Living Well With Dementia Conference Will Inspire Hope
THUNDER BAY, ON – Are you experiencing memory loss? Have you received a diagnosis of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease? If so, then you and your care partner should register for the two-day Living Well With Dementia: Creating Dialogues of Hope conference.
The conference will start on Sunday, Sept. 22 with a special Dementia Café: A Place to Belong, at the Urban Abbey from 2 to 4 pm, followed by a barbecue at the Best Western Plus Nor’Wester Hotel.
Then on Monday, Sept. 23, the conferencewill be at the Nor’Wester Hotel starting at 9:30 am when keynote speaker Roger Marple from Alberta will discuss his experiences of finding hope and living well with dementia.
There will be a variety of sessions throughout the two days, including challenging the stigma of dementia, physical activity and cognitive health, sharing stories about hope, and planning ahead. The North West Dementia Working Group, in collaboration with Lakehead University’s Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health (CERAH), is delighted to be hosting this conference.
Susan Bithrey, a member of the North West Dementia Working Group said this conference will be beneficial for people who have experienced dementia.
“I am honoured to be involved with the North West Dementia Working Group, and especially to be able to contribute to the upcoming conference,”
“As a former care partner to my late husband Reg during his ten-year journey with dementia, I gained insight into how challenging it is to live well with this disease, and to care for someone as they go about their daily lives. I hope to be able to share some of my and Reg’s lived experience, and in doing so, perhaps be able to help others in their journeys.”
Bithrey said.
“This conference will bring together people with dementia and their care partners across the region to connect and share their experiences of challenging the stigma associated with dementia and living with hope amidst dementia,”
said Dr. Nisha Sutherland, a Research Associate with CERAH and co-facilitator of the North West Dementia Working Group.
For those living in Northwestern Ontario outside of Thunder Bay, travel and accommodation subsidies are available. A $25 registration fee includes all workshop materials and refreshments over the two days.
For further information, please visit cerah.lakeheadu.ca/events, or contact Ruth Wilford at (807) 766-7298.
Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. Maclean’s 2019 University Rankings place Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities and in 2018 Research Infosource named Lakehead Research University of the Year in its category for the fourth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.
