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News and Media Releases

News and Media Releases

Reinvigorate. Refresh. Revitalize. McCormick Care Group Announces Latest Strategic Plan

March 8, 2023

This plan builds on our strategic directions for 2019 to 2022. It includes supportive strategies that will help us recover from the pandemic and move us toward our longer-term dementia leadership goals.

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Three-Year Accreditation Awarded for Quality Long-Term and Dementia Care

January 30, 2023

LONDON, ON — McCormick Home and McCormick Dementia Services have been successfully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for a three-year period.

According to CARF, this decision “represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows substantial conformance to CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer-review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.”

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McCormick Home Statement on Ministry Air Conditioning Compliance Order

Our residents’ quality of life is our top priority, and we work diligently every day to ensure their comfort, safety and wellbeing.  We provide cooled air to our residents’ rooms using a tempered air system with enhanced cooling, which enables us to remain within the ministry’s temperature guidelines. We have been working with the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Infrastructure Ontario since April 2021 to review the question of our current air cooling system’s compliance with the ministry’s definition of air conditioning under the Fixing Long-Term Care Homes Act 2021, which came into effect on April 11, 2022.  On August 19, 2022, McCormick Home received a compliance order from the Ministry of Long-Term Care relating to their decision. The board of the McCormick Care Group, which owns and operates McCormick Home, is currently reviewing its options on how best to respond to this order. Further information will be provided once this decision has been made.

A Year in Review 2021-2022

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to significantly impact our services and operations this past year.  While none of us could have foretold that this event would have lasted this long, I can say that we are deeply proud of each of our residents, clients, families, and particularly our staff members who have given of themselves so continuously and so intently without perceiving an end in sight.  We are grateful for their dedication and extraordinary efforts to ensure a safe and healthy environment for those in our care, and particularly for their exceptional ability to continue maintaining the high quality standard of care for which we have become known.

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Innovative PSW project involving Western University and McCormick Dementia Services receives support from Future Skills Centre

The Project-Be EPIC is an innovative program that trains personal support workers (PSWs) caring for persons living with dementia. Many PSWs are at mid-career having transitioned from other sectors, and few have received adequate dementia skills development training.

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Volunteers

Rapid Antigen Testing at McCormick Care Group

March 26, 2021

Recently, McCormick Home began administering rapid antigen test testing for its staff, essential caregivers, support workers, and anyone entering the home. This new practice marks a departure from the standard COVID-19 test that has been regularly conducted at the home.

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Luck of the Irish Shines on St. Patrick’s Day at McCormick Home

CTV News London, March 17, 2021

Irish eyes were smiling Wednesday and so was Mother Nature as dozens of residents from McCormick Long-Term Care Home on Kains Road got outdoors to enjoy the sun, music and dancing on St. Patrick’s Day.

“Everything was nice, everything was nice,” said Margaret Tenhaaf, 96, who lives at McCormick.

Her son Harry Tenhaaf was with her for the festivities saying, “Being outside in the sunshine is great, they’ve been cooped up too long but for good reason, but we’re just happy today.”

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Learning for Love – Lessons for Life

Rogers TV, December 7, 2020

Sometimes caring for others can take precedence over caring for our own well-being. On Learning for Love, Lessons for Life, Lisa Joworski learns from individuals who have lived experience being in a variety of caregiving roles and who have come to realize the importance of self-care. Join us as we learn because of our love for others but leave with a better understanding of how to live our own lives with meaning and resiliency.

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Carleton and Bruyère Researchers Receive Grant to help Long-Term Care Homes Protect Themselves from COVID

Industrial Design, November 12, 2020

Carleton University’s Chantal Trudel, a professor in the School of Industrial Design and a team made up of Susan Braedley, Amy Hsu, Dennis Kao, Frank Knoefel, Sophie Orosz, Heidi Sveistrup, and Bruce Wallace—received nearly $40,000 from the Foundation for Health Environments Research in the United States to study the design of Canadian long-term care homes (LTC) in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Bridging the distance for caregivers dealing with dementia

Hospital News, September, 2020
by Monica Fleck, McCormick Care Group

The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic struck nearly every aspect of life with a quick and stunning blow. Within the fallout, particularly for our more vulnerable senior population, lay a particularly impacted segment – those who are caring for someone with dementia at home.

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McCormick Day Program staff create day program virtual tour

This video takes you on a tour of our McCormick Day Program! Karen, our director, highlights changes that have been made to enhance infection prevention and control measures during COVID-19, while we continue to support clients living with dementia and their caregivers.

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‘Like a first date’ as long-term care residents begin to receive visits

LONDON FREE PRESS  June, 2020
By Jennifer Bieman

No hugs. No kisses. No problem.

Long-term care residents in London and across Ontario reunited with loved ones Thursday, coming face to face with visitors for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown took hold in mid-March.

