Shannon Spenceley, RN, PhD, Associate Professor in Nursing

Shannon Spenceley is a registered nurse with over 35 years of experience in a variety of health care settings. She has consistently taken on roles where she was responsible for ensuring a solid evidence base for health care practice. She has spent her entire nursing career in Alberta. It was as a Director of Transitional Care Services in the former Chinook Health from 2007-2010 that she became very interested in the complexities in care faced by nursing staff in residential care settings. Dr. Spenceley joined the academic faculty at the University of Lethbridge in 2011, and immediately pursued the opportunity to study nursing care challenges in these settings, particularly as related to the care of persons living with dementia.

Sienna Caspar, Assistant Professor of Therapeutic Recreation

Sienna received a B.Sc. in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of South Alabama in 1990. She has worked in long-term care facilities in both Canada and the United States for over 20 years as both a certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS) and a consultant. She is the author of the MARRCC (Measurable Assessment in Recreation for Resident-Centred Care). From 2003 to 2007 she was a national trainer for the American Therapeutic Recreation Association’s Dementia Practice Guideline for the non-pharmacological treatment of disturbing behaviours. In 2008, she received a MA in Gerontology from Simon Fraser University. Her thesis explored the relationship between care staff empowerment and the ability to provide person-centred care in long-term care settings. She continued to study this important topic at the University of British Columbia, where she completed her PhD in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program. As a postdoctoral fellow in a cross appointment at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network and the University of Victoria, she conducted an intervention study aimed at improving leadership and collaborative decision making in long-term care settings. Currently, she is an assistant professor at the University of Lethbridge in the Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation program.

Carly-Ann Haney, BSW, MSW | Research Associate

Carly-Ann Haney is the Research Associate for the Intersections in Rural Care research program. Carly-Ann has experience as a Research Assistant in the areas of older adults, social policy, sexual assault prevention, women’s sexuality, and reproductive justice. Broadly, her research and practice interests include: consent based sexual health education, social determinants of health, healthy masculinity, policy advocacy,  feminist social work, and trauma informed care. Carly-Ann has a passion for social justice and community based research and is excited to join this research program.

 

Erin Davis, LPN, B.N., M.Sc. student | Research Assistant

Erin Davis is a Research Assistant.

 

 

 

 

Celine Farrell, RN Student | Undergraduate Research Assistant

Céline Farrell is a fourth year Bachelor of Nursing student in the U of L NESA program.  She has six years of experience in a variety of healthcare settings, and is passionate about improving quality of care for the geriatric population.  She hopes to pursue a career in geriatric nursing, with an active involvement in geriatric research.  When not working towards these goals, she enjoys time spent being active, immersed in music, and with family and friends.

Holly Wright, B.A., EMT-P, M.Sc. student | Research Assistant

Holly Wright was a Research Assistant for the first case study in the Exploring Long Term Care (LTC) in Rural Alberta research program. Holly is an Advanced Care Paramedic with over 15 years experience in urban and rural patient care, a significant portion of which has been delivered within the LTC environment. Her primary research interest is to examine the relationship between EMS and LTC staff, especially in the acute (and often complicated) medical management of LTC residents. Coming from a rural background, Holly is an advocate for maintaining rural health supports within the communities people reside in. She is very excited to be a part of this research program.