Northumberland PACE Launches Health and Wellness Series on Aging

The Northumberland PACE Speakers Series is set to launch its new season with a virtual event on October 23, 2025, focusing on the topic of seniors living independently. The first session, titled “Independent Living as We Age,” will begin at 17:30 and feature guest speaker Micki McLean, who brings over 20 years of experience in the retirement industry.

Jennifer Gillard, the Vice-President of Patient Experience, Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH), highlighted the motivation behind this topic. “Earlier this summer, we reviewed the speaker topics recommended by past participants and our planning committee, and there was a strong interest in the topic of living independently as we age,” Gillard stated. She expressed excitement for kicking off the new season with such an important discussion and anticipation for upcoming PACE talks throughout the year.

McLean, who is the General Manager of Palisade Gardens Retirement Community in Cobourg, holds a certification as a long-term care and retirement facility administrator. During her presentation, she will share personal experiences and insights acquired from working with long-term care residents and their families. This session aims to shed light on the challenges of finding suitable living arrangements and the key indicators that suggest it may be time to transition to different living situations.

As part of the PACE series format, audience questions are encouraged. Attendees can submit questions prior to the event by emailing [email protected], or they can pose questions live during the session, time permitting. Each talk lasts one hour, consisting of a 30-minute presentation, followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session, and a brief summary by the moderator.

Advance registration is essential, as participation is limited to the first 300 registrants. The event will be hosted on Zoom, and attendees are encouraged to log in five minutes before the start time. Those interested can register online at www.pacetalks.com, where recordings of previous talks are also accessible.

Since its inception in 2018, the Northumberland PACE partners have offered free public education sessions covering a wide array of health and wellness topics, consistently attracting significant community participation. The PACE initiative, which stands for Personalized Assessment and Change Education, is inspired by the TED Talks format.

The planning table for PACE includes representatives from various organizations, such as NHH, the Northumberland Family Health Team, The Community Health Centres of Northumberland, internal medicine specialists IMCare, the NHH Foundation, Community Care Northumberland, and the Ontario Health Team Northumberland, alongside local patients and caregivers. PACE talks are typically held virtually every month at 17:30, usually on the fourth Thursday of each month.