BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2010 - 2011

Back: Melinda Allison, John Gray, Elisabeth Antifeau, Penny MacCourt, Laura Booi, Jane Tench
Front: Bonnie Tateham, Anne Earthy, Anthony Kupferschmidt, Carol Mooring, Nancy Jokinen
Not shown: Candida Graham, Nancy Wellwood

Penny MacCourt (MSW, Ph.D.): President
Phone: 250-756-2129 Fax: 250-756-2139   Email: pennymaccourt@shaw.ca Web: www.seniorsmentalhealth.ca

Penny has a social work background and has worked with older adults in the community, long term care and acute care settings for many years. She holds a Bachelor and Masters of Social Work from University of Manitoba and a PhD (Interdisciplinary Studies) from University of Victoria.  Her doctoral and post- doctoral studies have focused on aging, mental health and service delivery.  Penny is a Research Affiliate with the Centre on Aging and an Adjunct Professor with the School of Social Work, University of Victoria, and teaches by distance for Thompson Rivers University (Open Learning Division). She is a founding member of the BC Psychogeriatric Association and on the Seniors Advisory Committee to the Mental Health Commission of Canada.  Through practice, research, policy and advocacy, and in collaboration with others, her goal is to facilitate social environments (relationships, policy, services) that support seniors’ well being/mental health.

John Gray (Ph.D.): Secretary & Co-Chair Advocacy Committee
Phone: 250-386-3864   Email: jegray@shaw.ca

John directed the mental health services for the elderly program in the Ministry of Health for a number of years.  He was the Secretary General of the International Association of Gerontology and is now a consultant and an adjunct professor of the Gerontology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University.

Anthony Kupferschmidt (M.A.): Treasurer & Membership Chair
Phone: 604-646-6614   Email: akupfers@sfu.ca

Anthony is a psychometrist and research coordinator with the Division of Neurology in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC).  He works in association with the Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders at UBC Hospital.  Anthony is also the President of the Canadian Association on Gerontology - Association Canadienne de Gérontologie (CAG-ACG) Student Connection - Connexion Étudiante (SC-CÉ).  He is a recent graduate of the Department of Gerontology at Simon Fraser University, where his research focused on psychological resilience in spousal caregivers of persons with dementia.  Anthony began his career in long-term care and later worked with the Seniors Association Kingston Region and the Regional Geriatric Programs of Ontario.  He has served on the Board of Directors for the Caregivers Association of BC and the Alzheimer Society of Kingston, as well as on the Executive Committee of the Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization of the Gerontological Society of America.  Anthony is a recipient of the CAG-ACG Margery Boyce Award and is the founding President of Epsilon Eta, the first Canadian chapter of Sigma Phi Omega in association with the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

Elisabeth Antifeau (R.N., MScN, GNC[C]): Co-Chair, Advocacy Committee
Phone: 250-505-7223   Email: esantifeau@shaw.ca

Elisabeth works as the Clinical Coordinator, Seniors’Care for Planning and Improvement in Interior Health.  She actively works to address and support a wide range of seniors’ health care issues through the application of best practice to meet standards of care.  Her position blends a variety of pursuits in clinical, education and research areas.

Sandie Somers (RPN; MEd.): Chair, Research Committee
Phone: 250-339-1592 Email: Sandra.somers@viha.ca

Sandie is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Dementia with the Seniors, End of Life and Spiritual Health Services, VIHA, and works out of the Comox Valley. She is a founding member of the BC Psychogeriatric Association and is a member of the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada. She has coordinated two major federal education projects through Health Canada and is currently working on a research team to study the Disenfranchised Grief of family providing care for persons with dementia.  Most recently, Sandie participated in the development and evaluation of the project “Creating RN Experts in Complex Care” and VIHA’s Award winning Delirium DVD education project.

Anne Earthy (RN, BN, MA, GNC[C]): Co-Chair, Communications Committee
Phone: 604-730-7631   Email: Anne.earthy@vch.ca

Anne is a CNS in gerontology and is now a Clinical Practice Leader for Vancouver Community – Residential.  Her focus is to develop strategies to promote best practices across the 31 facilities.  With teams she will develop Clinical Practice Guidelines to support triggers from MDS and then will work with sites to complete a system assessment to identify strategies to guide a CPG implementation plan.  Anne has worked with research teams to develop a system change model to assist in responding to excessive and agitated behaviour (REAB).

