Our Stories

Read the latest stories about what's going on at St. Joseph's Health Care London.

volunteers holding up badges

Speaking their language

Bridging a communication gap has become a bit easier for patients and visitors at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. This summer, two new tools were introduced to help create a more welcoming and comfortable experience for individuals whose first language is not English. In July, volunteers began wearing buttons that identify the language they speak, other than English. For one volunteer, the impact was immediate. Monica Naskret-Reyes has been volunteering at St. Joseph’s for seven years and speaks Spanish fluently. She was excited to wear her new ‘Hablo espanol’ (I speak Spanish) button and...
Read more
group of researchers conversing

Capturing Bacteria’s Grand Ballet

Within each of us is a world populated by a bustling metropolis of microorganisms – a tapestry of trillions in a delicate dance to balance health, well-being and vitality. Far outnumbering human cells, this dynamic ecosystem of busy bacteria, industrious fungi and elusive viruses is the body’s...
Read more
doctors work with their patient

Revolutionizing rehab

St. Joseph’s is setting a long-time vision into motion. “Five years ago, we had a vision of leveraging our long history and expertise in providing innovative rehabilitation treatments to improve the lives of people with mobility needs on a larger scale,” says Roy Butler, President and CEO of St...
Read more
hands picking materials to create zines

Changing our MINDS

The words and images are both heartbreaking and hopeful. “Nobody likes you if you are sad.” you are enough. stay strong. let life surprise you. “Please don’t leave like everyone else.” 1 year sober. 1 year of school. 1 year building a safe home. 1 year loving myself. Zine-writing, a personal and...
Read more
doctor smiling next to cyclotron

Illuminating the body's smallest secrets

Tucked behind the protective lower walls of St. Joseph’s Hospital lies a futuristic workshop of sorts – a place where science, technology and leading-edge medical care converge. Within a behemoth, 62-ton machine, a swirling vortex of powerful magnetic fields and electric pulses is creating bursts of...
Read more
researcher smiling

Poop in a pill helping advance cancer care

It’s one of the most exciting areas of research in cancer care. Making waves in scientific and health care circles worldwide, it holds the potent potential to “jazz up” cells that attack cancer and boost the body’s response to treatment. So what is this powerful ally? It’s poop in a pill – home...
Read more
patient in CT scanner

Discovery-driven, patient-focused

As the research arm and integral partner of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) is one of Canada’s premier health institutes. For more than 40 years, a culture of curiosity and innovation has propelled Lawson to become a renowned leader in work that improves the lives...
Read more
Drs. Tom Sheidow and Khaldon Abbas

Keeping an Eye on Care of the Future

While in university, Dr. Khaldon Abbas had a deeply moving experience as a volunteer with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT) that changed the trajectory of his life and career. The community-based organization helps victims of war and torture, and Abbas, whose family immigrated to...
Read more
Senior holding hands

Dementia research hits the ‘mark’

Dr. Michael Borrie is now seeing grandchildren of patients who came to his clinic when he first started Alzheimer’s research 30 years ago. His message to this new generation is more hopeful than ever, bolstered by ever-more-reliable ways of early detection and being tantalizingly close to a future...
Read more
scientists in lab

Investing in Life-Changing Research

Through donor support, endowed research chairs are exploring and answering some of the most profound and complex research questions of our time. Among cherished family photos and special mementos in the office of Jeremy Burton, PhD, is a slightly faded photo of a young woman. Burton points out the...
Read more