INNISFAIL – The town’s Community Partners in Action team is a finalist in the first ever National Dementia-Friendly Communities Awards.
The news was publicly brought forward to Innisfail town council at its Nov. 14 regular meeting through a letter from Heather Cowie, national project manager for the Dementia-Friendly Canada Project - a partnership between Alzheimer societies nation-wide tasked to foster the creation of dementia-friendly communities from across the country.
Innisfail’s Community Partners in Action team (CPIA) was selected as one of four finalists for the national award from about 20 total applicants based on its 15-month Dementia-Friendly Initiative that began in early 2020 and carried over into 2021.
Team members included Ellen Helgason, community recreation therapist with Alberta Health Services; Jennifer Wood, former dementia friendly community coordinator with the Wolf Creek Primary Care Network and Wendy Evans, a geriatric assessment nurse with the Wolf Creek Primary Care Network.
The team’s initiative was ultimately recognized provincially for its ground-breaking innovative programs and projects to support citizens living with dementia.
In 2021, CPIA was honoured provincially by being one of two winners of the 2021 RhPAP Rhapsody Health-care Heroes Award.
“This is very, very significant and hopefully they will be number one very soon. It’s a reflection of what a great job they did,” said Town of Innisfail Mayor Jean Barclay of the national award nomination during the correspondence section of the council meeting.
Barclay added the work by CPIA had many benefits for the community, beginning with simple but valuable awareness.
“Awareness around people living with dementia and awareness around making sure that we are inclusive and even though people are living with dementia they can still be part of the community and still participate in activities,” said Barclay. “It was just such a great initiative, and I am so proud of all of them for its delivery in our community.”
The winner of the award will be announced during an online event on Jan. 15, 2023. January is Alzheimer's Awareness Month in Canada.
Cowie said there will be a total of six awards handed out on Jan. 15. CPIA was nominated for the Dementia-Friendly Organization (small to medium) Award, which recognizes a not-for-profit or for-profit organization/business with less than 250 staff that has implemented a dementia-friendly initiative.
Cowie told the Albertan all nominations in that category– two from Alberta (including Innisfail) and one each from Saskatchewan and Ontario - were reviewed by her agency’s Dementia Friendly Canada Working Group, which consists of Alzheimer Society of Canada staff from across the country.
She said a decision-making committee, consisting of people living with dementia, care partners and experts in the field, will then review all the finalists to decide a winner.
“I've been a neutral party in all of this. I didn't select them (as finalist), but our working group did,” Cowie told the Albertan. “I was very happy when I was reading through their application. I think they're a perfect fit.”
For more on CPIA's national award nomination, as well as the other finalists, a website page will be created soon at Alzheimer.ca/DementiaFriendlyCanada