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Hell of a Grind

Western  News  June, 2020

For more than 15 years, Don Mahood has been trying to hold it together – for him and his wife, Mary Charlotte, who, now in her mid-70s, is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

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COVID-19 means no breaks for Alzheimer caregivers

CTV London News  May 6, , 2020

Happily married for 38 years, Frances Kyle never saw it coming, but four years ago her husband Bob, 74, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

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McCormick develops online resources for isolated caregivers of dementia patients

LONDON FREE PRESS  April, 2020
By Jonathan Juha

Taking care of a loved one diagnosed with dementia is hard enough.

Add a deadly pandemic to the mix and the closing of some support services for caregivers and the task becomes even more challenging.

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Mobilizing independence

Falling is a concern for anyone — especially the elderly.  The risk is even greater for people who have some form of dementia, particularly if they are assigned the additional task of learning how to use an assistive walking device.  As Canada’s aging population increases, so too does the number of dementia diagnoses, and the meeting of these two trends creates a very real need to help people retain or regain their mobility

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Tips and Strategies for Navigating the Winter Months

With the cooler temperatures upon us, we are faced with shorter days that are mostly spent indoors. Keeping energy levels up and maintaining a positive outlook will help you to not only survive, but thrive this winter.

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Understanding the meaning behind the behaviour

Whether communicated intentionally or not, all behaviours have meaning. Oftentimes, when a person’s standard methods of communicating become compromised in some way, messages are either conveyed in a more pronounced manner or they find a different path for their expression.

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Communicating effectively as a caregiver

Communication in all its forms is at the centre of human interaction. Whether it be verbal, physical, emotional or otherwise, we send messages to others even if we don’t realize it. Ninety-three percent of how we communicate is non-verbal, including body language (55%), and para-verbal message, such as tone, pitch and volume (38%). Only seven percent of how we communicate is verbal.

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Maintaining identity through meaningful activities

When we engage in activities that are meaningful to us, we experience an enhanced sense of identity, wellbeing and contentment.  The same holds true for those who have been diagnosed with dementia.  While dementia can impact a person’s physical dexterity and cognitive ability, the same innate sense of dignity and satisfaction can still be derived from taking part in pastimes that have some meaning or connection to who they were before their diagnosis.

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Training gives control back to the caregivers

Delivering proper care to thousands living with dementia means personal-support workers must understand more than patients’ medical histories – they need to know the people behind them. Ongoing research from Health Studies professor Marie Savundranayagam hopes to provide one avenue toward that goal.

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Joint project with Western University on dementia training for mid-career workers receives funding approval

We welcome this opportunity to better support our invaluable Personal Support Workers through the Be EPIC: Dementia Training for Mid-Career Workers program. Special thanks to Marie Savundranayagam, Faculty of Health Sciences Professor at Western University, and all our colleagues involved in this important program.

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Photographic memories: Using technology to connect to patients with dementia

HOSPITAL NEWS, May, 2019
By Monica Fleck, McCormick Care Group

For many people, a loved one’s dementia diagnosis not only means a loss of shared memories, but also a decline in the experience of personal, meaningful conversation. At its most fundamental level, conversation brings people together and helps establish and develop relationships. A research study conducted by Western University and McCormick Dementia Research looked at how to preserve those relationships by connecting in a shared experience, and more specifically, enhancing the quality of conversation by accessing and sharing family photos using iPad technology.

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Designing for cognitive well-being in long-term care

HOSPITAL NEWS, February, 2019
By Monica Fleck, McCormick Care Group

Imagine you’re a third-year college student in an interior design program and you’ve just completed six weeks of observing how long-term care residents with dementia interact with their living space. Now you find yourself presenting your recommendations to the architect who actually designed the facility and the CEO who oversaw the build.

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Animal assisted therapy in long-term care

LONG-TERM CARE NEWS, December, 2018
By Steve Crawford, CEO, McCormick Care Group

Remember visiting a farm or zoo as a child? Think of the sounds, smells, sights and feel of the experience – being fascinated at watching the animals and perhaps being lucky enough to get a nickel from your mom or dad to buy some pellets from the modified bubble gum machine to feed your furry friends.

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‘I am mine’: This is what Alzheimer’s is like at 41

MacLeans, Sep 18, 2018

Three years ago, Jo and his wife Robin shared their story: he had early-onset Alzheimer’s. Now, as it continues its swift, relentless assault on Jo, Robin navigates the unthinkable

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People living with dementia discover potential through art

July 19, 2018, London Free Press

It’s not quite art therapy, nor is it art education.

It’s a program that’s somewhere in between and is giving individuals with dementia the ability to work alongside artists as co-creators of drama, dance, music and visual art.

