The global leader in aging and brain health.
 
For nearly a century, Baycrest has continually adapted to changing needs to remain at the forefront of seniors’ care and brain research. Today, Baycrest is recognized as the global leader in innovative care delivery and cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest is among the world’s most respected academic health sciences centres focused on the needs of seniors and the aging population.
 
Tomorrow’s journey of aging is being created today at Baycrest. Our dynamic organization is built on three key pillars that work together to make Baycrest the world’s leading authority on aging and brain health:
 
Baycrest Health Sciences offers a full, state-of-the-art continuum of hospital, residential and community health care and wellness services. Our focus is on improving care and quality of life for frail, vulnerable older adults; conducting cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience; and educating, training and sharing our knowledge in leading practices in geriatric care and aging solutions.
 
Baycrest Innovation Engine develops, evaluates and transfers new practices, knowledge and products from our health sciences platform to the commercialization arm responsible for bringing products to market, and has a system-wide impact on care delivery, quality of life and health and wellness for an aging population. It consists of three key areas: the Innovation Technology & Design Laboratory; the Centre for Brain Fitness; and, the Kunin Lunenfeld Applied and Evaluative Research Unit Research Unit.
 
Baycrest Global Solutions, our commercialization arm, is the catalyst for adopting and marketing Baycrest’s innovations in aging including breakthrough technologies, systems, products and new knowledge.

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In 2005, Dr. Conn received the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Award for Outstanding Contributions to Geriatric Psychiatry in Canada. This award recognizes a geriatric psychiatrist who has made a significant contribution to geriatric psychiatry through education, research or innovations in service delivery.

Recipient – Outstanding Contributions to Geriatric Psychiatry in Canada

In 2009, Dr. Conn received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Psychogeriatric Association. The award recognizes people who have demonstrated inspiration, leadership, vision, ethics, innovation, organizational development and motivation in areas of Psychogeriatrics.

Recipient – Distinguished Service Award

In 2010, Dr. Conn received the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Betty Havens Award for Knowledge Translation in Aging. The award honours and supports the exemplary knowledge translation efforts and activities of an exceptional individual, team or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to improving the health of individuals, providing more effective health services and products and strengthening the health care system at a national or international level.

Recipient – Betty Havens Award for Knowledge Translation in Aging

Headquartered in Ontario and fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest is the global leader in developing and providing innovations in aging and brain health. Baycrest is unique in the world, combining a comprehensive system of care for aging patients, one of the world's top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, dedicated centres focused on mitigating the impact of age-related illness and impairment, and unmatched global knowledge exchange and commercialization capacity.

Vice-President, Education ; Director, Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange – Baycrest

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health (CCSMH) is hard at work ensuring that seniors' mental health is recognized as a key Canadian health and wellness issue. Working with partners across the country, the CCSMH is busy facilitating initiatives to enhance and promote seniors' mental health. The mission of the CCSMH is to promote the mental health of seniors by connecting people, ideas and resources.

Steering Committee Co-Chair – Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health

The International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA), founded in 1982 and representing more than 66 countries, is a unique and diverse professional healthcare community promoting better geriatric mental health – across disciplines, across borders, and across geriatric issues. IPA promotes research and education, facilitates an international exchange of ideas on Psychogeriatric issues, and fosters cross-cultural understanding of the latest developments in the field.

Board of Directors – International Psychogeriatric Association

Practical Psychiatry in the Long-Term Care Facility: A Handbook For Staff

Dr. David Conn is the vice-president of Education and inaugural director of the Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging at Baycrest. He is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and the founding Co-Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health and Chair of the Coalition’s National Guidelines Project.

Dr. Conn completed his Medical Degree at Trinity College, Dublin, and his training in psychiatry was carried out at the University of Toronto. He subsequently completed a Fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

He joined the Department of Psychiatry at Baycrest in 1983 and served as department chief from 1992 to 2010. He also served as vice-president of Medical Services at Baycrest from 2007 to 2010. He was the medical director of the Mood and Related Disorders Clinic from 2004 to 2012. He has a keen interest in telemedicine and is medical director of Tele-health Services at Baycrest.

Dr. Conn’s academic interests include nursing home psychiatry, guideline development and knowledge translation. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 publications and is the co-editor of three textbooks including "Practical Psychiatry in the Long-Term Care Home: A Handbook for Staff”.

He received the 2005 Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Award for Outstanding Contributions to Geriatric Psychiatry in Canada and a Distinguished Service Award from the International Psychogeriatric Association in 2009. He has also received the Ivan Silver Award for Excellence in Continuing Mental Health Education and the Henry Durost Award for Excellence in Creative Professional Activity from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. In 2010 he was co-recipient of the CIHR Betty Havens Award for Knowledge Translation in Aging.

Dr. Conn is a past president of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry and is currently a Board member of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA). He chairs the IPA Task Force on Mental Health Services in Long-Term Care Homes and co-chairs the IPA Education Committee.

Geriatric Psychiatry

Aging and Depression

Geriatrics

Maintaining A Positive Mood

Paving the Way to Improve Seniors’ Mental Health: Overview of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors Mental Health National Guidelines

Sexual Expression in Long-Term Care Settings: Clinical and Ethical Issues

Improving the mental health of older adults: How can we maximizeour impact?

KEYNOTE SPEECH

Mental Health and Aging

Baycrest Centre of Learning, Research & Innovation in LTC: An Overview

Psychotropics in Older Adults: What’s Best—What Benefits?

Optimizing mental health in long-term care homes

Dementia Care: Behavioural Support Systems

There is evidence that there is a connection between a positive attitude towards aging and longevity!  This session will explore factors connecting age and mood, help dispel the myth that depression is a normal part of aging, and offer strategies for maintaining a positive mood as you age. Treatment of depression in older adults will also be reviewed.

This session will focus on the benefits versus the risks of utilizing psychotropic medications in older adults, including antipsychotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines. Approaches which aim to optimize patterns of prescribing in LTC Homes will also be addressed.

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