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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2023 AGE AGM

(check out our social platforms for lots of pics of the AGM)

Our hybrid 2023 AGE AGM was a big success. We welcomed Board Members, staff, GPA Certified Coaches and Certified Master Coaches, partners, friends and special guests. Ted Hudson, Director of Marketing for all Schlegel Villages, was our Guest Speaker. Ted spoke on the philosophy and history behind the popular podcast, Stories From the Green Bench, #ElderWisdom. This initiative honours the wisdom of elders and works to counter ageism and restore the elders of our society to a place of reverence. Thank you, Ted, for a most interesting and motivating talk.

Last night we also said goodbye to three AGE Board Members.

Henrietta Van hulle, Vice President, Client Outreach, Stakeholder & Government Relations at Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA), has been a long-time volunteer AGE Board Member. Henri served eight years on the Board, including two terms as Chair of the AGE Board (2017 – 2020). Her expertise in health and safety, extensive knowledge of the sector and strong belief in dementia-care education for professional care staff have been invaluable to the growth of AGE and the spread of Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) in Dementia Care. In honour of her long and dedicated service, AGE donated to the Alzheimer’s Society of Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk, Hamilton, Halton.

Knowing Henri as we do, she may have reached her term limit as a Board Member, but we are confident she will continue to promote the value of GPA education and the efforts of the AGE Board and the AGE Team as we work together to spread GPA’s person-centered approach to dementia care across Canada and beyond.

We presented a special thank you gift to Board Member Michael Dwyer — something to take with him on his travels in this next exciting stage of life – retirement. Michael joined the Board in 2019. As a CPA, his wide-ranging, cross-sector financial experience in both the private and public sectors, particularly his expertise in accounting and the fields of investments and data collection and distribution, were invaluable to AGE’s growth. We also thank Michael for his service as Treasurer on the Board and for his always thoughtful and insightful approach to guiding AGE in its financial journey as a not-for-profit social enterprise. Michael’s gentle sense of humour will be missed on the Board. We wish him a wonderful and well-deserved retirement.

Dr. Andria Bianchi, Bioethicist and Clinician-Scientist at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, joined the Board in 2021 and quickly assumed the role of Chair of the Governance Committee. Her work ensured the Board continues to have sufficient professional expertise to fulfill its functional, ethical, and legal responsibilities. We thank Andria sincerely for her contributions to AGE and its mission, particularly as they relate to strengthening Board governance. We wish her well in the future. As a way of saying thank you for the time and energy she brought to this role, AGE has donated to the Alzheimer’s Society of Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk, Hamilton, Halton.

At the 2023 AGE AGM, we also welcomed four new Members to the AGE Board. We are pleased and excited to have the following Members with us on our journey to spread person-centred dementia-care education.

Please visit the Board page on our website to learn more about each new Board Member.

Dr. Lori Schindel Martin, Director, Research Chair | Professor Emeritus, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Toronto Metropolitan University. Lori is one of the three founding Board Members of AGE Inc.

Jane Joris, Director, Vice Chair | General Manager of Long-Term Care, County of Lambton, Ontario

Karimah Alidina, Director, Governance & Human Resource Chair | Chief Nursing Executive, Runnymede Health Centre, Toronto

Brendan Brooks, Director | Chartered Financial Analyst

A Special Tribute in Memory of Our Dear Friend, David Jewell

David Jewell, former Director of the Regional Geriatric Program, in Hamilton, Ontario, passed away on January 25th, 2023.

We are saddened by the recent loss of David, a friend, colleague, mentor and leader. David was instrumental in the initial pilot of GPA through his participation on the GPA Steering Committee representing the Regional Geriatric Program Central and the Continuing Gerontological Education Cooperative (CGEC). After the CGEC transitioned into the not-for-profit AGE Inc, David joined the AGE Board of Directors for two terms, lending his expertise in his calm, cool and collected way that was legendary among Geriatric Clinicians and Advocates. He brought levity and humour to meetings and projects, modelling how to be a good leader and a good human. David remained supportive of the AGE Team even after his retirement from the RGPc, mentoring and recommending students who positively impact AGE and represent his legacy. He will be truly missed.

Read David’s obituary here.

April Morganti, AGE Executive Director, leaves to pursue new opportunities.

A Message from Officers of the AGE Board.

We thank April for her significant contributions to the company over the past few years, where she led with passion. During her tenure, AGE experienced tremendous growth and expansion.

AGE has grown physically – in terms of its new bricks and mortar office location and the number of new staff onboarded during the pandemic to meet the company’s rapid growth.
AGE has also grown successfully virtually, as demonstrated by the launch of GPA eLearning 4th edition in 2021 and the introduction of popular new virtual formats for GPA Certified Coach Workshops, exciting online presentations at various virtual research conferences in the sector, as well as the team’s ability to accomplish all of this (and more!) efficiently and effectively, while working remotely for two and a half years.

