Page 3 - OASC March 2021 Newsletter

March/21
Minutes of the Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 Monthly Members’ Meeting...
meeting started: 7:00 p.m.
} 18 members, 1 guest
} Chair: Maureen (Mo) Parkes, President, OAsC
Guest speaker: Lia Tsotsos, Director, Sheridan Elder Research Centre
Order of business:
Mo called meeting to order at 7pm. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm.
} Reviewed meeting protocols: choose view speaker option, mute while listening to guest speaker, then open for up to 2 questions each.
} Invited members to stay for trivia game at end of meeting.
Guest Speaker: Lia Tsotsos, Director (Sheridan Elder Research Centre) With more people living longer these days, we need a lot of creativity to help support them.
Lia explained that the SCER’s research focuses on Lab to Life, i.e., practical research that can enhance the lives of older persons and serve as a resource hub to the broader community. Their work brings together a mix of people, services and strategies to address challenges with aging. That involves many disciplines, not just gerontology or health.
For example, health promotion helps people to increase control over and improve their health. It includes broader components like social supports, infrastructure, technology, and other interventions as well as the things you do intentionally to improve your health.
SCER is exploring innovative ways to help enhance life for older adults and combat stereotypes and ageism. These range from virtual reality, cognitive training, and senior entrepreneurship, to intergen- erational exchanges, and simulating aging to enable civic leaders to design more accessible public spaces and services.
For example, Lia showed how using virtual reality (VR) in long-term care homes (LTC) is helping improve well-being for people living with dementia. SCER filmed 10 experiences: a stroll through well- known landmarks across the country. Participants who tried these virtual experiences reported they had reduced pain, a better mood, were excited, and one person’s tremor even stopped. SCER created a toolkit for LTC staff to help residents use these VR tools. This tool is even more valuable with Covid, when LTC residents can’t even leave their rooms.
[3]
cont’d on page 4...