Event Date: Oct 25, 2017
Presentation Slides l
Recording
This webinar will explore some of the main factors that make certain conversations particularly difficult to have. Challenging topics will be discussed and strategies will be presented to help you address these situations. There will be time for questions and answers with our panel of social workers who have expertise in Multiple Sclerosis/Parkinson’s Disease/ Alzheimer’s disease.
This integrated webinar event is brought to you by the brainXchange in partnership with Parkinson Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Alzheimer Society.
Presenter(s):
Elaine Book, M.S.W., R.S.W.
Ms. Book has worked in the field of Social Work for over 30 years in a variety of community and hospital settings with an interest in the geriatric population. She has worked with individuals, families and as a leader of support groups.
She has become a leader in the PD community, serving as a speaker at support groups, a presenter at neurology meetings and a faculty member of the Allied Team Training Program of the National Parkinson Foundation. She is the center coordinator for the NPF Center of Excellence, the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre, at the University of British Columbia and also coordinates a blog designed for neurological social workers specializing in Parkinson’s Disease.
Ms. Book earned her B.S.W. from the University of Manitoba and her M.S.W. from the University of British Columbia, with her thesis focusing on caregiver stress. She has continued to expand her training throughout her career, including the areas of cognitive behavioral therapy, advance care planning and social work instruction.
Amy Freeman, M.S.W., R.S.W.
Amy Freeman received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of British Columbia in 1998. She has practiced in the health care field for over two decades. This practice has been rich and varied and includes working at Holy Family Hospital’s geriatric rehabilitation program for 10 years, as a home health case manager and as a social worker on geriatric psychiatry programs. She has also taught as a sessional instructor at UBC School of Social Work and served as a field instructor for social work students.
In the research area, Amy has authored an article on the experiences of elderly women in hospital which was published in The Canadian Journal of Social Work. She has also participated in a research project which studied social isolation of seniors in care homes. The results of this study were published in a handbook which was distributed to care facilities throughout the province. Amy’s experiences have provided her with a broad understanding of the health care system and the challenges patients and their families face when requiring support, including the more complex challenges faced by families with a member with early onset dementia.
Amy’s role in the clinic involves providing support to patients and families by helping them navigate available health care resources; assisting in transitions to care settings; consulting on home-based care management programs; and, advocating for increased resources and system change.
Theresa Jiwa M.S.W., R.S.W., MSCS
Theresa Jiwa is the social worker at the MS clinic at the Centre for Brain Health in Vancouver. She has been employed there since 1990 and has written and presented on various MS concerns. She focuses mostly on counselling and employment /disability insurance issues. Prior to this, Theresa was a Registered Nurse in community and out-patient psychiatry, private practice and as a head nurse in psychiatry at the UBC hospital.