Closing the Gap Healthcare Group (CTGHG), the Grey Bruce District Stroke Centre, the Alzheimer’s Society Grey Bruce, and Blue Water Driving Academy Ltd. are excited to announce the success of their collaborative effort to introduce a proven program for objectively assessing medically at-risk drivers within Grey and Bruce Counties.
Effective immediately, CTGHG is offering Driver Risk Management Assessments created by DriveABLE Assessment Centres Inc. ( www.driveable.com ). “Until now, these assessments were only available 2 to 3 hours away,” says Jackie Bizzell, Client Services Manager at CTGHG. “The ability to be assessed closer to home is important for the driver and their family.”
North America’s fastest-growing driving group is now the 80+ driver, and medical conditions affecting cognition can increase the risk of a crash for drivers of any age by 2 to 8 times that of a healthy driver. (By comparison, a driver with a blood alcohol level of .08 has an increased crash risk of “only” 5 times.) With standardized in-office testing and in-car evaluation components developed and validated through award-winning science, the DriveABLE™ assessment is an effective means of increasing road safety.
“The DriveABLE™ assessments move the evaluation from the realm of ‘best guess’ and ‘expert opinion’ to research based decision-making for medically at-risk drivers of any age,” says Ms. Bizzell. “The program increases road safety in a way that is fair to drivers with cognitive impairments, and that reduces the burden on family members and physicians.”
“Driving is an important marker of independence – especially in a rural area,” says Mary Solomon, Coordinator of the Grey Bruce District Stroke Centre. “DriveABLE™ allows for the evaluation of the complex skills necessary for driving for individuals who have experienced strokes but who do not have major physical limitations. Approximately 30-40% of individuals who experience stroke resume driving.”
Deborah Barker, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Society Grey-Bruce, agrees: “A diagnosis of dementia is not in itself necessarily a reason to stop driving. Many people with dementia retain learned skills and are able to drive safely for some time after diagnosis. What matters is whether or not an individual is still able to drive safely.”
About Closing the Gap Healthcare Group
Closing the Gap Healthcare Group is an award-winning Canadian business that provides community-based rehabilitation therapy, nursing, and personal support services of an exceptionally high quality.
If you would like more information please contact:
Jackie Bizzell, Client Services Manager, Closing the Gap Healthcare Group
Unit 4 – 733 9th Avenue East, Owen Sound, ON N4K 3E6
Tel. 519-370-2165 ~ www.closingthegap.ca
Company News 