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The McCormick Care Group Releases its Annual Report for 2017-2018

June 26, 2018

McCormick Care Group Annual Report for 2017-2018  Now Available

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Against the dying light

January 10, 2018, Western News, Western University

This in-depth series covers the many aspects involved in managing Alzheimer disease, particularly from the perspectives of research, caregiving, partnerships and impacts to family and friends.

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The Last Address

January 31, 2018, McCormick Care Foundation

The McCormick Care Foundation presents the story of palliative care at McCormick Home

The McCormick Care Foundation has released a powerful video on the importance of quality palliative care and shares the personal stories of McCormick Home family members who have guided their loved ones along their final journey. The Last Address is the beginning of an important conversation about end-of-life care.

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Perfection in Perspective

December 14, 2017, McCormick Care Foundation

Works from McCormick Day Program participants are displayed at joint art show with Fanshawe College

“Perfection in Perspective” helped fundraise for the art therapy program that McCormick Dementia Services offers to people living with dementia. Three clients from the McCormick Day Program were paired up with three different artists through London Arts Council to create their own masterpieces to showcase at the event that was organized by students in the Fanshawe College Recreation and Leisure Services Program in partnership with the McCormick Care Foundation.

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Caregiver support, training at heart of initiative

October 5, 2017, by Adela Talbot, Western University

Marie Savundranayagam wants to dispel the notion that ‘person-centered care’ is merely a patient-focused approach. In health-care settings, she stressed, both the patient and their caregiver must figure into the equation.

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Three issues people struggle with after moving a spouse into long-term care

September 25, 2017, by Paul Cavanagh, Caregiver Exchange

visiting spouseCaregiving doesn’t necessarily stop when your spouse goes to live in a long-term care home. It just looks a little different, according to Joanne Nancekivell, a social worker at McCormick Home. She leads a support group for people whose spouses live in long-term care homes in London, Ontario.

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When to make decisions for a relative with dementia and when not to

June 25, 2017, by Paul Cavanaugh, Caregiver Exchange
concerned daughter

Family caregivers often find themselves in situations where they’re speaking for a relative with dementia. Sometimes this is appropriate, other times it’s not. Knowing the difference isn’t always easy.

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Spousal support: A caregiver’s perspective

June 14, 2017, by Julie Ritchie, Western University

While Rita Clarke may be retired, her days aren’t filled with rest and relaxation. Ever since her husband Peter’s dementia diagnosis five years ago, she’s taken on a much more demanding role – the role of a caregiver.
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Relieving caregiver burden

June 14, 2017, by Julie Ritchie, Western University

It’s no secret that Canada’s population is aging. According to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, almost one million people will be diagnosed with dementia in the next 15 years. Along with this will come a growing demand for caregivers to help those with dementia perform their daily tasks, and this responsibly often falls on family and friends.
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McCormick Home response to Elizabeth Wettlaufer case

June 2, 2017, by McCormick Home

We at McCormick Home share in the community’s shock and grief at the recent media coverage of the Elizabeth Wettlaufer case.  It is truly a tragedy that such terrible crimes could happen in long-term care, where safety, dignity and quality of life are the priority of the many valued staff members working in this sector.
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Challenges of mobility aids and dementia explored

Western News,   by Todd Devlin

MOBILITY AIDSIt seems counterintuitive that the use of a mobility aid, such as a cane or a walker, can actually increase the risk of falls in older adults. Yet in individuals with dementia, that’s exactly the case. In fact, people with dementia are three times more likely to suffer a fall when using a mobility aid versus not using one at all.

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Photo Paul Mayne // Western News
Physical Therapy professor Susan Hunter’s work represents a shift in thinking about fall prevention for individuals with dementia. She is challenging current rehabilitation practice by seeing the use of mobility aids, such as canes or walkers, as a far more complex cognitive task than previously believed.

 

McCormick Dementia Services Helps Raise Awareness of Frontotemporal Degeneration by Participating in North American-wide Event

September 30, 2019

 

McCormick Home and McCormick Dementia Services Awarded Three-Year Accreditation for Quality Long-Term and Dementia Care

August 14, 2019

Annual ‘Art and Soul’ Show at McCormick Home Features Inspiring Works

April 18, 2018

 

McCormick Care Group Announces Launch of New Dimensions E-Newsletter

April 18, 2018

 

McCormick Dementia Services Announces Expansion of Overnight Respite Care Program

February 14, 2018

McCormick Caregiver Education Series Announcement

Nov 1, 2017

 

McCormick Dementia Services Education Series Helps Caregivers Facing the Challenges of Dementia

Sept 5, 2017

 

Registration Now Open for McCormick Caregiver Education Series at McCormick Dementia Services

July 4, 2017

 

McCormick Home Holds Annual Art Show

April 18,  2017

 

McCormick Home Holds Annual Art Show

April 18,  2017

 

Registration Now Open for McCormick Caregiver Education Series at McCormick Dementia Services

