McGill Cares

Carmen Desjardins, B. Sc. (inf.) , est chef du Programme de démence avec comorbidités psychiatriques à l’Institut de recherche Douglas. Elle a été chef et fondatrice de l’équipe ambulatoire des symptômes comportementaux et psychologiques de la démence (SCPD) du Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CIUSSS Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal). Elle a p...

Christopher Labos, MD, MSc, is a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology, an Associate at the McGill University Office for Science and Society and co-host of the award-winning podcast The Body of Evidence . He is a columnist with the Montreal Gazette and Medscape, featured on the Sunday Morning House Call on CJAD 800 Montreal, and has a regular TV segment with CTV Montreal and CBC Morning Live....

 Sarah Widmeyer is Senior Vice-President, Wealth Strategies and Chief Marketing Officer at Richardson Wealth Limited.   Ms. Widmeyer currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto and has served for 8 years as a Director of the Women’s Brain Health Initiative, a charitable organization focused on funding research and creating education programs to combat brain-agi...

Join us on  December 4th  at noon for the next  McGill Cares  webcast to support informal caregivers. During candid, 30-minute interviews with leading experts, Claire Webster explores topics related to caring for a loved one with dementia.   Lorenzo’s House – a beacon of light for young onset patients and their families Lorenzo’s House is a non-profit social impact organization designed to empower...

De nouvelles recherches montrent que nous pouvons prendre des mesures pour prévenir et ralentir le déclin cognitif en renforçant notre réserve cognitive.  Sylvie Belleville, Ph. D. , est titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en neurosciences cognitives du vieillissement et plasticité cérébrale, professeure titulaire au Département de psychologie de l’Université de Montréal, et chercheuse a...

Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest is a road map for navigating a life-changing diagnosis. The book’s authors, Dr. Hsien Seow and Dr. Sammy Winemaker, have identified seven keys to unlock a better illness experience.  They will discuss those keys and how they apply to a diagnosis of dementia.  Hsien Seow, MD is the Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and Health System Innovation and a Profe...

In July, the Lancet Commission launched its 2024 report on dementia prevention, intervention, and care.  Dr. Gauthier will explain the new findings on modifiable risk factors for dementia, and how addressing them can prevent or delay disease progression.  Serge Gauthier, MD, is a clinical neurologist specializing in the development of new tools for diagnosis and treatments for people living with A...

En juillet, la Commission Lancet a publié son rapport 2024 sur la prévention, les interventions et les soins associés aux troubles neurocognitifs. Le Dr Gauthier expliquera en quoi consistent les découvertes sur les facteurs de risque modifiables des troubles neurocognitifs, et comment leur prise en compte peut prévenir ou retarder la progression de la maladie.  Serge Gauthier, MD, est neurologue...

NOTE: This episode is in French only. These topics were addressed in English in April, 2024 Hélène Guay est une avocate, diplômée de McGill, en étroite collaboration avec les personnes âgées et leurs partenaires de soins afin de démystifier et de faciliter les processus juridiques. Elle pratique depuis plus de 30 ans le droit de la santé, le droit relatif aux droits de la personne et le droit des...

Christina Smith has been involved in municipal politics with the City of Westmount for over ten years. She was first elected as City Councillor in 2013, then as Mayor in 2017.  Mayor Smith will share her experience as a caregiver to her late father who recently passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. She will talk about the impact this disease has had on her and her family, and discuss both the chal...

Joanne Besner, BSW, MBA, ACC, and caregiver, received her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Business Administration from McGill University, and a Professional Coaching designation from the John Molson Executive Centre at Concordia University. Ms. Besner coaches and facilitates workshops for health care professionals and community organizations, including the McGill University School of Social...

Pam Orzeck, MSW, PhD , is Associate Professor in the McGill School of Social Work and part of the coordination team at the Caregiver Grief Connexion project. Her latest research focuses on women's bereavement experiences after caregiving. She has published several articles and co-edited a book on professional interventions with caregivers.   Zelda Freitas, BA, BSW, MSW , is Adjunct Professor a...

