What is the Research process at Northwood?
Currently, an application to conduct research is submitted to the Research Associate for an initial review. The Research Associate checks to make sure all the information provided is correct and appropriate for Northwood.
If approved by the Research Associate, it is then forward to the Research Advisory Council (RAC). RAC meets once per month and, as apart of this meeting, reviews all applications to conduct research. RAC then provides a form to the Research Associate giving their feedback/recommendation on the application for Northwood. If approved by RAC, the application then goes to the Quality Council. Quality Council then speaks to if Northwood has the time and resources to commit to the project, and also checks to see if it aligns with Northwood’s values and goals.
This position is currently vacant
In the interim, please contact Tasha Ross, Manager, Quality & Risk, for any research-related inquiries at tross@nwood.ns.ca
What is the Research Associate role:
The Research Associate role at Northwood is to be the main connection between Northwood and the research community. Thereby, the role includes tasks such as reviewing research applications, building research-into-practice pathways, providing expertise and support on Northwood projects, and supporting the research goals and strategy set by the larger Northwood Community.
What is the Role of the Research Advisory Council (RAC)?
The role of RAC is to assist Northwood to create a culture of research and evidence based practice within the organization. This group meets once a month to ensure all research projects are in the best interest of the organization, its clients and staff, and only appropriate, ethical, and scientifically sound research occurs.
Andrea Mayo attended the University of New Brunswick (UNB), where she received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Master’s of Exercise and Sport Science under the supervision of Dr. Danielle Bouchard. Andrea is finishing her PhD in the Department of Health at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. Olga Theou, where she studies how lifestyle behaviors influence frailty, with a particular focus on physical activity. Currently, Andrea works at the IWK in the Women’s Health department and is using her data utilization skills to improve healthcare pathways for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Pamela Fancey is the Associate Director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging at Mount Saint Vincent University which has a mission to advance knowledge on aging to inform social policy and practice. Her role at the Centre includes grant writing, project development and management and fostering relations with stakeholders. She has led evaluation projects and has authored/co-authored articles and reports on topics including family/friend caregivers, older workers, age-friendly communities, dementia care, long term care, abuse of older adults, and home support workers. Ms. Fancey is also a part-time instructor with the Mount’s Department of Family Studies & Gerontology. In 2018 she was the recipient of Northwood’s Live More Award for Research.
Dr. Arla Day is a Professor in Occupational Health Psychology at Saint Mary’s University and Director of the CN Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (www.cncohs.ca). She is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and was a Canada Research Chair for 10 years. She was an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury, NZ, an international advisor at Stockholm Stress Centre, and chair of the NS Psychological Healthy Workplace Program.
While conducting research, she works directly with organizations to develop initiatives to support workers and foster healthy workplaces. She has authored many articles and books on healthy and inclusive workplaces, mental health, leadership, stress and well-being, and work-life balance.
Outside of work, she puts her work on health and wellbeing into practice, traveling, enjoying the marvels of Nova Scotia, and spending quality time with her family, friends, horses, dogs, cats, & chickens on her farm.
Dr. Judith Godin received her Ph.D in psychology from Carleton University in 2011. Following her PhD, Judith held a Mitacs Elevate postdoctoral fellowship in health services research at the University of Toronto. After that, she worked at the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging at Mount Saint Vincent University as a data analyst and subsequently as a postdoctoral fellow. Judith is currently part of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging team that investigates how multi-morbidity modifies the risk of dementia and the patterns of disease expression. Developing a strong interest in quantitative methods and statistics while pursuing her PhD, Judith found herself drawn to the subjects of geriatrics and gerontology working as a data analyst, subsequently a postdoctoral fellow, at Mount Saint Vincent University. Her work examines how social and behavioural factors influence frailty and cognition, including how employment and retirement relate to frailty and cognitive impairment. Other interests include gerontology and health services research and occupational health psychology.
