Coming of Age: Meeting the needs of our aging population

More than two-thirds of the long-term care population in Canada is living with some form of dementia. Despite its prevalence, the disease still comes along with a strong stigma and many common misunderstandings. In this episode, Donna sits down with Dr. Rhonda Collins, the Chief Medical Officer at Revera, a company that owns and operates long-term care and retirement homes across North America and...

Since the onset of the pandemic, the experience of the United Kingdom seniors’ care system paralleled Canada. In both countries, each challenge was met with new thinking – and solutions – to overcome them and protect our most vulnerable. So, what does that mean as we reimagine growing older, and the different types of supports required? In this episode of Coming of Age, Donna sits down with Vic Ra...

Like Ontario, Australia has been grappling with long-standing systemic challenges in their seniors’ care system for decades. Australia is looking for innovative ways to reshape the system and improve care for its seniors, and there is much we can learn from each other as we work to make change on opposite ends of the world. In this episode of Coming of Age, Donna sits down with Marcus Riley, the D...

As our senior population increases, there are a lot of questions around how we’re going to provide the care that the baby boom generation will need. Join OLTCA’s Donna Duncan in conversation with Dr. Bob Bell, former Deputy Minister of Health for Ontario, as they discuss what strategies can help to keep more seniors at home as they age, and why increasing the number of long-term care beds is also...

What can Canada learn about long-term care from other parts of the world? In this episode of Coming of Age, Donna sits down with Katie Smith Sloan, the Executive Director of The Global Ageing Network, an international network of leaders in seniors’ care. Donna and Katie discuss how other areas of the world have adapted to growing senior populations and explore how Canada can take action to create...

Lisa Raitt is the former Canadian Minister of Labour, working under the Stephen Harper administration. After her husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, she made the decision to put him in a long-term care facility for the foreseeable future. In this episode of Coming of Age, Donna welcomes her to the show to discuss how she made her decision, the stigma around long-term care, how to r...

Mental health and long-term care are deeply interwoven and during the COVID-19 pandemic, this has never been more evident. In our second episode, Donna interviews Adrienne Spafford, the former Senior Director, Strategy & Public Affairs at OLTCA. Adrienne is now CEO of Addictions and Mental Health Ontario, and on today's episode, the two discuss the intersection of mental health in long-term care h...

It’s time for real change in long-term care. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the shortcomings that the system has felt for decades and now, the public is ready for change. In our first episode, Donna sits down with Moira Welsh to discuss the current state of Canadian long-term care and what can be done to create the best possible experience for seniors. They dive into the need for a human-first...