MINT Memory Clinic Returns to Wawa Family Health Team

January is Alzheimer’s Awareness month, it's only fitting to announce the return of the MINT Memory Clinic to its regularly scheduled services we can offer our clients here at the Wawa Family Health Team.

The MINT Memory Clinic is specific training that some of our providers have completed. MINT Memory Clinic was developed and designed in Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario by Dr. Lee and her team of experts. It is designed to assess the status of a patient’s cognition in relation to memory, impairment and dementia and has been adapted to Family Health Teams all over Canada.  ‘MINT’ stands for Multispecialty, Interdisciplinary, Team and at our clinic that’s just what it represents. Our Team includes, Lucie Haman, Registered Nurse and Geriatric Program Coordinator, Christa Melo, Registered Social Worker, Justine Glover, Registered Dietitian and Dr. Mike Cotterill, Physician Lead. Also, we’ve partnered with the Alzheimer’s Society Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma and we are lucky to have Christy Reid as part of our team!  

Recently our team the opportunity to have Dr.Lee and her team travel to Wawa to mentor us through our first clinic in October 2025, to ensure we have the skills to carry out what the MINT Memory Clinic is supposed to do.  

Dr. Lee's MINT Team with the Wawa Family Health Team's MINT Team after two days of Mentorship.

The MINT Memory Clinic is currently taking place every two months; a patient must be referred to the clinic from their health care provider, including a doctor or nurse practitioner.  Once a patient is referred, they will be booked into our clinic.  

What can they expect? When a patient comes to visit us at the MINT Memory Clinic they can expect to hang out with us for about 2 hours. Our clinicians have physical, mental, and neurological tests we run through with the patient. We ask that patients bring a caregiver or someone who is close to them as they will be interviewed as well to understand any changes their loved one is going through.  

After the testing and interviewing is complete, we begin to develop a picture of what might be going on. Our lead physician will then discuss with the patient and caregiver the next steps in diagnosing or managing current memory issues. Patients will get recommendations on changes that may need to be made and lifestyle recommendations, this could look like referrals for an MRI, changes to current medications, addition of supplements, referrals to other health care professionals, or referrals to other community agencies for support.   

The Alzheimer Society offers programming for patients who are diagnosed with mild to moderate cognitive impairment and dementia. They offer Minds in Motion, a weekly program designed to engage people living with Dementia and their caregivers through crafts, movement and social gathering; Care Partner support group is offered monthly, a small intimate space for caregivers of people living with cognitive impairment to share their experiences; Memory Café happening every other month is a space filled with music, treats and social gathering for people living with cognitive impairment and dementia and their caregivers.  

The Wawa Family Health Team and Alzheimer Society look forward to continuing this initiative, providing quicker and ongoing access to memory care locally, with the goal of helping older adults stay home longer and out of hospital and Long Term Care.