TEAM LEAD, PSYCHIATRIST | ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UOFT

Katie Bingham is the physician lead for the North Simcoe Muskoka Specialized Geriatric Services. She is also an assistant professor with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on identifying potential mechanisms and predictors of outcome in late-life and psychotic depression, via several methods, including neuropsychological assessment, clinical assessment and magnetic resonance imaging.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent, Integrated Care/Community Partnerships, Hub and Spoke

RESEARCH SCIENTIST

Salinda Horgan is a health services researcher and evaluator. Her work broadly focuses on policy, program evaluation and implementation as it relates to older persons and their care partners. Specific research interests include: integrated care, health systems integration, health promotion, and performance measurement.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent, Integrated Care/Community Partnerships, Hub and Spoke

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

Isabella Lim is trained as an experimental psychologist, having completed her PhD at the University of Toronto in 2023 through the Perception, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience stream. During her graduate studies, she leveraged behavioural methods to study interactions between visual attention and real-world stimuli.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

RESEARCH ANALYST

Jasleen Jagayat completed her Master’s of Science at Queen’s University with a specialization in neuroscience. She worked on integrating a stepped care model into a web-based cognitive behavioural therapy program for depression, with the aim of making improvements to web-based mental healthcare. She has experimented with exploratory data analysis and learned machine learning techniques to improve virtual mental health care.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

DIRECTOR, NSM SGS

Sandra Easson-Bruno joined North Simcoe Muskoka Specialized Geriatric Services (NSM SGS) in March 2016 as its inaugural Director. In this role, Sandra provides leadership and oversight to the planning, implementation and evaluation of all aspects of the program. She builds collaborative relationships, champions quality care and advocates for programming, funding and system change.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent, Integrated Care/Community Partnerships, Hub and Spoke

PHYSICIAN LEAD, GERIATRIC MEDICINE, NSM SGS

Dr. Amanda Gardhouse is a Geriatrician practicing in Orillia. She promotes Senior Friendly Care in Orillia and beyond through her work with the Couchiching Ontario Health Team, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, Couchiching Family Health Team and as the Physician Lead, Geriatric Medicine with North Simcoe Muskoka Specialized Geriatric Services. She is passionate about helping older adults age in place.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

PROJECT LEAD, NSM SGS

Annalee King, Project Lead, brings more than 25 years’ clinical experience and leadership to the NSM SGS program.

Prior to joining the NSM SGS program, Annalee held various positions with Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care including team lead in Central Intake, project coordinator for the development of Central Intake and inpatient nurse on the Horizon Program for Geriatric Psychiatry.

Annalee believes strongly that communication, team work and trust are key to a successful team. While agreeing that standardization and processes are important for high functioning teams, Annalee considers the ability to foster creativity and collaboration amongst the team is of equal or greater value.

Annalee is a Registered Nurse with a BScN from Laurentian University. She has held a certificate in Gerontology since 2001 from the Canadian Nurses Association, and is a recipient of the Core Value Award at Waypoint for Leadership.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

MANAGER, GERIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH – COMMUNITY, NSM SGS

Jenna Davis joined North Simcoe Muskoka Specialized Geriatric Services in July 2021 as Recreation Therapist and successfully achieved the position of Manager, Geriatric Mental Health - Community in 2024. Jenna has over 15 years experience working with individuals diagnosed with acute and chronic mental illness, and is very focused on ensuring SGS continues to expand its role in the care of frail older adults.

Projects: Integrated Care/Community Partnerships

PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, UOFT | CHIEF, GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, CAMH

Dr. Seitz is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry. He was the Provincial Medical Lead for Dementia Capacity Planning in Ontario and immediate past president of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry. His research focuses on mental health and dementia and examines health service utilization of older adults with psychiatric disorders; evaluation of the safety and efficacy of treatments for geriatric mental health conditions; and, knowledge translation in geriatric mental health. Dr. Seitz is actively involved in the development health system strategies, guidelines and policies related to seniors and mental health at both the provincial and national level.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROVINCIAL GERIATRICS LEADERSHIP ONTARIO

Kelly Kay is an experienced health leader, with more than 30 years of health system experience. She is currently the Executive Director of Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario, an entity funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health focused on providing province-wide system infrastructure for clinical geriatric services. Kelly’s past work has included direct clinical practice in geriatric and psychiatric nursing, with a predominately older adult population, clinical administration in primary care, and roles in health policy, health professional education, and health administration at the national, provincial and local levels. Kelly has a proven track record in leading regional collaborative initiatives in the areas of health system planning and design, primary care and geriatrics. She holds a Master of Arts in Leadership (Health Specialization) and is completing a PhD at the University of Toronto, in conjunction with the Institute for Lifecourse and Ageing. Her research interests include health and social service design and ageing, and interprofessional team-based approaches to care.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

RESEARCH COORDINATOR, MUSKOKA ALGONQUIN HEALTHCARE

Lisa is an experienced research coordinator with more than 20 years of experience supporting medical research from various fields. Following her doctoral studies, she spent many years teaching and working in research program development.  Over the last ten years she has worked within the Parry Sound/Muskoka region, to create and support a thriving rural program that has been successfully awarded more than 25 grants, totaling well over a million dollars. The success of this program is directly related to collaborative efforts of physicians, administration, community allied healthcare, and the local hospitals. 

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

SCIENTIST, UNITY HEALTH TORONTO

Dr. Watt completed medical school at the University of Ottawa, residency in internal medicine at Western University, fellowship training in geriatric medicine at the University of Toronto, and a PhD in clinical epidemiology and health care research at the University of Toronto. She was a 2019 recipient of the CIHR Institute of Health Sciences and Policy Research Rising Star Award and the Thomas & Edna Naylor Memorial Award for the best paper based on a thesis in Health Services and Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. More recently, she was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Junior Research Manuscript by the American Geriatrics Society.

Her research focuses on using knowledge synthesis methods (e.g., pairwise and network meta-analysis) and health administrative data to better understand the comparative efficacy and safety of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions in older adults, specifically, those with geriatric syndromes such as frailty, falls and cognitive impairment. She is also supporting evidence-informed and equitable access to virtual care for older adults.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

Dr Dechert is a Care of the Elderly physician based in South Muskoka and Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University. She works in hospital, long-term care, memory clinic and doing home visits.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

Dr. Hammell is a family physician with interest in geriatric care. Her practice is based in South Muskoka with work in the community, hospital, memory clinic, and long-term care. She is a Clinical Lecturer at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent

Claire Checkland is the Director of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health. She has been working with national, not-for-profit health organizations for approximately 20 years. She began her career in health advocacy and policy analysis in the HIV/AIDS field in the 1990s and has since done similar work at the Canadian Cancer Society, Mental Health Commission of Canada and most recently as a private contractor for smaller charities in need of shorter-term support. She began working with the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health as a contractor in 2015, becoming their full-time Executive Director in May 2017. Claire has a passion for ensuring that the mental health and wellbeing of older adults is recognized as a priority across health and social systems in Canada.

Projects: Behaviour Success Agent