Project News and Media Coverage

Dr. Mary Lou Kelley Makes Presentation to the Alzheimer Knowledge Exchange (AKE)

On July 16 2013, Dr. Mary Lo Kelley presented a webinar through the AKE. See presentation resources below:

QPC-LTC Student Trainee wins First Prize at International Congress on Palliative Care

Stacey Saukko, QPC-LTC Student Trainee, presented and won first prize in the student poster competition at the 19th International Congress on Palliative Care in Montreal, Quebec, October 9-12th, 2012. Her poster "Music Students' Experiences of Music Interaction with Resdients Living in Two Northwestern Ontario Long-Term Care Homes" outlined her project. Congratulations, Stacey!

Lead PSW and Collaborator Discuss PSW Competency Development

Lead PSW Jackie McDonald and QPC-LTC Collaborator Dr. Marg McKee Discuss the development of the PSW competencies in an article for the Chronicle Journal. To read the article please click here.

Project Manager Explains How Research Supports the Community

Project Manager, Jill Marcella, explains how the Quality Palliative Care in Long Term Care project supports long term care homes in delivering palliative and end-of-life care. Please click here to read the full article.

Project Featured in Long Term Care Magazine

The Quality Palliative Care in Long Term Care project was featured in the Winter 2011 issue of Long Term Care Magazine. Please click here to read the article: Long Term Care Homes Move Toward Formalizing Their Palliative Care Programs.

Lakehead University Music Program Helps Improve Quality of Life for Residents in LTC Homes

Eleven students enrolled in Lakehead University’s Department of Music course, Creative Community Engagements in Music, have the unique opportunity to apply their knowledge to create a program for residents in two local long-term care homes.

Students and instructors Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans and Professor Lise Vaugeois, are working closely with the staff at St. Joseph’s Care Group - Bethammi Nursing Home and Hogarth Riverview Manor to organize music activities with residents. Please visit Lakehead University's Communication bulletin for more information.

Please visit CBC Radio for an audio clip of this event.

Music in LTC was also featured in the following article:

Chronicle Journal Article - Music Makes Life Better

Dr. Kelley Advises Expert Panel on the Future of LTC in Ontario

Dr. Mary Lou Kelley has been invited to present recommendations to the Ontario Long Term Care Association’s expert panel on the Future of Long Term Care in Ontario. On October 24, 2011 Mary Lou will present recommendations on the need to incorporate high quality palliative care in long term care homes. Please visit Lakehead University's Communication bulletin for more information.

Dr. Kelley Receives Award from CHPCA

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association announced at its annual conference in Newfoundland that Mary Lou Kelley is the recipient of the 2011 Award of Excellence in Hospice Palliative Care. She is the first person in Northwestern Ontario as well as the first university based researcher and educator to be awarded with this achievement. Please visit Lakehead University's Communication bulletin for more information.

Collaborator and New Student Trainee Receive ORC Early Researcher Awards

The Ontario Research Coalition of Research Institutes / Centres on Health & Aging (ORC) brings together seven key research institutes in Ontario who work on producing evidence that could help to improve the quality of care provided to seniors in Ontario. CERAH is one of seven research institutes/centres on Health and Aging in Ontario and as a partner in the coalition, receives funding to offer one or more Early Researcher Awards. These awards provide salary support for Early Researchers or can be used to offset the cost of conducting research. Collaborator Kathy Kortes-Miller and new Student Trainee Kim Ramsbottom were two out of the three that received this funding. Please CLICK HERE for more information.

Quality Palliative Care in Long-Term Care Alliance Announces National Conference

Save the Date for Toronto, Ontario, October 15-18, 2012. More information to be released in coming months.

Quality Palliative Care in Long-Term Care OTN Event

The Alliance hosted an OTN Event on June 28th, 2011. To view the agenda and video archive, please visit our Alliance Resources page.

Placement Student Receives Grant from Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay

Graduate student researcher Stephanie Hendrickson received a $1,000 cheque today from the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay’s Local Social Science Research Grant to help conduct and communicate the findings of innovative local research to benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease living in long term care homes. With the funding Stephanie, a scholar in the masters of social work program at Lakehead University is eager to begin a project supervised by Dr. Mary Lou Kelly entitled: “Improving Communication Around Death and Dying for Personal Support Workers (PSWs) in Long Term Care (LTC) using a High-Fidelity Simulation Experience”. For more information regarding this award please CLICK HERE.

Student Trainee Receives Award at Canadian Association on Gerontology Conference

Lakehead University student Jessica McAnulty (BA Gerontology), CERAH Research Assistant and MSW candidate, recently won first prize in a graduate student poster competition held jointly by the Institute of Strategic Initiatives, Institute of Aging, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Jessica presented her poster, entitled An Assessment of Organizational Infrastructure Gaps, Barriers and Enablers to Developing Formal Palliative Care Programs: A Comparative Case Study of Two Long-Term Care Homes in Northern Ontario, at the Canadian Association on Gerontology's 39th Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting held in Montreal from December 2 to 4. Jessica will receive a certificate and $500, which she plans to use to offset costs associated with completing her thesis. Congratulations Jessica!

CERAH and St. Joseph's Care Group Featured in Short Film Partnerships in Dementia Care: Prevention to End of Life

Researchers from Lakehead's Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health (CERAH) and St. Joseph's Care Group (SJCG) have appeared in a short film highlighting the work of the QPC-LTC Alliance along with the work of Dr. Elaine Wiersma (QPC-LTC co-investigator)

CERAH researchers, Drs. Mary Lou Kelley and Elaine Wiersma, together with Tracy Buckler, President and CEO, SJCG, as well as select clients and staff, were featured in the five-minute film about developing a culture of palliative care in long-term care homes and self-management of dementia.

View the Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health - ADI 2011 video

Dementia in LTC was also featured in the following articles:

Chronicle Journal Article - Dementia's Changing Face: Lakehead University profs participate in international Alzheimer's event
Lakehead University Argus Article - The Changing Face of Dementia

Additional Media Coverage

Lakehead University Communications - Politicians Look to University’s Expertise to Learn about Needs of Dying People
Chronicle Journal Article - Caring at the end of life