The Dialogue on Aging Public Presentation Series is hosted by the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging and Providence Health Care. On May 28th, 2025, we have the pleasure of hosting a virtual session with Mark Blandford, President and CEO of Providence Living, and Dr. Jennifer Gibson, Adjunct Professor from the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia!
Title: A Day Well Lived: Reimagining Seniors Care in Long-term Care
Summary: A Day Well Lived is the vision behind Home For Us – a social-relational model of care that transforms long-term care. Join Mark Blandford and Jennifer A. Gibson, as they present Providence’s groundbreaking “A Day Well Lived” approach and the adjoining care model. This made-in-BC approach incorporates global best practices to fundamentally transform long-term care from an institutional model to one where residents direct their own lives. A Day Well Lived is built on five key principles: emotional connections matter most; home is not a place, but a feeling; residents direct each moment; human-centred design; and relationship centred care. Unlike traditional care philosophies, Home For Us recognizes that aging adults thrive when supported to maintain independence, social connections, and purposeful personal routines. Learn how Providence is implementing this innovative approach at their care villages and contributing to research that will inform best practices and potentially transform seniors care across Canada. This presentation will highlight how Providence is working toward a future where communities worldwide can reform institutionalized models of seniors’ care to enhance quality of life through compassion and innovation.
Speaker Biographies: Mark Blandford was appointed President and CEO of Providence Living in November 2022. From September 2020 to March 2025, he served as Vice President, Seniors Care, Clinical & Operations at Providence Health Care. Mark is a Registered Occupational Therapist who also holds a Master’s degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University. Mark’s past leadership roles have included Director of Development at the non-profit Beacon Community Services, as well as senior management roles in Island Health Authority’s Long-Term Care, Seniors Health and Home & Community Care programs. In 2014, Mark was appointed as Deputy Seniors Advocate with the newly created provincial Office of the Seniors Advocate for British Columbia. In 2016, Mark was appointed the Director of Clinical Operations at Victoria General Hospital and subsequently became the Executive Director for Seniors Health and Primary Care for Island Health where he was the operational and strategic lead for the long-term care (LTC) COVID-19 response. Mark was also the strategic lead for the Island Health seniors care and community care strategy and its Palliative and End of Life program.
Jennifer A. Gibson (she/her), RN, MSN, PhD is currently the Executive Director of Professional Practice and Quality Practice Environments and Acting Director of Ethics Services at Providence Health Care. Jenn has worked within the Providence family since 2003. Jenn started as a staff nurse on 10AB Surgery and 5A Cardiac and the later moved to the Cardiac ICU where she worked as a staff nurse, CNL, and then Nurse Educator. She moved from clinical practice to serve as a Patient Care Manager in the Heart Centre and then later joined the PHC Ethics team after finishing her graduate studies at the University of British Columbia. During the challenging times of the pandemic, Jenn returned to nursing practice with the Pandemic Response Teams at both PHC and at VCH’s LTC homes. These experiences deepened her appreciation for the exceptional work in Providence’s Seniors’ care programs and led to her taking on the role of Executive Director of Practice, Quality, and Program Development for Seniors Care at Providence Living and PHC. In addition to her leadership roles, Jenn is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing at UBC. She is deeply passionate about education and knowledge sharing, and supports students across various health disciplines including medicine, social work, and nursing. Jenn frequently shares her expertise on Health Care Ethics and the benefits of social-relational models in Seniors’ care. Her insights have been featured at numerous local and national conferences and educational events, as well as in a variety of peer-reviewed publications.
Please register here for the lecture.
