A growing number of residents are entering long-term care with serious mental health conditions, addictions or developmental disabilities, and at younger ages. Their needs often fall outside of traditional care models, including dementia-care, and many homes find they lack capacity to appropriately care for these residents. AdvantAge Ontario is offering this first-ever series to help long-term care leaders and clinical teams navigate the gaps.
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  • Services and Solutions for LTC Residents with Mental Health and Addictions

    Gain a deeper clinical understanding of how severe mental health and addictions can present in long-term care residents.

  • Supporting Younger Residents with Mental Illness and Complex Needs

    Get an overview of common clinical presentations of younger long-term care residents living with serious and persistent mental illness and complex needs such as traumatic brain injury and how this differs from older residents.

  • Service Collaboration to Support Residents with Developmental Disabilities

    Understand potential consequences when a person with a developmental disability such as Down syndrome or autism is either inappropriately placed or admitted into long-term care without suitable supports for the transition.

Course Curriculum

This webinar was recorded live online in June 2026. It includes 5.5 hours of on-demand learning.

  1. 1

    • Services and Solutions for LTC Residents with Mental Health and Addictions

    • Supporting Younger Residents with Mental Illness and Complex Needs

    • Service Collaboration to Support Residents with Developmental Disabilities

    • Survey

Investment

AdvantAge Ontario Members enjoy complimentary access to many Learning Hub webinars. Visit advantageontario.ca to learn more about membership today!

Instructors

Dr. Dallas Seitz

Chief, Geriatric Psychiatry, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Dr. Dallas Seitz is Chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at CAMH, holding the Peter and Shelagh Godsoe Chair in Late-Life Mental Health Research. He is also a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Director of its Division of Geriatric Psychiatry. He co-chairs the Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health and is past president of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry. He trained at the University of Saskatchewan, Queen's University, and earned his PhD from the University of Toronto (2014).

Tanya Pol

Executive Director- Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care

Tanya Pol is Executive Director at Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, a 375-bed home operated by St. Joseph's Health Care London, bringing over 36 years of LTC experience, including 19 years as Administrator/Executive Director. She champions resident-centred care and provides strategic leadership on quality, access, and experience. Active on regional health committees, she advocates for LTC funding and policy across Ontario and serves on AdvantAge Ontario's Board as Region 1 representative. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Gerontology from Guelph and 2003 Administrator Certification.

Dr. Sophiya Benjamin

Co-Executive Director of GeriMedRisk

Dr. Sophiya Benjamin is an Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, holding the Schlegel Chair for Mental Health in Aging. She co-founded and co-leads GeriMedRisk, optimizing medication use in older adults through clinical consultations and clinician education across Ontario and beyond, and holds the PSI Foundation Mid-Career Knowledge Translation Fellowship. Trained in adult and geriatric psychiatry at Duke, she focuses on polypharmacy, psychotropic optimization, and sleep care in long-term care, practicing clinically in Waterloo and mentoring resident physicians.

Sandy Stemp

COO, Reena

Sandy Stemp is Chief Operations Officer of Reena, with over 35 years in the developmental disabilities field, including 23 in senior leadership. She provides strategic oversight of daily operations and final responsibility for program services. With a nursing background, she specializes in the intersection of health, aging, and developmental services. Sandy co-established the Ontario Partnership on Aging and Developmental Disabilities (OPADD) in 1999 and is a member of the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices - Canadian Consortium.

Lisa Levin

CEO, AdvantAge Ontario

Lisa Levin is the CEO of AdvantAge Ontario, an association of Ontario’s non-profit organizations serving seniors. Before joining AdvantAge, Lisa was the Director of Nursing and Health Policy with the Registered Nurses ‘Association of Ontario (RNAO). From 2011 to 2016, Lisa was the Chair of the Ontario Caregiver Coalition (OCC) that advocates for family caregivers across the province. In 2012, Lisa received a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for her work leading the OCC.