Tyler McKay | Assistant News Editor
Featured Image: President Rhonda Lenton and Dr. Allan Carswell. | Courtesy of YFile
On September 17, York and the Alzheimer Society of York Region announced a $2.26-million partnership to research Alzheimer’s and dementia care programs.
This funding comes from the Carswell Family Foundation that was co-founded by Dr. Allan Carswell, a retired York professor, and his wife Helen Carswell.
During his time at York, Dr. Carswell was a professor of physics who was instrumental in developing light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems. These systems use lasers to measure distances.
In 1974, he and Helen co-founded Optech Inc., a company that developed laser-based survey systems. Together they built Optech into an international business. LiDAR technology is now used around the world in many different ways including tactical surveillance and 3D imaging in space.
Unfortunately, about 20 years ago, Helen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “There came a time when we just had to accept it,” Dr. Carswell said in an interview with York.
“We had to accept that Helen had an incurable disease and that there was nothing we could do.”
As time went on, the disease got worse.
“Since 2012, Helen has been unable to stand, speak, or do anything for herself,” according to Dr. Carswell. That is why he made this donation in her honour.
Second-year journalism student from Seneca@York, Steven Blahut, shared a similar experience. Speaking about his grandmother who was diagnosed with dementia, Blahut says: “The first signs were that she was becoming more depressed than usual and not really wanting to talk as much as she usually did. I saw it first when I would visit her and she kind of remembered who I was, but then over time, she has completely forgotten who I am and it’s just really depressing because I was always close with her. It breaks my heart that she doesn’t remember me anymore.”
During this trying time, Dr. Carswell was able to find great support at the Alzheimer Society of York Region. That is why he decided to make this donation and forge this partnership.
According to a York media release, the donation will be used in two main ways.
The first way will be the creation of the Helen Carswell Research Chair in Dementia Care with an additional $1 million in matching funding from York to support research and knowledge dissemination.
The second way will be to provide funding for graduate research fellowships in dementia care for master’s and PhD students
York President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton expressed great enthusiasm for this new partnership, saying that “it will enable us to lead the way in dementia care research and its application. Importantly, the partnership also provides research opportunities and other types of experiential education for our students, enhancing innovation and better equipping them to serve our communities in the future.”
Loren Freid, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of York Region shared support for the establishment of the Chair in Dementia Care.
“The research of an endowed Chair and graduate students will provide expertise in dementia care that can be shared across the province and across Canada,” Freid said in a York interview.
