Ontario Dementia Care Alliance

The Ontario Dementia Care Alliance (ODCA) is a 17-member expert panel composed of leading clinicians, researchers, advocates, and people with lived experience.  Members provide proactive advice to the provincial government with costed, tangible recommendations that would improve dementia care in a matter of weeks or months, not decades.

Vision

An Ontario where dementia care is complete care. It is person-centred throughout all aspects of a person’s dementia journey, including prevention mechanisms, timely diagnosis, early care and appropriate solutions for care partners—where dignity and independence are valued and nurtured, and where quality of life is maintained until end of life. The ODCA believes in an Ontario where people living with dementia get the care they need and deserve, when and where they need it.

Purpose

To serve as an independent expert advisory body to the Government of Ontario and delivering actionable recommendations that would meaningfully improve dementia care for both care recipients and providers. To highlight the complex medical care required by people living with dementia and the need for continuum of care to retain the quality of life of people living with dementia. The ODCA will advocate for a comprehensive provincial dementia strategy, raise awareness regarding barriers to quality dementia care in Ontario, and facilitate discussions to improve care standards.

Mission Statement

The mission of the ODCA is to create a more dementia-friendly Ontario through expert advice that will educate, advocate, and improve access to quality and timely dementia care across the province.

The expert members of the ODCA are:

• Dr. Sandra Black, OC, O. Ont., MD, FRSC: Senior Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute; Brill Chair in Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
• Dr. Michael Borrie, MB, ChB, FRCPC: Head, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Parkwood Hospital; Professor, University of Western Ontario Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine.
• Dr. Sharon Cohen, MD, FRCPC: Medical Director and Site Principal Investigator, Toronto Memory Program.
• Andy Donald, RPH, MSc: Founder and CEO, The Health Depot Pharmacy.
• Deb Galet: Vice President, Long-Term Care and Ambulatory Care & Chief Heritage Officer, Baycrest.
• Dr. Jennifer Ingram, MD, FRCPC: Founder, Kawartha Centre—Redefining Healthy Aging; Adjunct Professor, Trent University, Trent Centre for Aging and Society.
• Dr. Linda Lee, MD, FCFP: Founder, MINT Memory Clinics; Schlegel Chair in Primary Care for Elders, Research Institute for Aging.
• Lisa Levin: CEO, AdvantAge Ontario.
• Adam Morrison: Director, Policy and Planning, Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario.
• Dr. Tarek Rajji, MD: Chief, Adult Neurodevelopment and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Executive Director, Toronto Dementia Research Alliance.
• Dr. Lisa Saksida, PhD, FCAHS, FRSC: Professor and Canada Research Chair in Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry; Co-Scientific Director of the BrainsCAN Canada First Research Excellence Fund Program in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario.
• Dr. Rick Swartz, MD, PhD: Staff Neurologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Associate Professor, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.
• Laura Tamblyn Watts, LLB: Founder and CEO, CanAge.
• Barbara Tarrant: Care partner.
• Dr. Carmela Tartaglia, MD, FRCPC: Marion and Gerald Soloway Chair in Brain Injury and Concussion Research; Associate Professor, Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto.
• Dr. Jennifer Walker, PhD: Senior Core Scientist and Indigenous Health Lead, ICES; Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health, Laurentian University; Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

The ODCA is administratively supported by the Alzheimer Society of Ontario.  Funding support is provided by Eisai Canada and Roche Canada.  Neither the Alzheimer Society nor funders have editorial control over ODCA positions, and statements made by the Society are not necessarily reflective of the views of ODCA members.