Veterans Affairs committee  Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to answer that question to your satisfaction, because I actually work in the geriatric component, the long-term-care component, at Parkwood Hospital in the veterans care program. I don't work in the operational stress injury program. Certai

Veterans Affairs committee  For older men who have dementia, who move into long-term-care facilities, or who want to stay at home, how do we best support their function, their quality of life, and their interests, as opposed to what are the best ways to meet the needs, wishes, quality of life, and all the r

Veterans Affairs committee  The Public Health Agency of Canada is doing stellar work around increasing the profile of seniors in emergency preparedness, both nationally and internationally. I am involved with some of that, and it is being driven very much by seeing the need. It is very dedicated to having p

Veterans Affairs committee  They are also from London. I'm pretty sure Clara is also a member, as I am, of the NICE network. I am not sure about Mark, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were also a member. The way to think of the NICE network is that it's a grant-funded infrastructure that really brings to

Veterans Affairs committee  I probably don't know the political systems well enough to really speak to that, but I can give you an example.

Veterans Affairs committee  You give me a very nice opening, because as I said, I sit as a member of both NICE and the Canadian Coalition for Seniors Mental Health. I definitely think we should be as willing to talk, to educate, to communicate about mental health disorders—the risk factors, the potential so

Veterans Affairs committee  I think you're absolutely right that there should be much more open information about mental health issues, and that health promotion in the mental health area can only be a good thing. For example, you see commercials on television asking you if you would recognize the symptoms

Veterans Affairs committee  I can speak to the area of psychology. If you go to the website of the American Psychological Association in the States, you'll see that they have all sorts of informational, promotional materials directed at encouraging people, and especially students, who are interested in the

Veterans Affairs committee  This is exactly why I think we have to be really careful about looking at it as a continuum of care with multiple options and about making sure we're making the decision that provides the right care for the person in their circumstances. If the person has the kinds of needs that

Veterans Affairs committee  Two things come to mind in response to your question. One is that the need for institutionalization is often driven by a whole combination of factors, and many of them are caregiver-focused. So if a caregiver who has been managing someone who has a progressive dementia has a fall

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it can shape the symptoms. For example, in a long-term-care facility what you can have is someone who was in a prisoner of war camp who experienced all the things that go along with that and then functioned very well. And now they're in a long-term-care home because of th

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm not aware of any studies that have specifically set out to determine whether the incidence is different in a same-age, same-circumstance elderly male population who aren't veterans versus those who are. I'm not aware of any studies that have taken that actual approach. Based

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much. I am actually here representing NICE, the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly, of which I am a member. I am a psychologist, and I work at a veterans care program in London, Ontario, at one of the large priority-access-bed facilities in Canada.