Baycrest

Melissa Turzanski is Executive Director, Residential Living at JHA. She brings more than 20 years of experience working with older adults across a range of frontline nursing roles, including community care, specialized dementia and stroke programs and responsive behaviours services. Her background spans direct care and system leadership, with a consistent focus on improving outcomes for people living with dementia. Melissa has provided nursing leadership in residential care settings and within Behaviour Supports Ontario, where she supported the development and implementation of practical, system-level solutions for individuals living with dementia. Her work has contributed to the expansion of Baycrest services to include assisted living, as well as the adoption of best practices to support system transformation across the continuum of care. She has been actively engaged in policy-related work at both the provincial and national levels, contributing to discussions with policy makers and government representatives on dementia care and seniors’ safety. Her perspectives have been referenced in provincial debates related to amendments to Ontario’s Missing Persons Act (Bill 74), and she has contributed to work examining the potential impact of a Silver Alert policy for missing seniors. At Baycrest, Melissa co-developed the Possibilities by Baycrest™ memory care model and played a key role in implementing Behaviour Supports Ontario services across 36 long-term care homes. In recognition of her leadership, she was named a recipient of the Women Executive Network’s 2024 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Toronto.