Growing Older, Growing Smarter
Exploring Technologies and Innovations that Support Older Albertans
Date: Tuesday, Sept 27, 2022
Time: 11:30 – 4:30pm
Location: Red & White Club
McMahon Stadium
1833 Crowchild Trail NW
As our population grows older, we are also seeing an influx of technologies designed to make our lives easier and keep us better connected. This half-day event presented by the O’Brien Institute for Public Health Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging, the Canadian Frailty Network and AGE-WELL will host leading researchers who are exploring how accessible and smart technologies are influencing our aging experiences. The free, public event will begin with a lunch and networking session, followed by an afternoon of interactive talks.
Please note that this is an in-person event only. There will not be the opportunity to participate virtually and view the presentations online.
AGENDA
11:30 - 1:00 | Registration, Lunch and Poster/Exhibition Booth viewing
1:00 - 1:15 | Welcome and Indigenous Blessing, Elder Alice Kaquitts, Îyârhe Nakoda Nation
1:15 - 1:45 | Re-envisioning aging: How to decrease the risk of becoming frail, Dr. John Muscedere, Canadian Frailty Network
1:45 - 2:15 | Using mobile technology to support older drivers with dementia, Dr. Sayeh Bayat, Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary
2:15 - 2:45 | “Robotic” pets for older adults: Exploring an emerging – and surprising – trend, Dr. Ann Toohey, Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary with special guest Kim Brundrit, Family Care Partner and Collective Impact Lead, Dementia Network Calgary
2:45 - 3:15 | Break and Poster/Booth viewing
3:15 - 3:45 | Volunteer Navigators: An Innovative way to support community-dwelling older adults, Dr. Gloria Puurveen, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia
3:45 - 4:15 | Caregiving in the 21st Century: How can technology support caregivers? Jacquie Eales, Human Ecology, University of Alberta
4:15 - 4:30 | Wrap Up and Raffle Draw
Please email bscoa@ucalgary.ca with accessibility questions and requests.
John Muscedere
Dr. John Muscedere is the Scientific Director and CEO of the Canadian Frailty Network (CFN), a non-profit, Pan-Canadian network funded by the federal government through the Networks of Centres of Excellence program. CFN is focused on improving care for older adults living with frailty and their family/friend caregivers through the funding of research, training the next generation of professionals, implementation of best practices and developing partnerships across the country.
Dr. Muscedere is a critical care physician at Kingston Health Sciences Center, a Professor of Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and the Research Director for the Department of Critical Care medicine. John is an accomplished critical care researcher whose research interests include hospital acquired infections, clinical practice guidelines and the impact of frailty on critical care outcomes.
Sayeh Bayat
Sayeh Bayat is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Biomedical and Geomatics Engineering, a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) in the Cumming School of Medicine, and the director of the Healthy City Laboratory (HCL) at the University of Calgary. Her research integrates innovative methods from engineering, machine learning, and geographic information science to create intelligent technological solutions for aging in place as well as dementia care and diagnosis. This cross-disciplinary effort, to this date, has resulted in innovative techniques to study people in the context of their everyday environments, and new insights into the relationship between mobility behaviours and cognitive functions. This work has garnered intense interest from the scientific community and has been featured in more than 15 media outlets, including BBC News, BBC Radio and The New York Times in 6 different languages.
Ann Toohey
Ann Toohey's interdisciplinary research program has integrated growing understandings of the health-promoting potential of human-animal relationships for older adults into frameworks for developing age-friendly cities. Her approach delves into policy implications of promoting aging-in-place in ways that also promote social justice. In addition to her interest in live animals, Ann has been studying the increasing use of animatronic (“robotic”) pet animals as therapeutic devices for older adults living with dementia. Ann has worked in both municipal government and non-profit sectors in a variety of capacities, including facility-based research and policy development, funds development, and communications. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, where she completed her PhD in 2018.
Kim Brundrit
Kim Brundrit is the Collective Impact Lead at Dementia Network Calgary. For the past five years Kim has engaged with people with lived experience, stakeholders, and community leaders to raise awareness about dementia and advocate for improved community supports. Brundrit enjoys working with people who see possibilities. Prior to her role with Dementia Network, Brundrit worked with Canadian Blood Services as the National Manager of the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Program. In her free time, she volunteers with the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management program and has been a board member for several community associations and charities. Brundrit holds a BSc from the University of Calgary and an MBA from Athabasca University.
Gloria Puurveen
Dr. Gloria Puurveen is a researcher who is deeply passionate about improving the lives of older adults living with declining health and their carers, whether in community or in long-term care settings. She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of British Columbia and is currently the project manager and knowledge translation lead for the Nav-CARE program – a program that trains hospice palliative care volunteers to provide navigational support and companionship to people living with declining health.
Jacquie Eales
Jacquie Eales has a longstanding fascination with older adults’ stories about their lives and how their homes, families and communities can support them – or not – as they grow older. As the RAPP Research Manager at the University of Alberta for the past 27 years, she actively bridges research, policy and practice to make a meaningful difference in the lives of older adults and family/friend caregivers. Since the 2015 inception of AGE-WELL NCE (Canada’s technology and aging network), Jacquie has contributed to numerous collaborative, transdisciplinary projects on caregiving and technology. As a family caregiver herself, Jacquie understands the complexity and often lengthy trajectories of caregiving (particularly for those who also hold down paid jobs), the barriers to technology adoption, and the critical importance of supporting caregivers’ own well-being through the journey.