care)

Mayor's Forum Age Friendly Waterloo

In November 2009, Mayor Halloran hosted Waterloo's first Age Friendly City forum. Since that time our community has worked together to ensure that the City of Waterloo becomes a place where all residents age safely, enjoy good health and participate fully in their community. On Thursday June 14th Mayor Halloran will be hosting the Age Friendly Waterloo Forum from 8:30-12:00pm at Luther Village on the Park. (Please see flyer below for details.)

The Longevity Revolution

I was just reading an e-newsletter sent by the International Federation on Ageing, which provided a link to a very interesting article in the 'the age'. The article features Alexandre Kalache, former World Health Organisation's Director of Ageing and reports on his forced retirement at the age of 62. He argues these types of policies are oppressive and do not represent today's increased life expectancy. Nor do these policies reflect, what is he calling, the new social construct. As stated in the article:

We are going to age differently. We are starting to see role-models who are active, demanding, who will want to work longer or will want more leisure or will want to take part in society and expect that people will listen to their voices. It's exciting because it's a new stage of human development … It's going to be a very vibrant transformational period that is going to have lasting influences.

In the article, Alexandre offers insights into what Australia, and other countries, can do to prepare for, and support, the longevity revolution. What a great term.

U of G Accessibility Conference

The University of Guelph is hosting an Accessibility Conference from Tuesday May 29-Wednesday May 30th. One of the sessions that stands out is the presentation by the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies that explores 'Livable and Inclusive Communities for Seniors with Disabilities and all Citizens: Model and Tools for Actions - Research & Teaching'. This topic is relevant to us at MAREP since we have been working with community partners on an Age Friendly Initiative (to view MAREP's age friendly communities website, click here). For a full conference program, and more information on this session, please click here.

WW Dementia Network Education Day

There is still space available for you to register for the Education Day hosted by the Waterloo Wellington Dementia Network where Dr. Sherry Dupuis, Director of MAREP, is presenting.

Topic 1: Rethinking the Language of Dementia (What we say and how we say it matters)
Dr. Sherry Dupuis PhD., MAREP Director, University of Waterloo discusses how words shape our thinking and impact the care we provide.

Topic 2: Compassion Fatigue (Finding your balance)
Sandra Parkinson and Laura McShane, Community Educators from The Canadian Mental Health Association, discuss how we in caring professions often struggle with how to refuel our emotional wellness while giving of ourselves daily.

Location: St. George’s Hall in Waterloo, 665 King St. North, Waterloo
Date: Friday, June22nd
Time: 8:30 – 3:30 (registration at 8:00)
Cost: $50.00 (includes refreshments, lunch, compassion Fatigue Workbook and Handouts)
Register:online at www.alzheimerkw.com or Call 519-742-1422

Join the Fireside Chat!

On June 19th from 12-1pm, we will be leading a fireside chat (i.e. a web-based seminar put on by the Alzheimer Knowledge Exchange) about the PiDC Alliance. The PiDC Alliance is a collaborative research network and research initiative focused on improving the dementia care experience for persons with dementia, family members, and staff in long-term care and community-based care. The session will highlight key findings from the project and offer tools and resources to those seeking to embark on their own culture change initiative. To join the session, follow the directions below. For more information on the PiDC Alliance, visit the website at www.pidc.uwaterloo.ca

Login information for live event

1. From your telephone: dial the teleconference line: 1-855-450-7670 enter pass code: 2371438

2. To log in to the web conference, go to: http://ake.adobeconnect.com/join
3. In the Adobe Connect login screen, use the first login option to login as a GUEST:

• Enter the session by selecting the 'Guest' option
• Enter your First and Last Name
• Click 'Enter Room'- you should be in!

Note:

• Log in at least 10 minutes before the session.
• If the link does not work directly from this document, please copy and paste it into your web browser address bar
• If your computer SPEAKERS are on please turn it OFF or MUTE the volume to prevent feedback

Mayor’s Age Friendly Forum

The City of Waterloo has been named a member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Network of Age-friendly Cities for its commitment to assessing and improving its age-friendliness. Join us on June 14th, 8:30-12:00 at the Sunshine Centre in Luther Village where the City of Waterloo will be sharing information about this designation. An agenda with a timeline for the day will be posted soon.