SSM
112-2001 Cornwall St.
Regina, SK S4P 3X9
306-359-9956
ssm@skseniorsmechanism.ca
Funding for this website received, in part, from Saskatchewan Lotteries Fund
*** Detailed information about speakers, with their photos and topics, is now available. Scroll down! ***
SSM’s Annual Conference for 2024 will be held
May 29-30, 2024 via ZOOM.
Theme:
Social Prescribing: Living Well in Our Communities
We will explore what social prescribing is and how it can support communities.
Pre-registration is required.
Registration fee is $20.00 per person.
Registration information is in the sidebar to the right.
To access the PDF of the Agenda, click on the image below.
We ask that each participant register with their name and email address. Please ensure that information is included on whichever payment option you choose.
We will send the Zoom link and any other information to the registered email address.
Registration fee is $20/person.
REGISTER VIA E-TRANSFER
Please include your NAME and EMAIL in the transfer.
For Interac e-transfer, please email finance@skseniorsmechanism.ca
REGISTER VIA CHEQUE
To pay by cheque, make cheque out to
Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism
and mail to the address in the footer.
Be sure to include your email address!
Dr. Sir Sam Everington MBBS, MRCGP, Barrister, OBE
Sam has been a GP in Tower Hamlets since 1989 in the Bromley by Bow Partnership. The centre has over 100 projects under its roof supporting the wider determinants of health. The social prescribing delivered at the centre, is now part of a network of thousands across the country.
Sam is a member of BMA Council and Vice President of the BMA. In 1999 he received an OBE for services to inner city primary care in 2006, The International Award of Excellence in Health Care and in 2015 a Knighthood for services to primary care. In 2022 he received the Albert Medal from the RSA.
He is a member of the Ministerial National NHS Infrastructure, NHS Resolution and East London foundation Trust boards and is Fellow and Honorary Professor of Queen Mary University of London and Vice President of the Queen’s Nursing Institute. He has previously been a member of GMC Council, Cabinet appointed Ambassador for Social Enterprise, Acting Chair of the BMA, adviser to shadow cabinet ministers between 1992 and 1997, national advisor to NHS England’s New Models of Care project and Chair for 9 years of Tower Hamlet’s CCG. He is a member of the RCGP Council. He is a trained woodcarver, day skipper, and speaks Norwegian. He trained originally as a cadet pilot in the RAF and lives with his wife and five children in Tower Hamlets, East End of London.
He will speak on Social Prescribing: Saving Lives and Health Services.
Beth Mansell, Provincial Social Prescribing Project Manager, Healthy Aging Alberta
Beth is currently the Provincial Social Prescribing Project Manager with Healthy Aging Alberta. Previously, she worked for 5 years as the Strategic Project and Operations Manager at Sage Seniors Association in Edmonton. Beth has a Masters of Public Health with a focus on health policy and management from the University of Alberta. Beth is a Member at Large on the Alberta Association on Gerontology Board and has previously served as the Co-Chair of the Age Friendly Edmonton Aging in Place Committee. Beth has worked closely with the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing since its inception and has participated in many working groups to develop and grow social prescribing initiatives across Canada.
She will speak on Social Prescribing in Alberta.
Mackenzie Heidel, Canadian Social Prescribing Medical Student Collective
Mackenzie is a medical student at the University of Saskatchewan. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Simon Fraser University in Biomedical Physiology. Before she knew what social prescribing was, Mackenzie was the administrator for a non-profit organization that connects pediatric patients with reading and math tutoring, leading to improvements in their long-term health. She is excited to support the integration of social prescribing as an essential part of patient-centred health care through her role as a Co-Lead of the Canadian Social Prescribing Student Collective (CSPSC) and a member of the collective’s medicine working group.
She will speak on Becoming a Health Advocate:
The Role of Students in the Social Prescribing Movement.
Megan Douglas, SVP Chief Brand and Commercial Officer at Saskatchewan Blue Cross
Megan Douglas joined Saskatchewan Blue Cross in 2020 and currently has strategic oversight to Sales, Client Experience, Brand & Marketing, External Communications, Community Relations and Product Enablement.
Throughout her career, she’s unleashed the potential of organizations during times of new market development and transformative change. Megan’s experience has spanned Canada, Europe and Asia in the insurance, financial services, telecommunications, fast-moving consumer goods, outsourcing, attractions, oil & gas, community development and charitable sectors.
Megan finds joy in forging new connections and positively contributing to communities. When she’s not exploring the globe, Megan and her family can be found enjoying Canada’s majestic natural landscapes.
She will speak on Social Prescribing and Health Literacy:
Explore how Health Literacy helps individuals understand and find basic health information and services.
Empower healthy lives across Saskatchewan and learn how to expand your Health Literary.
Brian Sawyer, Program Manager, Men’s Sheds Canada
As well as his work with Men’s Sheds Canada, Brian is a Director of the Edmonton Men’s Shed Association. With 25 years’ experience facilitating men’s peer support groups, Brian is an advocate for (and beneficiary of) the positive impacts of social engagement and community connection for men’s health and wellbeing. Having retired four years ago, Brian is well aware of the challenges that can arise for men in their senior years – loss of purpose, direction, friends, family, abilities, status – and has found that starting a Men’s Shed was one way to re-connect with men in his community and regain a sense of purpose.
He will speak on Men’s Sheds.
Wendy Thienes
Wendy lives in Shaunavon where she is a member of a Steering Committee of the Town of Shaunavon, overseeing the implementation of the social prescribing pilot initiative in that community. She previously chaired an Aging in Place task force whose work led to the development of Age-Friendly Shaunavon.
She will speak on Social Prescribing in Age-Friendly Communities.