Jennifer Tucker, Senior Director, Long Term Care
Jennifer joined Northwood in 2009 as a Registered Nurse after returning home to Nova Scotia following several years studying and working in Ontario. Jennifer has held a variety of leadership roles during her years at Northwood and has established herself as a knowledgeable, trusted leader with a drive to pursue & embrace innovation and best practice.
In her current role as Senior Director of Long-Term Care, Jennifer leads the operations and leadership teams for Northwood Halifax, Bedford, Ivy Meadows and Shoreham Village. Jennifer has a passion for creating and supporting high quality & functioning teams who deliver quality care & services to those served by Northwood.
Jennifer has led the LTC team through significant change over the last three+ years, responding with agility, strength, resilience and a focused commitment to Northwood’s values and philosophy of person-centered care.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University, a Master of Nursing in Health Policy & Education from Toronto Metropolitan University (formally Ryerson University) and has completed an Executive Certificate in Leadership from Dalhousie University.
Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys quality time with her husband and two young children and can often be found with her hands deep in her garden or on another ambitious DIY project.
John O’Keefe, B.A., B.S.W., M.S.W graduated from Saint Francis Xavier University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983. He graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Social Work degree in 1984 and a Master of Social Work degree in 1991. Currently, John is Manager, Social Work with Northwoodcare Inc., a member of the Northwood Group of Companies in Halifax. John is a former President of the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer Society of Canada and was a Board member of that organization from 2005 – 2017. John was a member of the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia from 1998 to 2011 and is a former President of that organization as well. In 2013, John was awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition for the volunteer activity he carried out on behalf people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers with the Alzheimer Society across Canada. In addition, he is a past recipient of the Canadian Association of Social Workers Distinguished Service Award.
Lisa Berglund
Education
- PhD 2017, Urban Planning, UCLA
- MS 2011, Urban Design, Royal Institute of Technology
- BS 2009, Architecture, University of Michigan
Research Interests
Lisa’s research and teaching interests are at the intersection of community development and urban design. She focuses on community organizing and social movements in the context of neighborhood change, including processes like gentrification, displacement, and redevelopment. This research engages with communities to understand the policy obstacles and design practices that disenfranchise, and physically and culturally displace some groups from changing neighborhoods, and how these communities resist exclusionary planning practices. She has examined strategies and histories of resistance to environmental racism, and is currently researching the role of community benefits agreements to understand how benefits can be leveraged by communities whose tax dollars often subsidize rapid redevelopment of cities experiencing a ‘back to the city’ movement.
In addition to community organizing, she also examines the material components of the changing built environment in gentrifying areas, and the role of the urban design profession in creating places that are ripe for investment, but play to the exclusion of long standing communities. Through this work she has analyzed strategies like branding, participatory design and public space management to understand the messages embedded in the built environment, and how designers sometimes create sites that are attractive to capital and consumption, but are not inclusive. This work aims to uncover alternative, inclusive and justice oriented design practices, and develop critical urban design scholarship. Currently, she is examining the justice implications of urban design practices related to security and surveillance in privately operated public spaces, and the racial violence associated with such policing practices.
An important component of this work is understanding how communities develop their own ways of resisting, planning and designing through social mobilization and informal economic and placemaking strategies, considering these practices integral to the workings of cities. Drawing on the perspectives of politically marginalized urban populations, her work aims to share narratives of communities that are often left out of planning and design processes, and disproportionately pathologized and treated as objects ripe for policy intervention.
Melanie Gaunt
Born in Halifax, Melanie grew up in Montreal. She received her M.A. in Organizational Communications from Queens University of Charlotte, in North Carolina. She has extensive volunteering experience, particularly surrounding disability, accessibility, and quality of life. Diagnosed with MS in 2001, Melanie has lived at Northwood’s Ivany Place campus since its opening in 2010. Her education, experience and research in community living have helped her advocate, advise and advance her as an agent of change, particularly in LTC.
