At Homecoming, Dr. Gerald and Reesa Niznick made an incredible gift of $5 million to the University of Manitoba in support of new, state-of-the-art dental clinics in the five-storey building, which was named in their honour. The Dr. Gerald and Reesa Niznick Centre is supported by $40 million of funding from the provincial government and will be home to Ongomiizwin, new classrooms for medical students, the dental clinics and a child-care centre.

We continue working together with the Manitoba government to address health workforce shortages and meet the needs of patients across the province. Thank you all, faculty and staff, for your immense amount of effort dealing with this rapid pace of growth over the last two years, and ensuring that it’s been successful and will be sustainable going forward.

Thank you for the exceptional dedication to teaching, research and service. I wish everyone a joyous and restful holiday season and a happy new year.

The name includes translations in both Ojibway and Cree and reflects the reach of the partnership between the college and communities. The venture began in 2017 with five communities and has grown to 12 with the recent additions of Black River First Nation, Northlands Denesuline First Nation and Canupawakpa Dakota Nation. Eleven of those communities were represented at the retreat, which was held at Wyndham Garden Winnipeg Airport, situated on the Long Plain Madison Reserve No. 1.

The partnership’s goal is to bring the college’s services to the communities, based on their self-identified needs and priorities.

In total, about 55 people attended the retreat, including community representatives and faculty and staff from the college. Guests included Elders from the Star Blanket and Cowessess First Nation communities in Saskatchewan, faculty from the University of Saskatchewan and guests from the Riverview Health Centre and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

The first day focused mostly on a discussion on how to help people with lived experience with addiction who are returning to their community. The discussion ended with a draft model of aftercare that could form a collaborative project between interested communities and the Universities of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Michael Redhead Champagne

Emcee Michael Redhead Champagne, an Ininiw public speaker, writer and community advocate, also highlighted some of the partnership’s successes since it began.

Since 2017, over $5 million in projects have happened either directly or indirectly from the partnership, 82 students have come to communities to learn and be of service, 16 faculty have been involved and 10 community members have been employed as part of the projects.

Marlene Head, post-secondary counsellor for Opaskwayak Education Services in Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), noted that three students from her community enrolled in the college’s occupational therapy program this year. However, she said, that is not enough to meet the demand in the community, or in other First Nations.

Head gave a presentation on a project focused on educating specialists in occupational therapy, physical therapy, school psychology and speech language pathology directly in First Nations communities. The initiative, titled Grow Our Own Specialists through Education (GOOSE), started two years ago from conversations at previous meetings.

Head said there is a dire need for specialists in OCN, and likely other First Nations communities.

“We are starting to see a lot of students with exceptionalities in OCN – somewhere between 30-35 per cent of the population of both of our schools. We have to stop relying on others and meet the demand for specialists ourselves,” Head said, adding there are barriers that make it difficult for some people to move to Winnipeg to train in a health-related field.

“First Nations should not have to ‘fit’ educational institutions, educational institutions have to ‘fit’ First Nations,” she said.

Currently, the initiative is working with the college and UM’s school psychology program in the Faculty of Arts to offer programs via Indigenous cohorts. Head is hopeful that a part-time master’s program in school psychology could be offered to an Indigenous cohort by Summer 2024.

At the retreat, Head invited members of other communities to join the initiative.

“GOOSE will provide opportunities for all, especially those who are working, mature and cannot move to the city on a living allowance,” she said.

“Through this initiative, First Nations can work together in prioritizing programs and open up to community members from different First Nations, which would eliminate duplication and be more efficient.”

The retreat concluded with a celebration highlighted by a spirited performance from the Kinew Metis Council Youth Dancers.

Dr. Reg Urbanowski, dean of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, said the gathering was a huge success, with people sharing their experiences, wisdom and knowledge. 

“It is clear after all this time that there is a connectedness between the communities, the college and the guests who were present. This speaks highly to activities identified in the future.”

Watch a social media video of highlights from the retreat.

The venture began in 2016 with five communities and has grown to 10 with the recent additions of Pimichikamak Cree Nation, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Basskaandibewiziibing Ojibway Nation and Lake St. Martin First Nation.

The partnership is named Kiga mamo anokimin onji minoayawin / Ka mamawi atoskatenow minoyin, which translated from Ojibway and Cree means, “We will work together for health and wellness.” Its goal is to bring the college’s services to the communities, based on their self-identified needs and priorities.

It has included projects to help young adults who have aged out of children’s services, people who are frail, and those who have dementia and their loved ones. New playgrounds and walking trails have also been built, and housing is being discussed as an issue to be addressed in partnership with Tech-Access Canada.

In October, the college held its first in-person retreat with the partnership communities since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The retreats were held annually prior to that.

“When we started this project six years ago, nobody would have thought we’d be where we are today,” Dr. Reg Urbanowski, dean of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, said at the retreat.