Georges Marcoux, CADeN Public Awareness Committee Member, Sleepwell Patient Partner & Retired CEO, Port of Belledune
Georges has a background in Business Administration and an MBA in Public Management. He dedicated 30 years to several management roles within the Government of Canada and served as the CEO of Port of Belledune, NB, for six years. For two decades, he contributed his expertise to several company boards. After retiring in 2007, he stepped down from company boards in 2022. Now, he enjoys his retirement through camping, golfing, and biking.
He and Brenda Schuster will speak on Is it time to review your medications?
Social prescribing and safe prescribing go hand in hand!
Dr. Brenda Schuster, Co-Chair of the Health Provider Committee, Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network (CADeN).
As a pharmacist, Brenda worked on a primary care team assisting the public by providing medication reassessments and when appropriate guiding people with medication dose reduction and sometimes deprescribing. She worked in the hospital as a pharmacist and also did educational outreach to family with the RxFiles Academic Detailing Service in Saskatchewan.
She and Georges Marcoux will speak on Is it time to review your medications?
Social prescribing and safe prescribing go hand in hand!
Sonia Hsiung, Director, the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP)
The CISP is a national hub anchored within the Canadian Red Cross dedicated to bringing people, practices and research together towards integrating health and social care with focus on equity, community leadership and collaboration. Having worked in a range of sectors spanning from health care, food security, housing, women’s empowerment, to engineering, Sonia is keen to bring the strengths of diverse sectors together to build equitable, resilient and more connected communities.
She will speak with Janice Gunn and Mary Ann Flett on Social Prescribing: Views from Ground Level.
Janice Gunn, Community Connector
Janice Gunn is a dedicated Social Prescribing Community Connector from South Surrey/White Rock, BC, with a passion for empowering older adults to improve their health and well-being through community connections and holistic support. With years of experience in facilitating access to non-medical interventions, Janice is committed to fostering collaboration between healthcare providers and local resources to provide comprehensive care to seniors who have been negatively impacted by lack of access to essential social determinants of health.
She will speak with Sonia Hsiung and Mary Ann Flett on Social Prescribing: Views from Ground Level.
Mary Ann Flett, Link Worker
Mary Ann Flett joined the Social Prescribing Program at Sage Seniors Association in May 2023 as a Link Worker, bringing with her over 30 years’ experience supporting older adults in acute care and supportive care settings. Mary Ann is committed to empowering others to find a pathway leading to health and wellness, through meaningful activities and relationships.
She will speak with Sonia Hsiung and Janice Gunn on Social Prescribing: Views from Ground Level.
Jennifer Wright, Senior Improvement Lead, Health Quality Council
As a Senior Improvement Lead and certified Lean Leader, Jennifer supports a variety of improvement initiatives that aim to build quality improvement capability in Saskatchewan. She values the opportunity to collaborate and make meaningful connections with partners across the province in an effort to improve health and health care for all.
She and Suelen Meira Góes will speak on
Thriving at Home: Strengthening Community-Based Care and Supports for Older Adults.
Suelen Meira Góes, Researcher, Health Quality Council
As a valued researcher for HQC, Suelen supports the planning, implementation, and evaluation of patient-driven initiatives using health-related measurement designs and knowledge translation approaches. A seasoned leader of community-oriented projects, she is passionate about accelerating improvement in health and health care throughout Saskatchewan.
She and Jennifer Wright will speak on
Thriving at Home: Strengthening Community-Based Care and Supports for Older Adults.
Ahmad Abou Daya, Medical Lead at Sanofi
Ahmad Abou Daya is a Medical Lead at Sanofi with more than a decade of successful experience advocating for vaccines. A strong believer in a world where no one suffers or dies from a vaccine preventable disease, Ahmad always engages in awareness and educational projects aiming at sharing and discussing scientific updates and tools in support for individual and programmatic vaccine recommendation’s decision making. Ahmad developed a cross functional and holistic professional experience throughout his career covering different countries and regions and working in a variety of health system landscapes. Holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and an MBA. Ahmad enjoys reading but can also be found on bike rides or jogging on Toronto roads.
He will speak on Influenza Vaccination in Older Adults: New Landscape,
Updated National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations for flu vaccination
Rom Jukes, Age-Friendly Moose Jaw committee member
Rom was born and raised in Moose Jaw and currently works in the area of Population Health. His work with Age-Friendly aims to support the development of community practices and programs that proactively increase the well-being of Moose Javians.
He and Rod McKendrick will speak on Social Prescribing Initiatives in Saskatchewan.
Rod McKendrick C.M., SSM Social Prescribing Coordinator
Rod worked in policing for 31 years. As part of the Ministry of Justice, he provided province wide training on interpersonal violence and abuse. Rod retired from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice, Victims Services, as the Interpersonal Violence Specialist for the province in April 2023.
He continues to work as a collaborator on research commissioned by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police on the issue of Coercive Control and changes to the Criminal Code of Canada.
In November 2023 he joined the SSM staff team as Social Prescribing Coordinator.
He and Rom Jukes will speak on Social Prescribing Initiatives in Saskatchewan.
Social Prescribing is a means for health-care providers to connect patients to a range of non-clinical services in their community in order to improve their health and well-being. It can help to address underlying causes of health challenges as it promotes community-based integrated care and support.
Participants at the Conference will discover and learn about what social prescribing means in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.
Presentations and personal stories will demonstrate how social prescribing is working now – and encourage thinking about how social prescribing might spread throughout Saskatchewan.
Note: Logos are live hyperlinks that will take you to the sponsor’s website.
SSM
112-2001 Cornwall St.
Regina, SK S4P 3X9
306-359-9956
ssm@skseniorsmechanism.ca
Funding for this website received, in part, from Saskatchewan Lotteries Fund
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