by Lucie Roy
More than 100 seniors and guests attended the Seniors Workshop hosted by Sturgeon County on Thursday at Pembina Place in Redwater.
Seniors from Morinville, Legal, Villeneuve, Calahoo, Sturgeon County, Bon Accord, Gibbons gathered for the one day workshop which included entertainment by comedian Brian Stollery.
The morning started with a question and answer session with Spruce Grove-St. Albert MLA Trevor Horne and Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater Constituency MLA Colin Piquette.
A presentation took place with Pam Zemlak, Lois Dutton and Angeline Majeau on stage to present Joanne Bugnet flowers for her years of dedication as a bus driver.
Homeland Housing North Area Legal Service Manager Stacey Danake spoke on Senior Housing and what a person should know.
Rotary Club of Morinville did a video presentation on Elder Abuse Awareness.
Rotary also released copies of the new Sturgeon County Seniors Info & Resources pamphlet, a project coordinated with Sturgeon County Community Development Coordinator Shelly Chubb and members of the Seniors to Seniors Committee.
Dr. Bonnie Dobbs, Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Director Medically At-Risk Driver Centre (MARD), University of Alberta made a presentation on the transportation mobility of older adults, the Provincial Transportation Needs assessment of 2016-2017 and the unmet transportation needs for medical appointments, essential services and recreational, leisure and religious activities.
Dobbs said in 2016 there were 5.9 million older adults in Canada with more than 8000 people aged 100 years and older and by 2031 one in four Canadians will be over 65.
Dobbs also spoke on the Sturgeon Region Rural Regional Alternate Transportation for Seniors Project.
Members of the Sturgeon County Protective Services with members from the Redwater and Gibbons Fire Department provided information on 72 Hour Preparedness During a Disaster.
