Meet our BSO Staff

Kiersten Abraham

Kiersten's roles within the Alzheimer Society in Temiskaming Shores are Behaviour Support Facilitator (BSF) and Transition Activation Support Worker (TASW). Kiersten has been with the society since February 2023, and supports both caregivers impacted by dementia, as well as persons living with the disease as they transition from one setting to the next. Kiersten has 10+ years of experience working with the elderly in Long-term care and ALC settings. She graduated from the RPN program at Northern College in 2013.

Lisa Thiffeault

Lisa Thiffeault is a Transitional Support Worker for the Alzheimer Society Cochrane-Temiskaming, who is serving the North Cochrane Area. She started her career in 2012 as a Personal Support Worker and obtained her diploma from Collège Boréal in 2013. Over the past ten years, Lisa has gained extensive hands-on experience with Alzheimer’s’ disease while working in Long Term Care Homes. Lisa joined the Alzheimer Society in the role of an Adult Day Program worker and has since taken on the position of Transitional Support Worker. In her current role, Lisa ensures that each client's needs, preferences, comforts and personal history are documented in detail. This documentation makes the transition to a new living space as stress-free as possible. She shares all the essential information with the care team to ensure that the client does not feel overwhelmed during their initial day of transition. As a result, this leads to improved patient outcomes. Lisa is well known for her unwavering passion, compassion, and empathy towards her clients as she ensures they have a voice.

Julie Thibodeau

Julie’s role within the Alzheimer Society & Behavior Supports Ontario is to offer individualized family/caregiver support. She works one on one with the caregiver or family of the person who is exhibiting responsive or expressive behaviors and that have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or dementia related disease. She also provides education related to dementia and responsive behaviors and assistance with tips, tricks, and strategies to help the caregiver support the older adults with responsive behaviors. She provides them with coping skills and evaluates their needs and will provide the necessary resources or make the appropriate referral to a service that might be needed. The goal is to reduce caregiver stress and to help the person living with dementia to be able to live at home in a safe secure environment as long as possible. No two people are alike, and no two dementias are alike.

Shannon Lamoureaux

Shannon comes to the Alzheimer Society from Southern Ontario but born and raised in Englehart. She brings an extensive background of 22yrs working with seniors in a variety of settings from Community, Retirement and Long-Term Care as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. Shannon enjoys being part of her community; with 5 years with Volunteer Fire Dept, Saint John's Therapy Dogs, Danes in Distress, Niagara Dog Rescue and recently Iroquois Falls Storm Billet Mom. Shannon’s role with the Alzheimer Society & Behaviour Support Ontario is to support individuals expressing responsive behaviours associated with dementia and/or other neurological conditions to transition to a different living environment. She is an advocate for person & family-centred care and building effective communication with the inter-professional team.

Tessa Marin

Tessa Currently works for the Alzheimer’s Society Cochrane Temiskaming District as a transitional / activation support worker. In her role, she helps transition individuals into long-term care homes. Tessa has worked as a PSW for the last 18 years, with 2 of those years being with the Alzheimer’s Society. Her position allows her the opportunity to introduce the resident to their new environment in a calmer, stress reduced manner.

At the end of her day, she is greeted by her 3 cats that she adopted through our local Humane Society where she also loves to spend time volunteering. Finally, ending her day spending quality time with her husband of 25 years and her incredible Daughter.