TRSM Research Seminar by Dr. Mahsa Madani Hosseini

Title: Elderly care facility location in the face of the climate crisis: A case study in Canada.

Description: Climate change is intensifying disasters that disproportionately threaten older adults. This talk presents a decision model to design an emergency-ready network of elderly care facilities under budget constraints. Demand is estimated using expert-informed factors such as elderly population, age, frailty, and proximity to healthcare service nodes. We propose a novel Integrated Coverage and Distance Facility Location (ICDFL) model that jointly (i) maximizes population coverage within a maximum service radius and (ii) minimizes total travel distance to reduce transportation and service costs. Using an epsilon-constraint approach, we map trade-offs between coverage and distance and validate the model through a case study in southern Ontario, Canada—where warming is rapid and population aging is accelerating. Results offer actionable guidance for policymakers to improve preparedness and protect seniors during climate-induced disasters.

Bio: Dr. Mahsa Madani is an Associate Professor of Global Management Studies at the Ted Rogers School of Management. Her research applies data analytics, optimization, and statistical modeling to problems in environment and health, emergency preparedness and disaster planning (with a focus on aging populations), and sustainability and environmental management, including waste systems and greenhouse-gas reduction.