UNews - ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Faculty of Social Work

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ mourns passing of DeBow

trevor.kenney — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:19:30 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Community offers its most sincere condolences to the family, many friends and colleagues of the late Dr. Shirley DeBow, a Lethbridge-based community volunteer, social worker and educator who served as the 10th Chancellor of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge from 2003 – 2007.

Shirley passed away on Monday, March 25, at age 68.

She is survived by her husband Gerald DeBow, and their three children – Jeremy, Suzanne and Adrienne – and their families.

A memorial service has yet to be confirmed.

This notice will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Shirley served the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and broader community with enthusiasm, good humour and dedication, and participated in a host of community activities as Chancellor that served to strengthen the relationship between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the Lethbridge community at large.

She served on the U of L Senate from 1993 to 2001, as well as a number of U of L-specific committees and groups, and received an Honorary Degree from the U of L in 2008 for her extensive community service efforts.

During her time as Chancellor, she either hugged or (was hugged by) more than 6,000 students who were welcomed into the U of L family and helped establish the Senate Volunteer award, as well as an endowed Senate Scholarship for students, among other outreach activities.

"The U of L has long been fortunate to have strong community support and committed volunteers and Shirley DeBow was very much one of those people," said Dr Bill Cade, who served as U of L President during Shirley's term as Chancellor.

"She devoted much time and effort to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ activities over the years, especially in her role as ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Chancellor. This was a job that Shirley loved and was ideally suited for. She performed her duties with much class and with genuine interest in the well being of our students.

Cade said that Shirley also served as an outstanding ambassador for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and worked tirelessly with the broader southern Alberta community to advance the U of L.

"One of Shirley's most significant legacies was the establishment of the Senate Scholarship Fund. Shirley provided leadership at a critical time when the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Senate launched a drive to raise scholarship funding for outstanding students. They were very successful and the fund continues to this day. It was a pleasure to work with Shirley in her capacity as Chancellor of the U of L. Elsa and I will miss her and we offer our condolences and best wishes to her family at this time."

Shirley's care and concern for people extended far beyond her immediate family, and she was forever a Maritimer, no matter how much time she spent on the prairies. Shirley was born in Nova Scotia (delivered by the doctor-father of Canadian music artist Anne Murray)and spent her childhood on Cape Breton Island, where her father served as an Anglican priest.

She attended Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, the Maritime School of Social Work, and, after moving to Alberta in 1966, attended the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Faculty of Social Work.

She accepted a position as a social worker with the Government of Alberta, then progressed to NAIT, where she launched the first Social Services Worker program.

Shirley took this experience to the newly-established Grant MacEwan Community College in 1971, where, as the institution's 5th full-time employee, she established several key outreach programs and was particularly proud of an outreach program that she personally delivered to remote and northern locations of the province. She became the Head of the Social Services program, and was an instructor within the program until moving to Lethbridge in 1984.

In Lethbridge, she taught at Lethbridge Community College on a part-time basis and worked as a Social Worker/Supervisor of Social Work Programs at FamilyCare Inc., training and certifying social workers in several communities in southern Alberta, including the Town of Claresholm, the Kainai first Nation and the Siksika First Nation.

She will be remembered as the ultimate grandmother who was fiercely proud of her family, as a gracious host who welcomed people from all walks of life into her world, and as a community volunteer who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for organizations in need.

Condolences may be sent to the family at this address: senate@uleth.ca

Groundbreaking study to focus on moral distress

trevor.kenney — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:59:54 +0000

Knowing the right thing to do is one thing. Actually being able to do it, quite another.

In fact, many nurses experience that dilemma every day, according to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher Dr. Shannon Spenceley. She is exploring ways to lessen this source of moral stress among nurses in the workplace.

The study, which is funded by the national Alzheimer Society Research Program, is the first in Canada to focus on moral distress in continuing care settings, such as long-term care or supportive living facilities.

A nursing professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Spenceley is the principal investigator on a study that is examining moral distress among nurses who care for those with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada reports that more than 747,000 Canadians are living with AD or other types of dementia – and that figure is expected to more than double in 25 years (by 2038).

In Alberta, there are more than 46,000 people with Alzheimer's or related dementias, and over the next 25 years, that figure is expected to reach more than 100,000. Seventeen per cent of new cases are 'early onset', where people are diagnosed before age 65, and 72 per cent of those are women.

A fatal and progressive disease that destroys brain cells, AD affects one's ability to remember things, make decisions and perform routine activities. Most people living in residential care facilities have some form of dementia, including AD.

Nursing caregivers can find themselves in difficult, and ethically complex, situations when trying to provide the best care for residents with dementia.

"It may be that a nurse who is caring for a confused and agitated resident can either use a prescription drug to reduce the agitation or simply sit with a resident until the resident calms down," says Spenceley. "The nurse knows that while the former option may cause undesirable side effects, the latter one will require extra time. In a situation where staffing is short and there are many competing demands, the nurse may feel that the choice he/she feels is right is simply not possible. Such situations create feelings of moral distress, which has been linked over time to nurse burnout, and to nurses leaving a job or even the profession."

To better understand the triggers and effects of moral distress, and to help residential-care managers address staff recruitment and retention challenges, Spenceley's team will interview and survey nursing caregivers in several facilities across southern Alberta.

"Ultimately, we want to develop strategies to mitigate moral distress," says Spenceley. "By understanding such issues, and working to create solutions, it creates the opportunity to address some of the recruitment and retention issues faced in this sector of care. Finally, anything that can be done to create a healthier and happier workforce caring for this complex population is a step in the right direction in terms of providing high-quality residential care."

The two-year project also involves U of L health sciences co-investigators Dr. Bradley Hagen and Dr. Olu Awosoga, as well as Dr. Barry Hall of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Faculty of Social Work (Lethbridge Campus) and Dr. Roland Ikuta, the medical director of Seniors Health, Alberta Health Services (AHS) South Zone. Colin Zeiber, executive director of Seniors Health for Alberta Health Services (AHS) South Zone, is the AHS community partner liaison for the project.

UNews - ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Calgary Faculty of Social Work

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ mourns passing of DeBow

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Groundbreaking study to focus on moral distress

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ mourns passing of DeBow