PO Box 231, Main Post Office T5J 2J1

(780) 485-3052

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome back! The SRA – Edmonton Board of Directors and I hope each of you had a wonderful, safe and happy holiday season and we wish you all the best in 2010!

THANK YOU to all who braved the very cold Alberta winter weather on Monday, December 14^th, 2009 to partake in the SRA – Christmas Dinner-Out event held at the north-side ABC Restaurant! We enjoyed great food, great service and great company in our own private room, which made it all very Special!

We hope everyone will eagerly attend our monthly 2010 SRA meetings. We have some new programs to present, special guest speakers and FUN get-togethers planned as well! We will also be hosting another “Stroke Awareness Workshop” this year… with more detailed information to follow!

Our new Calendar of Events for 2010 will appear in the February SRA – Edmonton’s Newsletter. If you have any ideas and or topics you would like to hear... over the coming year, please contact Marie Connell or me at our SRA phone number (780) 485-3052.

Just a “friendly reminder” - please don’t forget to pay your SRA membership! If you are “new” to our support group, we are very happy you have come out to visit us. If you are a paid member – thank you for your financial support as a member. If you are a non-paid member – PLEASE see Fred or Alice Chow (the Treasurers) and they will gladly take your membership money and get you in “good standing”! Our membership fee is very reasonable: a single membership is $10.00/year and a family membership is $15.00/year. We are a non-profit organization; your membership fees pay our phone, website, coffee supplies, printing, etc. expenses. Any and all donations are gratefully accepted and a tax receipt will be issue to you.

Until next month… Bye4Now… Gladys Marie Magega (President of SRA – Edmonton)

All General Meetings held in Conference Room A (lower level – basement) of the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital with Refreshments served at 6:30pm and Meeting begins at 7 pm.

Please join us & bring along a friend!

Upcoming Meetings:

January 25^th, 2010 Meeting – Video Night and some Brain Storming with Membership

February 22^nd, 2010 Meeting – ZacharyHoltzman, Guest Speaker on “Tax - Tips & Talk”

Update from the Stroke Recovery Association of Alberta

Hello everyone,

I represent the SRA Edmonton on the Stroke Recovery Association of Alberta Board. Other representatives are from the Stroke Recovery groups in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Calgary; Frank Nieboer is Board Chair and Erin Palashniuk is the Provincial Coordinator. The group meets at least quarterly by teleconference and once yearly for the AGM, usually in Calgary in conjunction with a SRAA workshop.

We met by teleconference a few weeks ago with the following issues being discussed:

Stroke Awareness workshops:

Workshop proposals have been accepted for Edmonton, Calgary, Leduc, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The workshops, to be held by June 30, will focus on public awareness of stroke, stroke risks, rehabilitation and recovery. Similar workshops had been held in several communities (including Edmonton) in 2007. The 2010 Edmonton workshop is currently being planned; the date and location to be announced soon. I have suggested more collaboration and sharing information among all Alberta groups on workshop agendas, speakers and publicity strategies. SRAA will develop several templates that groups can use for posters, evaluations etc., which will save each group time and funds.

Proposed reorganization:

Research is being done on the type of model that could be used for a reorganization of our Alberta stroke recovery groups. Frank Nieboer and Erin Palashniuk are currently examining the organizational and operative models used by stroke recovery groups in British Columbia (SRABC). There has been valuable collaboration with the two groups. Ongoing research will help SRAA develop a working model for proposal to Alberta groups in the next year.

Spring Workshop: SRAA will host a peer support facilitator workshop in mid-late April in Calgary that will be similar to the September 09 workshop. It will once again focus on team building and leadership with a focus on organizing and facilitating strong support groups. Each SRA will be asked to send delegates to the workshop, which will be held on a Friday evening and all day Saturday. All expenses will be paid for the delegates. SRABC has been invited to attend the training, as it would be a good opportunity to network and learn from each other.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the Stroke Recovery Association of Alberta group…or visit the website (search on the internet for Stroke Recovery of Alberta). The website contains very good links for information on stroke and links to all Alberta Stroke Recovery groups.

Bev Decore, SRA Past President

Typeset and Graphic by Billie-Jo Brockie