A new speaker series organized through Brock’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences kicks off Wednesday with a discussion about the future of long-term care.
The inaugural event in the Reimagining Aging Speaker Series will be held Wednesday, May 11 from noon to 1:30 p.m. with an online discussion titled “Putting life into years: Promising practices for reimagining long-term care.”
Reimagining Aging is launching as an annual public lecture intended for the Brock audience and wider community about interesting topics within the field of aging and gerontology.
The first speaker for the series is Pat Armstrong, a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at York University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada who led the 10-year “Reimagining long-term residential care” research project.
The discussion will cover topics such as:
- Promising practices to reimagine long-term care
- Lessons learned through the pandemic regarding what is needed for the flourishing and dignity of residents, staff and families
- How to bring joy to everyday life
- What we as citizens across all ages can do to make an impact
The virtual event is free to attend and registration is available on the Master of Applied Gerontology (MAG) events website. Registrants will be sent a link to view the online discussion or can access the event directly on Wednesday afternoon on the Lifesize streaming platform.
The series is affiliated with Brock’s MAG program, a full-time, one-year program that celebrated its first cohort of graduates in June 2021.
An advisory committee was established in fall 2021 consisting of older adults and caregivers living in the Niagara region, as well as representation from local health-care organizations, retirement homes, long-term care, community support agencies, current MAG students and recent graduates. Also part of the committee was Doug Rapelje, a staunch supporter of Brock and its MAG program, who passed away last week at the age of 88.
The committee advocated for the Reimaging Aging Speaker Series as a way to engage MAG students and community members, support community-campus partnerships and highlight the MAG program.
