Thursday February 5, 2009 - Whole Foods Market - Oakville, ON Currently approximately 500,000 Canadians are affected by dementia related diseases. However, according to the Alzheimer Society that number is expect to rise to between 1 and 1.3 million in the next 25 years - a staggering number. Today, there is no cure and if one is not found these diseases threaten to have the highest economic, social and health cost burden of all diseases in Canada. An aspect of dementia care often overlooked is nutrition and mealtimes says Lori Paton RN, RRT Director of Nursing, for Nurse Next Door. Too often when we think of mealtimes we focus only on the food. Is it nutritious, do I have the ingredients and time to make it etc. But it is also important to think about how we do mealtimes. Challenges and strategies that families have developed to meet the changing needs of seniors with dementia have been identified. As a result of this research, we have come to understand that mealtimes mirror the way the family is living with dementia. About Dr Heather Keller Dr. Keller received her BASc in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Guelph in 1989. After working as

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