2021 Minnesota TZD Webinar Series: Life Begins at 55—But So Might the Driving Challenges

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

About the Webinar

One out of every five drivers is aged 65 and up. This means it is essential to provide resources and educational opportunities in our communities and have conversations about how age, medication, and mobility are all tied together. This webinar explored why these conversations and events are so important, what resources are available, where to find those resources, and how to prepare your community and host older driver events.

Webinar Recording & Materials

Speakers

Moderator

Scot Edgeworth, East Metro Minnesota TZD Regional Coordinator

Presenters

Ann Forrest Clark is an occupational therapist at St. Luke's and Driver Rehabilitation Program coordinator at Safer Driver, LLC. She has been an occupational therapist for 39 years, assessing older drivers with clinical testing. Twenty years ago, she became a licensed driving instructor in Minnesota, taking older drivers on the road for behind-the-wheel testing. Nine years ago, Forrest Clark earned her certification as a driver rehabilitation specialist and opened her own driving school in July 2020. She authored the Driving Risk Calculator—a comprehensive clinical driving skills evaluation tool for occupational therapists—and has worked with the Association of Driver Rehabilitation Specialists Certification and Research Committees to share this tool across the industry. Forrest Clark's goal is to help all occupational therapists develop clinical driving skills assessments and a reliable referral network for behind-the-wheel testing.

Alan Ainsworth is the deputy state coordinator for Minnesota AARP Driver Safety, overseeing the nine-county area around the Twin Cities. Previously, he spent more than 50 years in the computer industry, holding senior management positions at Honeywell and several start-up computer communications companies. Born in London, England, he moved to the United States with his family in 1976 and became a US citizen in 2000. Ainsworth started volunteering as an instructor in the AARP Driver Safety program seven years ago, and in that time he has taught nearly 200 classes and over 2,500 senior drivers. He is also a certified event coordinator with the National CarFit program and has organized and participated in over 25 events in the past 5 years.

Rachel Wilson is a driver education and traffic safety expert. She is the director of Driver Education Programs for AAA–The Auto Club Group, which covers 14 states (including most of Minnesota), Quebec, Puerto Rico, and the USVI. Wilson received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Oakland University in Michigan in 2006 and has been involved in driver education and traffic safety ever since. She has won two major awards for her work: Michigan's MDTSEA "New Driver Educator of the Year" in 2008 and ADTSEA’s "Teacher Excellence Award" in 2012. Wilson has been featured in several local news segments, local newspaper articles, and PSAs on topics related to driver education and traffic safety. She enjoys teaching various courses to students of all ages and loves traveling with her husband and spending time at home with their cats!

Joan Somes, PhD, RN-BC, NRP, worked as an emergency nurse for 40 years and has been working as an emergency care educator for 46 years. She currently works for Regions Hospital EMS as a critical care educator and does special projects for the Minnesota Department of Health. Somes has been awarded DPS/OTS grants to do work statewide that increases awareness of driving-related changes that occur with aging, ways to recognize these changes, and options to consider if encountering someone that is becoming less safe on the road. She is the chair of the Minnesota Emergency Nurses Association's Institute for Quality, Safety, and Injury Prevention Committee, is the section editor of the Journal of Emergency Nursing, and has been published numerous times.

Credit

Attendees are eligible for 1.0 POST credit, 1.25 Professional Development Hours (PDHs), and 1.25 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits.

PDH form (PDF)
CLE credit form (PDF)
POST Proof of Completion form (PDF)
This form does not need to be submitted; it is for your records only.
POST Affidavit of Attendance (DOC)
Please submit this form to tzd@umn.edu by March 31, 2022, to receive credit if you watched the webinar live or recorded. If the webinar was viewed with a group, please include all individuals' information. If you choose to fill in the form by hand, please print clearly.

More Information

For more information about the webinar, please contact Linda Dolan at ldolan@umn.edu.