Seven communities attended the retreat, as well as representatives from Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Tech-Access Canada, Riverview Health Centre and the UM Faculty of Law.

Honoured guests on the first day included Dr. Lalitha Raman-Wilms, dean of the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Anastasia Kelekis-Cholakis, dean of the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, and Marcia Anderson, vice-dean, Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

UM Elders-in-residence Margaret Lavallee and Norm Meade and Ongomiizwin Knowledge Keeper Leslie Spillett were in attendance for both days.

The two-day retreat provided an opportunity to hear from Elders and share ideas, opportunities and challenges. It began with the sharing of victories that each community had experienced since the last retreat in January 2020. It ended with the college and communities creating an action plan with priorities in five broad categories: housing, food security, addictions and mental health, human resources and education.

One of the priorities is to develop a team of college and community representatives to consider a strategy for each community and an overall strategy for all communities.

“Another priority is more far-reaching, as it involves the health system. It calls for developing a way to identify and implement restorative justice in rehabilitation settings and develop educational events for communities and health providers by March 2023,” Urbanowski said.

“By working together, we are meeting community needs, and the communities are teaching our faculty, staff and students in a spirit of collaboration and sharing.”

The event was hosted by Michael Redhead Champagne, an Ininiw public speaker, writer and community advocate. Raised in Winnipeg’s North End, Champagne identifies as a member of Shamattawa First Nation. He has hosted previous partnership retreats and speaks a message of honouring relationships, appreciating people’s gifts and taking action.

Michael Redhead Champagne

“It’s been great being able to come back, time and time again, to check in with these communities and all the leadership. I’m proud of you and the great work that you’re doing,” Champagne told attendees.

A telepresence robot is a remote-controlled computer, tablet or smartphone-controlled robot, which may include a video-camera, screen, speakers and microphones. This helps the person interacting with the robot to view and hear its operator – often a family caregiver – and the operator can simultaneously view what the robot is “seeing” and “hearing.”

Over 1,500 names were submitted from across the province in a month-long contest held by the three organizations, who each selected five winners. The contest was promoted heavily on various social media platforms, reaching thousands and thousands of Manitobans and beyond.

“We were honoured to receive so many creative and heartfelt ideas from Manitobans of all ages,” said VGHF executive director Charlene Rocke.

Rocke said names were chose to represent the role these telepresence robots would play in the lives of families and in advancing innovation in the province.

“These robots will bring companionship and hope to individuals living with dementia and caregivers in need of support, so we immediately connected to ‘Buddy’ and ‘Hope’ as two of our favourite names.”

Judi Bahl, manager of strategic partnerships at Research Manitoba, said the selection process wasn’t easy, given the significant response.

“There were so many personal or ‘made in Manitoba’ stories that resonated with our team, which made it extremely hard to narrow the overwhelming number of choices down,” she said. “Our organization chose five names that convey power and strength, recognize the community effort and passion associated with the caregivers and family members these robots are meant to support and help, and connect to our commitment to advance research in Manitoba.”

Bahl said one of her favourite names was ‘Koda.’

“The contestant stated that Koda means ‘little bear’ in Cree and noted that bears are strong, smart and protective, which makes this is a perfect name for one of the telepresence robots,” she said.

Dr. Amine Choukou, assistant professor of occupational therapy, said the chosen names had to be easy to remember or relate to the telepresence robot’s ability to provide companionship for the people of Manitoba in need for such innovation. 

“I liked the name ‘OLIVE’ because it stands for ‘Online Live Interaction Video Experience.’ It helps explain what the robot does, but it’s also a name that sounds friendly and relatable,” he said.

Choukou is co-leading the two-year project for UM with Dr. Reg Urbanowski, dean of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences.

Urbanowski noted the robots will help people in the community living with dementia, who often require support from informal caregivers.

“Some caregivers sacrifice so much to take care of their loved ones,” Urbanowski said. “We anticipate these robots will help them live healthier, more balanced lives.”

The full list of winners is:

Buddy – Patricia Alison, Winnipeg

Hope – Rebecca Buchanan, Winnipeg

Vic – Melinda Sasek, Winnipeg

Robbie – Barbara Somerville, Winnipeg

Toba – Dea Barrio, Winnipeg

RoSIGMA – Amani Heni, Winnipeg

Spock – Marilyn Kendall, Winnipeg

Winnie – Kathy Watson, Carman

Trakster – Kathy Trakalo, Winnipeg

OLIVE – Richard  Pua, Winnipeg

Ally – Cindy Gach, Winnipeg

Koda – Terry Haluik, Winnipeg

Link – Kate Jaworski, Winnipeg

Mani – Vrunda Patel, Winnipeg

Dakota – Lori Ranta Rodrigues, Winnipeg

Dr. Amine Choukou has been awarded the Gerry McDole Professorship in Improved Healthcare Delivery to Rural, Remote and Underserved Populations of Manitoba.

