This year’s BC Care Providers Association 40th annual conference opening plenary on May 29th will focus on looking at ways to improve quality of care and best practices at end-of-life or palliative care within the continuing care sector. The opening plenary titled “The Path Forward: Achieving Excellence and Highlighting Best Practices in end-of-life and residential care” will explore the issue of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) which continues to be a sensitive, complex issue, with many care providers unclear of their role or obligations.
The panelists for this session will be comprised of the following health experts:
- Samir Sinha, Director of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai and UHN hospitals, Provincial Lead, Ontario’s Seniors Strategy
- Danielle Martin, Vice-President Medical Affairs and Health System Solutions of Women’s College Hospital
- Jennifer Baumbusch, Associate Professor, UBC School of Nursing
“Anyone who is working with older adults are working with a population inherently closer to the end of their lives than the rest of us. End-of-life care and its associated issues matters in continuing care settings whether we want to admit it or not,” says Dr. Sinha. According to him, raising issues regarding end of life can ensure that care providers and professionals are educated in dealing with all aspects of this. “The biggest solution is to normalize the issue by ensure its openly discussed and address right from the start as a policy. This normalizes the topic and allows everyone to be open, respectful and proactive in developing care plans that will truly allow people to more capably age and die in place in dignity,” he notes.
Building on the BCCPA paper released in 2016 on end of life, this plenary moderated by BCCPA CEO Daniel Fontaine, will also discuss some of the challenges and solutions to improving end of life and residential care as well as how to strike the right balance between personal autonomy and the protection for vulnerable seniors.
“This year’s conference comes at a very interesting cross-roads with a new health accord in place and huge opportunities to raise the profile further of the continuum care sector in the lives of those across BC,” shares Dr. Sinha. Join Dr. Sinha and our exceptional guest speakers at the 40th annual conference in Whistler on May 28th to 31st.
Learn more about the conference here and register now.
Plenary speaker’s biographies
Dr. Samir Sinha
Dr. Sinha is a passionate and respected advocate for the needs of older adults. He currently serves as the Director of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto and as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Sinha’s breadth of international training and expertise in health policy and the delivery of services related to the care of the elderly have made him a highly-regarded expert in the care of older adults. In 2012, he was also appointed by the Government of Ontario to serve as the expert lead of Ontario’s Seniors Strategy. He has further consulted and advised hospitals and health authorities in Britain, Canada, Iceland, the United States and China.
In 2014, Toronto Life named him one of Toronto’s Best Doctors while Maclean’s proclaimed him to be one of Canada’s 50 most influential people and its most compelling voice for the elderly.
Dr. Martin sees the cracks and challenges in our health care system every day. A family doctor and national media commentator on the health issues that hit closest to home for Canadians, Dr. Martin speaks with passion on our national health-care system, defending and defining the ways we can make it even more worthy of our immense national pride.
Her debate on the merits of the Canadian vs. American health systems in a U.S. Senate Subcommittee hearing in Washington, with Senator Richard Burr and Bernie Sanders, the video of her testimony went viral and has since achieved over 1.3 million views.
Currently, Dr. Martin practices in the Family Practice Health Centre at Women’s College Hospital, where she is also the Vice-President of Medical Affairs and Health System Solutions.
In 2006, her first year of practice, Dr. Martin helped launch Canadian Doctors for Medicare, representing Canadian physicians who believe in a high quality, equitable, and sustainable health system, and chaired its board until 2013. She went on to help found the WCH Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care – a hub of innovation dedicated to solving the health gaps in our system.
In 2015, Dr. Martin was named Canada’s eighth most powerful doctor by The Medical Post, and in 2013 was named one of The Toronto Star’s top “13 People to Watch”. In the media she is a regular contributor to CBC TV’s The National, and writes a monthly column for Chatelaine magazine. Her upcoming book, Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians, will be published in early 2017.
Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch
Dr. Baumbusch is an Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. She leads a research program aimed at improving the inclusion of families in long-term residential care. She teaches in the Master of Health Leadership & Policy Program: Seniors Care at UBC and has over 20 years of experience in the long-term care sector as a clinician, educator, https://bccare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/medcare-img22.jpgistrator and researcher.
