Prince George, B.C.- The province of B.C. now has a Senior’s Advocate.

Isobel Mackenzie has been appointed to the post.

She will officially start her work March 31st, and she will be the voice  for the near 700,000 seniors in British Columbia.

"I have spent nearly two decades working directly with seniors, their families and their care providers and learning about the individual issues that affect seniors as they age and receive care," said seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie. "I am honoured to accept this important position and look forward to applying my experience as I set priorities and establish my mandate in the coming weeks and months."

Isobel Mackenzie’s experience includes:

• Leadership  of Beacon Community Services in Victoria,  a non profit organization which helps more than 7,000 seniors  in Victoria daily.
• introduced a new model of dementia care – Licensed Dementia Care – that has become a national best practice
• a member of the Care Aid Registry Advisory Committee, which oversees the registry developed by the government to protect vulnerable seniors.
• represented both home care and the non-profit sector in her role as board director for the BC Care Providers Association since 2012 and
• has served as the commissioner for the Medical Services Commission of BC, responsible for administering the Medicare Protection Act. 

The Office of the Seniors Advocate will monitor seniors' services, promote awareness and work collaboratively with seniors, families, policymakers, service providers and others to identify solutions to systemic issues and make recommendations to government on ways to improve care for the  aging population in B.C.

B.C. is the first province in Canada to  create an Office of the Seniors Advocate.