March 7,  2017

McCormick Care Foundation Announces 2017 Ritz Fundraising Gala

December 2,  2016

 

McCormick Care Group Announces Strategic Directions for 2016-2019

October 6,  2016

 

Registration Now Open for McCormick Caregiver Education Series at McCormick Dementia Services

September 29,  2016

 

Workshop to Look at Opportunities for Personal Growth in Persons with Dementia

August 31,  2016

 

Joint Research Project with King’s University College to Study Impact of Animal Assisted Therapy on Dementia-Related Behaviour

July 6,  2016

 

Historic Community Group in London Changes Name; Launches New Dementia Research Division

May 3,  2016

 

McCormick Home Holds Annual Art Show

April 25,  2016

 

Senior Care Canada Publishes Article on Qualitative Findings from Joint WCA/Baycrest Health Services Adult Day Program Study

March 29, 2016

 

Registration Now Open for Alzheimer Outreach Services Caregiver Education Series

March 29, 2016

 

McCormick Home Foundation Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Annual Ritz Fundraising Gala

January 11, 2016

 

Registration Now Open for Alzheimer Outreach Services Caregiver Education Series

January 4, 2016

 

Alzheimer Outreach Services and the Alzheimer Society of London and Middlesex Present “Tools for the Caregiver: Meaningful Activities and Exercises at Home”

January, 2016

Registration Now Open for AOS Caregiver Education Series

October 6, 2015

 

Ford Keast Chartered Professional Accountants and McCormick Home Foundation Present
“An Evening with Genevieve Fisher”

September 21, 2015

 

Registration Now Open for AOS Caregiver Education Series

July 28, 2015

 

McCormick Home to Hold Annual Resident Art Exhibit

May 6, 2015

 

McCormick Home and Alzheimer Outreach Services Earn Highest Ranking in Latest National Accreditation Review

May 5, 2015

 

Free Alzheimer Outreach Services Caregiver Education Program Begins on February 3

January 20, 2015

McCormick Home Foundation Announces Annual Ritz Fundraising Gala for 2015

December 18, 2014

 

Ford Keast Wealth Management Inc. and Alzheimer Outreach Services Present “Memories of Thanksgiving” with the Food Network’s Anna Olson

September 12, 2014

 

Alzheimer Outreach Services Offering Free Caregiver Education Program

August 14, 2014

 

WCA Issues Annual Report for 2013-2014 and Commemorates 140 Years of Service to the London Community

July 8, 2014

 

Alzheimer Outreach Services Teams up with Highview Residences to Present a Free Theatre Performance to the Community

May 6, 2014

 

McCormick Home Holds Annual Art Show

May 6, 2014

 

WCA Issues Request for Proposals for Branding Strategy Services

May 1, 2014

 

Alzheimer Outreach Services Offering Free Caregiver Education Seminars

January 31, 2014

January is Alzheimer Awareness Month!
Alzheimer Outreach Services Offers Free Caregiver Support Sessions

December 20, 2013

 

McCormick Home Foundation and Alzheimer Outreach Services Present” Memories of Christmas” with the Food Network’s Anna Olson

November 22, 2013

 

Free Caregiver Support Seminars Being Held

October 10, 2013

 

London’s Alzheimer Outreach Services Helps Raise Awareness of Frontotemporal
Dementia by Participating in North American-wide Event

September 20, 2013

 

McCormick Home Holds Annual Art Show

May 1, 2013

 


Media Contact:

Monica Fleck
Director of Communication, McCormick Care Group
2022 Kains Road London, ON N6K 0A8
Phone: 519-432-2648 ext. 2405
Fax: 519-472-1486
Email: mfleck@mccormickcare.ca

VIDEOS
Empowering Dementia Day Program Clients
Exploring an Alternative Therapeutic Approach to Empowering Dementia Day Program Clients
September, 2016
Archie Brindleton Visits McCormick Home
Archie Brindleton, therapy dog and local canine celebrity, shares a video of his recent visit with residents at McCormick Home (*royalty free music by Bensound.com).
August 8, 2016
The Caregiver Journey
April 17, 2016
McCormick Home Foundation Long Term Care 2016
Following the day-to-day lives of four residents of McCormick Home’s Long Term Care Home, we learn how life can be, rich, delightful, and full of the joys of adventure and discovery in our golden years.
February 1, 2016
Cultivating Wellbeing
A research partnership between Fanshawe College and the Alzheimer Outreach Services (AOS) of McCormick Home – the largest day program of its kind in Ontario – is sowing the seeds to improve the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
November 11, 2015
AOS Director Karen Johnson Presents Horticultural Therapy: Helping Brains Blossom to Help Mark 2015 as the Year of the Brain
August 20, 2015
McCormick Home Presents “Happy”
Apr 23, 2015
Take a Tour of McCormick Home London, Ontario
August 2011