The Golden Villages: reconnecting people with dementia to nature and community

The Golden Villages: reconnecting people with dementia to nature and community

The Golden Villages is a proposed rural, land-based dementia care community located in Mount Pleasant, Ontario. Rooted in agriculture, environmental stewardship, and dignity-centred care, the project is exploring a new model of aging that reconnects people living with dementia to nature, meaningful daily activity, and community. We spoke with Larissa Stadnichuk, a farmer, stuntwoman, stunt coordinator, and founder of The Golden Villages. After watching someone she loved live with dementia, and knowing her own family would always choose a garden over a hallway and fresh air over fluorescent lights, she set out to imagine a different future for aging—one where care doesn’t separate people from community, but reconnects them to it through the land. Learn more about The Golden Villages project: https://thegoldenvillages.com/ Learn more about the Strengthening a Palliative Approach to Long-Term Care project at: https://spaltc.ca/ [https://spaltc.ca/]

Person-directed living: honouring each person's lifestyle needs and preferences

Riverview Health Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba is a vibrant, innovative, and inclusive community providing long-term care, palliative care, and neurological rehabilitation services through inpatient, outpatient, and outreach programs.  We had a conversation with Kathleen Klassen, the Chief Executive Officer at Riverview. In this role, Kathleen is leading an organizational culture transformation towards person-directed living, a relationship-based, individualized approach where each person's lifestyle needs and preferences are honoured and respected.  Learn more about Riverview: https://rhc.mb.ca/ Learn more about the Strengthening a Palliative Approach to Long-Term Care project at: https://spaltc.ca/ [https://spaltc.ca/]

Understanding the many aspects of frailty: a conversation with Dr. Zahra Goodarzi

"When we did work talking to patients and care partners and providers, a lot of patients and care partners weren't aware of frailty as an idea or concept. But once it was explained to them, they felt much better and understood what was happening.  We all seek understanding and explanation in some way, and I think that can really help people really understand what's happening to their loved one, but also understand what's happening to themselves." Doctor Zahra Goodarzi is an academic geriatrician and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, where she is also the Division Head for geriatric medicine, the medical lead for specialized geriatric services and transition services, and the Program Director for Leaders in Medicine, Dr. Goodarzi's current work looks at the development of clinical pathways for mood disorders, dementia, and frailty across the care continuum in clinical care, emergency, and long-term care.  Learn more about the Strengthening a Palliative Approach to Long-Term Care project at: https://spaltc.ca/ [https://spaltc.ca/]

Cultural safety and palliative care: a conversation with the North West Palliative Care Group

"When we are talking about culturally safe care, it's really having that background, that trauma-informed care approach. And that's for any person, it's not Indigenous-specific. To make it Indigenous-specific is to understand that Indigenous people in Canada have had a very different history. Every single Indigenous person that you have met or spoken to in Canada has been affected by the residential school system, as the last one closed in 1996. It's a reflective practice .... looking at our physical care, mental, emotional, and spiritual care, and every single person as an individual. And that's an Indigenous way of thinking and doing. And I think that would benefit anybody going through the system." - Gloria Ranger Valerie Jensen is a regional palliative care clinical coach with the Northwest Regional Palliation Care Program at St. Joseph's Care Group in Thunder Bay and is a registered nurse working as a palliative care clinical co-lead with Ontario Health Northwest. Barbara Persky is a primary care nurse practitioner and a palliative care clinical coach for Kenora's Chief Advisory and Indigenous primary care program in rural areas around Kenora.  Gloria Ranger is the manager of Indigenous Cultural Safety and Education at St. Joseph's Care Group in Thunder Bay.  Learn more about the Strengthening a Palliative Approach to Long-Term Care project at: https://spaltc.ca/ [https://spaltc.ca/]

Caring for and learning from our elders: a conversation with Renate Goodstriker

"There's a lot of love and respect for our elders, but for ourselves too, as  individuals. Generosity and humbleness and the teaching from our elders. I really like to look at them as our teachers in the way we care for people and how we treat people. It's a part of my drive to make sure that our elders are cared for in the best way." Renate Goodstriker is a proud Blackfoot First Nations woman and a registered nurse who manages a licensed long-term care home for the Blood Tribe Department of Health in Kainai, Alberta. She feels honoured to care for her community and roots her work in compassion, respect, culture, and a deep love for the people she serves every day.  Learn more: https://btdh.ca/program/long-term-care/ Learn more about the Strengthening a Palliative Approach to Long-Term Care project at: https://spaltc.ca/ [https://spaltc.ca/]