Stephanie Geller, MSW, is the Team Lead, Clinical Social Worker, at Lianas Senior Transition Support.  She has been working with seniors for the last 25 years, helping them and their families with caregiving issues, including navigating social services, work-life balance issues, stress, anxiety, burnout and coping through major life decisions.  Anna Kamateros, Notary, TEP, is Department Head, Will...

Andrea Warnick, RN, MA, is a Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Nurse who supports individuals, families and communities who are grieving illness or death in their lives. She co-owns AWC Grief Support, a group practice of over 30 therapists who provide grief therapy across Ontario and grief consultation and education across Canada.  Ms. Warnick developed the five-day Children's grief an...

Julie Bickerstaff, MSW , is Director of Caregiver Support & Knowledge Transfer at l’Appui pour les proches aidants, a caregiver support organization. Over the past 20 years of working in the health and social services network, public health, territorial organization and community sectors, she has developed a rich and varied expertise in consultation and mobilization, social development and pro...

Marie-Eve Bolduc, PhD , is Assistant Professor (professional) at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University. Her research interests are directed toward brain-based disabilities, pediatric outcome research and simulation education. Using her experience as an occupational therapist, curriculum lead and simulation educator, she has been involved in developing material for th...

Marie-Eve Bolduc, Ph. D. , est professeure adjointe à l’École de physiothérapie et d’ergothérapie de l’Université McGill. Ses intérêts de recherche touchent particulièrement les troubles d’origine cérébraux, les troubles développementaux et l’enseignement par simulation. Forte de son expérience d’ergothérapeute, de responsable de programme et d’éducatrice en simulation, elle participe depuis 2019...

Jocelyn Downie is a Professor Emerita in the Faculties of Law and Medicine at Dalhousie University with a particular interest in end-of-life care.  She served as Special Advisor to the Canadian Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide and was involved in several national and provincial expert panels that address end-of-life decision-making and physician-assisted dying.     Professor Dow...

McGill Cares was launched by the Dementia Education Program during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 13, 2020, while many of us were isolating at home. Claire Webster, Founder of the Program, had the idea to record short interviews with different experts on topics of interest to care partners of people living with neurocognitive disorders to help educate and support them during this...

Lucy Barylak, MSW, is a social gerontology consultant for the CIUSSS-West-Central Montreal and a graduate of the McGill University School of Social Work, where she is also a liaison supervisor. Ms. Barylak has developed evidence-based training for seniors and caregivers, and she lectures in the field of social gerontology and knowledge transfer.  She facilitates “Dear Lucy,” an online show about c...

Corrie Sirota is a clinical social worker and sessional lecturer at the McGill School of Social Work who specializes in loss, bereavement. Corrie is also a TEDx speaker, the Clinical Director at Myra's Kids Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports bereaved children and their families and the author of Someone Died...Now What? A Personal and Professional Perspective on Coping with Lo...

Mr. Matt Del Vecchio is a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging (CPCA).  He is the owner of Lianas Senior Transition Support, which provides families with guidance and support in navigating home care and senior living communities.  Mr. Del Vecchio is also co-host of a popular weekly radio show, “Life Unrehearsed” on CJAD800 in Montreal and writes for The Suburban newspaper as their "Seni...

Nancy Mayo, PhD, is a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Medicine and the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University.  She is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, where she leads a research program on Function, Disability and Quality of Lif...

Serge Gauthier, MD , is a clinical neurologist specializing in the development of new tools for diagnosis and treatments for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. He is the Academic Co-Lead for the Dementia Education Program and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery and the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. Dr. Gauthier was the Director of the McGill U...

Serge Gauthier, MD , est neurologue clinicien spécialisé dans le développement de nouveaux outils de diagnostic et de traitement pour les personnes souffrant de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Il est coresponsable universitaire du Programme de formation sur la démence et professeur émérite au Département de neurologie et neurochirurgie et au Département de psychiatrie de l’Université McGill. Le Dr Gauthie...