Sinai Health Bioethics Grand Rounds | Virtual

Speaker

Dr. Michael Gordon, MD, MSc, FRCPC 
Emeritus Professor of Medicine 
University of Toronto 

Abstract

Caring for people with late-stage dementia raises difficult questions for families, health-care providers and institutions. As treatments reach their limits, decisions about feeding, pain control and end-of-life care become central. This session uses real cases to explore how teams can provide comfort, dignity and support while navigating conflicting wishes and ethical concerns. The goal is to give participants practical tools and perspectives for managing these sensitive situations with compassion and clarity. 

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

1. Identify common challenges in caring for patients with late-stage dementia, including feeding, pain management and truth-telling.
2. Apply basic ethical principles to real-world cases to guide decision-making.
3. Understand the importance of advance care planning and how to involve families in these conversations.
4. Recognize ways to balance medical treatment with comfort, dignity and quality of life. 

Dr. Michael Gordon is a geriatrician, ethicist and writer who spent over 40 years at Mount Sinai Hospital and Baycrest Geriatric Health Care Centre, where he also served on the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. He holds a master’s degree in medical ethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics and has published extensively in both professional and public forums. He currently works part-time at the Toronto Memory Clinic.