Elaine Unsworth (RN, BSN, MSN, GNC[C]): Co-Chair, Communications Committee
Phone: 604-874-1141 Ext 78246   Email: EUnsworth@providencehealth.bc.ca

Elaine is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Elder Care Program with Providence Health Care in Vancouver.  Geriatric Psychiatry has always been her focus of interest and specialty area and she has worked in a number of positions in Acute Care, Residential Care and in the Community Mental Health Teams.  Elaine is currently located at Mt. St. Joseph Hospital (location of the only Acute Care Geriatric Psychiatry inpatient unit in Vancouver) where she is the nurse consultant for staff in all areas of acute and sub-acute care.  In the past year she has participated in the development of a successful Geriatric Psychiatry Consultation Team that serves the entire hospital and consists of a Geriatric Psychiatrist and herself.

Anita Wahl (RPN, ADPN, BHS [PN])
Phone: 604-575-6702  Email: awahl6@shaw.ca

Anita is currently the Coordinator of Geriatric Psychiatry Programs for residential care.  She works in collaboration with others to develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based, person-centred mental health and dementia care education in addition to providing clinical and system consultations. Anita is presently on the Fraser Health Dementia Service Framework Pathway and Education Committees. Her background includes years of experience in Geriatric Psychiatry @ RVH and as a Community Case Manager for ACM and Transition Housing, Adult Mental Health. She also has experience as an Instructor at a local college facilitating mental health education. Anita is currently working on her Masters in Scientific Nursing with an education focus.

Lorea Ytterberg  (RN, BN,  MSc, PhD)
Phone: 604-746-7770   Email: loreayt@shaw.ca

After extensive experience in Nursing Practice, Education and Senior Administration in Canada, Lorea worked Internationally as Nursing Administrator in Saudi Arabia and as a consultant for NGO’s in Egypt and Kenya.  Returning to Canada in 2005, Lorea re-entered the Canadian Health Care System as an Administrator in Complex Care Facilities.  This was a new field for her but one that she finds exciting.  Not only was a difference needed, but this care is where she wants to make a difference.  She worked on several Provincial Committees dealing with Dementia and also with the Provincial Performance Management Framework Task Group.

Jan Kohout (RN)
Phone: 250-595-2313  Email: olympicwitch@yahoo.com

Jan began her nursing career in the acute care setting working in Transplant at the University of Minnesota Hospital, and also in Intensive Care and Coronary Care.  She has been a Case Manager working with Medicare in Long Term Care as well as with injured workers.  Jan is a skilled educator and has provided training to managers, social workers, and nursing staff in the long term care and hospital settings.  She also has experience in psychiatric care and was instrumental in creating a psychiatric unit in a traditional long term care senior home in Minneapolis, MN.  Since arriving in Canada in 2006, Jan has been the Executive Director and Director of Care for Sandringham Care Centre, a tertiary psychogeriatric home.

Melinda Allison (MSW)
Phone: 250-960-5602   Email: allisonm@unbc.ca

Melinda is a recent graduate from the University of Northern British Columbia, where her research explored the health needs of older women in northern BC.  Since her move to Prince George she has become involved in aging related research in a variety of different capacities.  She is the Regional Liaison Officer for the BC Network for Aging Research, and the Northern Research Coordinator for the BC Home and Community Care Research Network.  Melinda is the volunteer Chairperson for the organizing committee for the Alzheimer Walk for Memories.  Prior to moving to BC, Melinda lived in Ontario where she worked with older adults in a number of organizations including the Community Care Access Center, the Alzheimer Society, and before becoming a social worker (in 1998) she also worked as a recreational assistant and as a health care aid in various long term care facilities.  She has had a very long standing passion for working with older adults in both clinical and academic settings, and she looks forward to supporting the important work of the BCPGA.      

Janet Love (MSc): Student Representative
Phone: 250-472-4469    Email: janets@uvic.ca

Janet Love is a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of  Victoria, conducting research under the supervision of Dr. Holly Tuokko at the Centre on Aging.  Her research is in the area of life-span development with a spotlight on Aging.  Over the past several years, Janet’s work has focused on transportation and the older adult.  She has worked in collaboration with the Capital Regional District Traffic Safety Commission and BC Transit to examine driving habits of older drivers and further to this investigated the impact of group travel transit training for older adults in relation to increasing their use of public transportation.  Her Masters thesis, “Perspectives on transportation: Building on the Age-Friendly Cities project - a World Health Organization initiative” was completed in December 2008.  Currently Janet is developing a questionnaire that will examine the attitudes and beliefs of psychologists from across Canada concerning the identification older adults who may be at risk for unsafe driving.  She is working with Dr. Stuart MacDonald to investigate differences between chronological age and biological age and how a greater understanding of biological age may allow for greater identification of individuals at risk for poor health outcomes.