About Heidi
Professionally
I have worked more than 30 years in public service, with most of that time spent in seniors care.
I now work as a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging. I bring together my passion and experience, focused on preparing people for aging. I also facilitate staff training in person-centred dementia care for SafeCare BC. In my management consulting practice, I provide organizational leadership and support. I support my profession by volunteering as an evaluator for the Canadian College of Health Leaders Certified Health Executive program.
I have served as chief executive officer, director, planner, and educator. The organizations I have worked with provide services such as publicly funded care homes, day programs, caregiver support services, respite care, hospices, home health, housing, food programs, women’s services, and private-pay senior living buildings. As an adjunct professor, I taught graduate courses in a public university school of nursing Master’s degree leadership program in seniors care.
As a management consultant, I coordinated development of a manual for assisted living providers. I also operated a care home as consulting site leader. More recently, I was interim executive director for an organization supporting women involved in Vancouver’s street-based sex trade.
The longer I worked in seniors care, the more I developed a passion for empowering people in their aging. I supported both my parents as they were caregivers for each other and as they each reached their last few years of life. My professional experience and my personal story has led me to offer Informed Aging.
Informed Aging is personalized because each person’s path with aging is different. I am committed to our confidential conversations being comfortable and practical, without judgment. The information provided is up-to-date and grounded in well-known, useful, and evidence-based resources. Informed Aging also has a referral network of qualified experts in specialized areas.
Personally
I was fortunate to have both my parents into their old age. They each reached the age of 90 and for both, they did have challenges in the last few years of their lives.
I was alongside my parents as my father went through changes and adjustments. He became less able to contribute to their previous daily rhythm and life. We had the important conversations about their challenges. I supported my mother when she carried more responsibilities as his caregiver. I coordinated with community supports as needed and visited my parents often.
My mother was widowed for a few years and then began to have a variety of difficulties. She self-advocated for moving to a supported home setting. She moved first into assisted living and then into a long term care home. We celebrated her 90th birthday with chocolate cake as she conducted a crowd singing “Happy Birthday”.
As each of my parents faced challenges, I did too as a result. I took on roles as caretaker, caregiver, planner, finance manager and, yes, advocate too. My brother lives on another continent. He helped too, thanks to technology and travel. At times it was useful to have my experience as someone working in seniors care. I was always their daughter.
The sum of my professional and personal experiences has led me on to create Informed Aging.