We wish April well for the future. In the interim, longstanding Operations Manager Paula DiLoreto will be managing AGE while the Board conducts a search for the next Executive Director. The Board is grateful for and fully confident in the staff’s ability to continue to serve customers well, focusing on providing high-quality learning experiences that support healthcare providers’ and students’ daily interactions with older adults living with dementia, while also growing AGE product offerings grounded in evidence-informed research.

We look forward to the next chapter for AGE, and will support the AGE team through this time of change. We have complete faith in this dynamic not-for-profit social enterprise and anticipate strong future growth and productivity that continues to showcase the expertise AGE brings as a leader in the field of dementia-care education.

Julian Quinton,	Laurie Fox,
AGE Board Chair	AGE Board Vice Chair

Read our updates on AGE Research

If you haven’t had time to review our new updated Research page on the website, you can download the AGE Research Flyer (English & French) for a synopsis of what we’ve been up to!

Download AGE Research Flyer in English.

Download AGE Research Flyer in French.

AGE is committed to regular, rigorous formal review and quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the GPA curriculum. This has resulted in an impactful education intervention that promotes sustainable organizational culture change, grounded in best practice and theoretical dementia care principles. Collaboration in research is incredibly important to success and we are most grateful to all who contribute. Have you heard about the AGE Research and Evaluation Service? If not, you can learn more here. Or in French, here.

All GPA formats are now available in a virtual option (and getting rave reviews)

“Coaching in a virtual world presents an opportunity to enhance system and personal competency in a safe, collaborative, interactive format. It offers aspiring GPA coaches the opportunity to embrace technology as a means to an end. The use of virtual Ice Breakers, Gallery View conversations/demos/chat room group interaction, Menti & poll questions, website resources (e.g. ALPs), fillable documents, etc. — all of these make the GPA learning engaging and innovative. It becomes a collaboration “with” the learners instead of “to” the learners.”

— Bob Spicer, GPA Master Coach, Psychogeriatric Resource Consultant, North Bay Regional Health Centre, ON speaking about virtual GPA Certified Coach Workshops.

Watch our video to learn more about GPA virtual options.

AGE Executive Director chats with Scott Thompson on GLOBAL, 900 a.m. CHML

Don’t miss this free-flowing conversation between AGE Executive Director April Morganti and Global’s Scott Thompson. They chat about AGE Inc., the urgent need for dementia education and how our not-for-profit social enterprise is weathering the pandemic. Listen here: https://omny.fm/shows/scott-thompson-show/spotlight-on-age-dementia-education-and-care-for-o

AT CGNA2021, AGE Inc. presented on evaluations of our new GPA Bathing Program due out later this year …

Presented by AGE’s Dr. Victoria McLelland at the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association (#CGNA2021) Biennial Conference in April, 2021. View our presentation from CGNA.

For people living with dementia, bathing can be a confusing and frightening experience, and this fear and confusion is often expressed in the form of responsive behaviours. Healthcare providers (HCPs) struggle with knowing how best to support people with bathing-related responsive behaviours, especially in the context of limited resources and difficulties with effective communication. Many HCPs end up feeling alone and unprepared when faced with bathing a person living with dementia.

AGE Inc. developed two Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) Bathing eLearning units to strengthen care providers’ knowledge, confidence and skill in providing person-centred, evidence-informed bathing care. The suitability and effectiveness of these units was pilot-tested with Mississauga Halton Behavioural Supports Ontario staff in long-term and community care. View our poster to learn more.

AGE’s GPA Bathing Program is due out later this year. Learn more about this program in this one-page flyer.

6 Things I’ve Learned about Leading in a Pandemic

Latest AGE Blog, by April Morganti, AGE Executive Director.

There are no books we can reach for as leaders to help guide teams in this pandemic. As a Licensed Crucial Conversations® practitioner and cognitive coach, it has helped to use my skills for communicating when stakes are high and emotions run strong. However, there is nothing like personal experience as teacher. During this crisis, some significant things have become clear to me on how to lead well. I thought I’d share them with you in this blog. Read my blog here.

GPA’s person-centred approach to dementia care cited in article by BC Care Providers Association

GPA Mentioned in Article by British Columbia (BC) Care Providers Association: Best Practices in Dementia Care: Guidelines for Staffing and Physical Environment in Long-Term Care.

An excerpt from the article … “Along with changes to the physical environment, another fundamental element of making care homes more dementia-friendly is looking at ways staff engage or interact with the people they are supporting. This can be achieved in a variety of ways such as adopting a gentle persuasive approach (GPA) to dementia care as well as implementing new care or staffing models.”

Read the full report here.

Pilot Project: GPA for Informal Caregivers mentioned in 2020 Annual Report to Parliament …

“A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Achieve,” 2020 Annual Report to Canada’s Parliament mentions the latest Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) pilot project on implementing GPA for informal (unpaid/family/friends) caregivers. This project, in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick and Horizon Health//Réseau de santé Horizon, will be the first time GPA is implemented outside the realm of formal care providers working at the point of care.

Read the Annual Report to Parliament (GPA is mentioned on pages 26 and 46 & 47) here.