The professorship, funded by AstraZeneca Canada, will enable Choukou to develop and test a VR-based rehabilitation program to help stroke survivors rebuild their physical and cognitive abilities. 

“A person in a rural or remote community who is recovering after a stroke typically has to travel for rehabilitation appointments,” said Choukou, assistant professor of occupational therapy at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“We believe that rural stroke survivors will benefit from guided rehabilitation sessions in a virtual-reality environment. They can do this in their own homes, with a VR headset and laptop computer that we will supply. Community volunteers will help the stroke survivors with the technology at each session. The yoga movements will be in a sitting or standing position.”

The Gerry McDole Professorship, valued at $50,000 per year, is presented to a new faculty member in the Rady Faculty for research in health service delivery or health policy development and offered for a three-year term.

It is supported through a generous endowment created by AstraZeneca Canada Inc. in honour of Gerry McDole [B.Sc./60] on his retirement as president of the company in 2003. The professorship continues to pay tribute to McDole, a former Manitoban who understood the unique challenges of delivering health care to rural and remote populations.

“I’m pleased to congratulate Dr. Choukou,” said Dr. Neil Maresky, vice president – scientific affairs of AstraZeneca Canada. “The road of recovery and rehabilitation following a stroke can be incredibly challenging for patients, particularly those who don’t have ready access to support services. Dr. Choukou’s research into VR-based rehabilitation has great potential to support stroke patients and a health-care system that is stretched.”

Dr. Reg Urbanowski, dean of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, also congratulated the professor. “This well-deserved honour recognizes Dr. Choukou’s leading-edge use of technology to help people maintain their independence in their own homes and reduce the burden on family caregivers,” Urbanowski said.

DR. AMINE CHOUKOU

Choukou’s overall research focus is on digital technologies to help people with cognitive challenges or rehabilitation needs connect with off-site caregivers. These technologies range from robots that are remotely controlled by caregivers to sensors built into an apartment to detect when a resident needs help.

The professor says other researchers have tested VR games for stroke recovery, but he believes his is the first study to explore post-stroke VR yoga training. In a lab at UM, Choukou’s team will create the 3D virtual environment that participants will experience.

The 12-week pilot study, expected to start in the fall of 2021, is a randomized controlled trial. Choukou’s team will recruit 60 participants who are discharged to their homes after having a stroke. Twenty of these will be rural or First Nation residents who will make up the VR group. The remaining 40 participants will be assigned to a control group and a comparison group in Winnipeg.

March of Dimes Canada, a not-for-profit organization that provides services to stroke survivors and caregivers through its After Stroke program, will help facilitate the study.

Three times per week, participants in the rural/remote group will be guided through a one-hour session consisting of 20 minutes of VR-based yoga for upper limb recovery, 20 minutes of yoga led via Skype for the lower limbs and balance, and 20 minutes of VR-based memory training.

“We expect to see improvement in participants’ arm and hand function, balance and mobility, and cognitive performance,” Choukou said. “We also predict reduced frailty and fewer falls.”

The projects are part of the college’s Kiga mamo anokimin onji minoayawin initiative, which translated from Ojibway means “We will work together for health and wellness.”

One of the projects focuses on people living with dementia and their caregivers. Through consultations with Dr. Reg Urbanowski, dean, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, the community identified it would like to start with delivering help to people providing care to those with dementia or memory issues.

For six weeks starting in July, three students completed a fieldwork placement in Pinaymootang First Nation, which is located about 220 km northwest of Winnipeg.

“We were the first students to do a placement in Pinaymootang as part of this project,” said master of physical therapy student Maria Dirks. “We were making connections with people who could have dementia symptoms and doing home visits.”

Dirks performed strength assessments and prescribed exercises, which she had to teach to the clients and caregivers. She also worked closely with two occupational therapy students, who assessed their clients’ ability to manage self-care, recommending strategies and ordering equipment to increase their independence.

“We got to know clients and their caregivers, finding out more about difficulties they were having caring for their loved ones, if they were noticing that their loved ones or others in the community were exhibiting signs and symptoms of dementia, and the gaps they felt existed in the community to provide support,” said occupational therapy student Rachel Ward.

The students spent about three days each week in the community, reduced from a typical placement of five days per week on-site because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“Initially, we thought this placement would have to be completely virtual, but at the last minute the community opened up again,” Ward said. “One of the most important things I learned on this placement was to take the time to listen to the clients and what they have to say. Many were very appreciative of us taking the extra time to listen to their stories.”

The other communities taking part in the ongoing project include Bloodvein First Nation, Lake Manitoba First Nation, Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Norway House First Nation.

The second project, funded by the Canadian Frailty Network (CFN), is led by Dr. Cara Brown, assistant professor in the occupational therapy department. It was developed with four First Nations communities who said they were looking for ways to engage older adults in programs that included physical activity.

