The Online Summit 2026 will take place on Thursday, November 19th, 2026.
The keynote speaker this year will be Dr. Sarah Monks, and her presentation will include time for a Q&A session with attendees.
If you have questions about Summit 2026 you can reach out to julie.kosteniuk@usask.ca
Keynote Presentation
What Holds Life Together: Rethinking Rural Dementia Care Through Everyday PracticeTraditional approaches to dementia care often begin with services. Yet in rural communities, what enables people to live well frequently lies elsewhere- in relationships, place, familiar routines and the everyday practices that hold life together.
Drawing on clinical leadership, national policy experience and doctoral & Churchill research, this keynote challenges us to rethink rural dementia care through the lens of everyday life. Rather than asking how we deliver more services, it explores how we can design communities and systems that recognise what already sustains people and builds on the strengths of rural places.
The presentation offers practical reflections for clinicians, researchers, policymakers and communities working to improve the lives of people living with dementia.
More about Dr. Sarah Monks
Dr. Sarah Monks is a Queen’s Nurse, Churchill Fellow, senior nursing leader with NHS England, dementia specialist, and doctoral researcher whose work is influencing the future of community health and dementia care. Based in the United Kingdom, she brings over two decades of experience across clinical practice, health system leadership, and academic research.Throughout her career, Sarah has led major regional and national initiatives in dementia care, community nursing, and neighbourhood health, championing innovative approaches that place people, relationships, and communities at the heart of care. Her doctoral research examines how everyday experiences, social connections, and a sense of place shape what it means to live well with dementia, challenging conventional healthcare perspectives and contributing new insights to international practice and policy.
A respected international keynote speaker, Sarah is known for her ability to translate research into real-world impact. Her presentations combine evidence, lived experience, and practical action, inspiring health and care leaders to create more compassionate, community-centred systems that enable people living with dementia to thrive. Find her on LinkedIn.
"The summit is an interdisciplinary get-together of clinicians and researchers devoted to improving care of people with dementia and their families in Saskatchewan. It’s an excellent opportunity for physicians who see patients with dementia to learn more about dementia care and to share their knowledge with colleagues." -- Dr. Andrew Kirk, Neurologist and RaDAR Team member.
"RaDAR has been important to me as rural based research on issues which matter to us all but don’t need big Pharma otherwise would not happen. I hope we all grow old, a healthy old if possible but a comfortable old at least. It may be the secrets of ageing this way are in Fife, Dorset or Mount Isa but, perhaps, in our own waiting rooms or, horrible thought, waiting lists." -- Dr. John Rye, retired Sasktachewan family physician and attendee of Summit meetings.