A new dementia care model is changing the way the world looks at long-term care. It’s called Possibilities by Baycrest™. It is a new approach to delivering care for those living with cognitive issues, and it is now being piloted as a care approach at the Baycrest Terraces. But it would not have happened without the input of three caregivers, recruited from the Centre of Aging + Brain Health’s Senior Advisory Panel (SAP). SAP provides advice and support to innovations in aging and brain health from the perspective of their own lived experiences.
For more than a year, Ian Goldman, Rene Pardo and Bev Shukyn served as the Possibilities Lived Experience Family Advisory Group, and had an active hand in ensuring that the Possibilities model was ready to operationalize. All three consultants have first-hand experience as caregivers to their own loved ones, some of whom have spent considerable time as residents at Baycrest.
Given their experiences as caregivers, they understood that creating this transformational approach for residential living environments in support of persons living with dementia — and their caregivers — needed to be done right. Thanks to them, Baycrest was able to launch this new model of programming and care delivery that will help optimize brain health while recognizing the person and supporting them for the best possible, individualized aging journey, wherever one is at cognitively.
“It was a privilege to participate in the thinking and design of this program,” Bev told BrainMatters. “It was interesting to use my experiences in caring for my mom… to help inform this process and to hear from Ian and Rene about their experiences.”
For his part, Rene feels that the now-operationalized Possibilities by Baycrest™ model in use at the Baycrest Terraces is a new milestone in cognitive care.
“I don’t think there is any better place in Canada for a loved one,” he said. “It is a super-impressive, wellexecuted use [and blend] of technology and exceptional personal care. I was trying to help my mother return to a pre-COVID norm of increased communication and physical interaction, including gestures of love such as holding hands, hugs and kisses.”
Rene adds, “As a caregiver, it makes me feel incredibly proud and fulfilled to see the Possibilities model now operational at Baycrest. Seeing the positive impact that Possibilities has on the lives of residents and their families, as well as the enthusiasm and dedication of the staff, is truly heartwarming. I feel grateful to have been a part of this initiative and look forward to seeing its continued success in the future.”
Ian was similarly impressed and honoured to provide input for the model alongside staff at Baycrest.
“Having ‘distance-managed’ my mum's eight-year journey in the U.K., initially with [her] cognitive impairment… through her progression with dementia, I wanted to contribute my learnings to the Possibilities program, and was excited about the vision and potential of a world-class model of care,” he said.
With the help of Ian, Rene and Bev, Baycrest clinicians and scientists will help residents and their caregivers maximize their potential throughout their cognitive health journey by understanding each individual’s abilities and then identifying their unique possibilities.
For the Lived Experience Advisory Group, the future of dementia/cognitive care has just gotten brighter. The knowledge that Possibilities by Baycrest™ is now in play provides a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Ian noted the whole group agreed that one of the most critical elements of the model was ensuring that the resident's personhood was “very well understood” by all care providers. Similarly, it was imperative that the resident's “values, passions, life experiences and vital connections to people and causes, as well as their likes and dislikes — even when these might be masked by their disease and the resulting behaviours” all be taken into account.
Possibilities by Baycrest™ delivers a unique, evidencebased memory care model that maximizes a person’s abilities along their cognitive health journey, which can be applied in community, clinical and residential settings. The model’s innovative approach is suitable for people across the cognitive spectrum, from the worried well, to those with an initial diagnosis and mild cognitive change, all the way to the most severe stages of dementia.