Elders, older adults and other community members are taking part in the research process in Bloodvein First Nation, Black River First Nation, Hollow Water First Nation and Lake Manitoba First Nation.

The project team’s tasks are: to learn what the communities think about the word “frailty” and how this relates to their thoughts on older adult health and illness; develop and test community-specific programs that incorporate physical activity; and share what they learned with each other and other communities in Manitoba, using techniques such as video storytelling.

“After a long history of colonization and mistrust, First Nations communities must decide on the approaches that will be used to improve the health of their own people,” Brown said. “Based on our consultations, we will work with each community individually to develop programs that address their needs.”

Andrea Simser wears a mask for fieldwork at Lake Manitoba First Nation.

Andrea Simser and Kellie Slobodian, two final-year students in the master of occupational therapy program, participated in a six-week placement in Lake Manitoba First Nation, a community of 875 people, starting in late July. Similar to the placement in Pinaymootang, the students were limited to just a few days a week in the community due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We did initial interviews with community members to understand their views on health, wellness and frailty, and to identify a possible physical activity program that could either help people who are frail or with prevention,” Slobodian said. “There are a lot of people in the community who are in good health, but they want to take a preventative approach to make sure people can continue to do the things they need to do.”

The students said that even though the community was only two hours away from Winnipeg, it felt very remote and showed them how caregiving in the area has its unique challenges.

“The amount of services they currently have is quite limited,” Simser said. “I think this is going to affect how I practice going forward, being mindful of the different ways that people live and understanding how culture can make a difference in how you assess and collaborate with people for treatment.”

For both projects, each community has its own dedicated resource, a person from the community hired to work as a liaison with the college and project team.

Kennedy Anderson, community resource for Pinaymootang, is a 19-year-old UM student who started her first year in January. She has worked at Pinaymootang Health Centre since finishing high school three years ago.

“We have a lot of Elders here who have 24/7 needs, but there isn’t enough care,” she said. “We really utilized this group of students and I think that’s how it’s going to be for the next two years – getting people what they need and making sure that everyone is seen in the community as well.”

Dirks said she appreciated the difference that Anderson made, and that it’s clear that community members valued the role of the liaison as well.

“She showed us around the community a few times and she knew everyone,” Dirks said. “It was really nice to have that strong connection with someone in the community.”

Student travel and accommodations for these projects was provided by the RBC Experiential Learning Travel Initiative.

The research project received $360,000 in funding from a new partnership between Research Manitoba and the Victoria General Hospital Foundation (VGHF) announced Sept. 24 during World Alzheimer’s Month.

A telepresence robot is a remote-controlled computer, tablet or smartphone-controlled robot, which may include a video-camera, screen, speakers and microphones. This helps the person interacting with the robot to view and hear its operator and the operator can simultaneously view what the robot is “seeing” and “hearing.”

People living with dementia in the community often require support from informal caregivers, usually family members who need a constant connection to their loved one while maintaining a career, home and social life.

“Telepresence robots provide an effective solution for minimizing the burden on informal caregivers of people living with dementia,” said Dr. Reg Urbanowski, dean of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences. “There are different kinds of telepresence robots, but the kind proposed here provides two-way communication for the caregiver and the person they are caring for when the caregiver is out-of-home, which could help them maintain a career, home and family life.” 

Urbanowski is co-leading the project with Dr. Amine Choukou, assistant professor of occupational therapy, who held a demonstration of the first telepresence robot to be used in the project for media and invited guests at the Miracle Garden outside Victoria General Hospital.

“The idea, very basically, is a lot like teleconferencing without requiring its user to answer a call. You can make a call see, hear, talk, interact, and go anywhere,” Choukou said. He noted the caregiver can control the movements of the robot via a smartphone or computer, following the person with dementia around the home and even taking pictures.

“And if I am the person with dementia, I can see my family member or caregiver calling me on the screen and hear their voice. I also know they will be helping me get the robot back to the charging station, I don’t need to think about it,” he said.

The college will be looking at different robots with different functions and capabilities over the two year project, with the goal of supplying 15 robots to VGHF.

“The ability to leverage capabilities and funding to support not just one but several health-related projects that advance [VGHF’s] research aspirations under one agreement is a great example of how this program can maximize benefits for Manitobans,” Sean McKay, interim CEO of Research Manitoba, said at the event.

Urbanowski noted that over the next two years, his research team will be supported by Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba, Manitoba Association of Seniors Centres, UM faculty from rehabilitation sciences, computer science and business, and an international network of researchers, including some from the Netherlands and Switzerland.

“Over the next two years, with this robot or one like it, we will see how we can help people with dementia lead more meaningful and engaged lives in their community,” he said. “We have technology that we can use to be innovative in the way we reach out and support people.”