Date: February 10, 2015
Hosted by: brainXchange
Presented by: Andrea Ubell and Jackie McDonald
Andrea Ubell is the Senior Manager, Programs and Client Services at the Alzheimer Society of York Region, where she is responsible for supervision of the Caregiver Support & Education program and the D.A.Y. Centre programs. Andrea has been supporting families and individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in York Region since 1992 through supportive counseling, support group facilitation, and education groups. She has worked closely with the families to help them navigate through the disease process by advocating for services, linking to resources and assessing for respite day program services. Andrea has a Master degree in Social Work from Wilfred Laurier University, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University and post graduate certificates in gerontology and human services management.
Jackie McDonald is a Personal Support Worker with twenty-two years experience in community and Long Term Care and currently works at Bethammi Nursing Home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. As one of the PSW leads for the Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health (CERAH) Quality Palliative Care in Long Term Care project with Dr. MaryLou Kelley and her team, Jackie has presented provincially on these initiatives; continuing to share her knowledge with other LTC Homes and community partners. Jackie was also the recipient of the first Frances Montgomery PSW Scholarship given at the Hospice Palliative Care of Ontario conference last April.
Event Summary: This presentation discussed how staff grief and loss impacts staff and their work with people with dementia in a variety of settings (both LTC and community settings). Examples of organizations and peer-led strategies to support staff when a person with dementia dies were examined and a study that looked at peer led debriefs in response to staff grief in a LTC home environment were highlighted. Key ingredients for a successful peer debrief, facilitation strategies and a review of key models that may prove beneficial to staff were discussed as well as self-care techniques and the introduction of the new Alzheimer Canada resource: Dementia and Staff Grief: A resource for healthcare providers.
This integrated KTE webinar event is brought to you by the brainXchange in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada.
For more information, please contact Jillian McConnell at: jillian@brainxchange.ca
