Our Stories

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

Stephen Yeo, Spiritual Care supervisor-educator, in the chapel at St. Joseph’s Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care.

"A real strength for living" Patients benefit from Spiritual Care services at Southwest Centre

Years ago, during an evening chapel service for patients held at Southwest Centre, a volunteer from the community began the service by saying he was there to pray on behalf of “all these wonderful people,” so they would know they were loved. Afterward, Stephen Yeo, Spiritual Care supervisor-educator at Southwest Centre, rode the elevator with one of the patients on the way back to his unit. As he often does, he asked how the service had been for him. "He looked at me and said, 'He called us wonderful people,'" Yeo recalls. "Usually, patients will say the music was nice, or the reflection was...
Read more
patient in PET/CT machine

Unlocking boundless potential

Ashmeet Gill had her first PET/CT scan shortly after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the body’s germ-fighting immune system. She was nervous. Claustrophobia is an issue for the young Stratford resident and the scan, necessary to determine if the cancer had spread beyond the...
Read more
Christopher Lincoln

From film to focus

On the cusp of graduating from the Advanced Photography Program at Fanshawe College in 1990, Christopher Lincoln was offered an out of the blue proposition. “Who wants to work in a hospital?” a program instructor asked the group of budding photographers. Not knowing exactly what it would mean for...
Read more
nurses

St. Joseph’s nurses making a difference

As we mark National Nursing Week May 6 - 12, St. Joseph’s recognizes the 1,400 hard working nurses for the significant work they do and the integral role they play in the health care system. The Canadian Nurses Association theme this year is ‘Changing Lives. Shaping Tomorrow.' We acknowledge nurses’...
Read more
Sean and Claudette at Southwest Centre

A day in the life of the Forensic Rehabilitation Team

The overnight nurses complete a handover of care to the nurses starting the day-shift – reporting on how patients did overnight – medication is administered, and breakfast is served to patients. By 8:30 am, the unit’s care station is filled with a flurry of activity. The clinical team gathers to...
Read more
Navpreet Kaur, RN

Caring for the body and mind

For Navpreet Kaur, a seasoned registered nurse in the Endoscopy Clinic at St. Joseph’s Hospital, taking care of a patient’s physical illness is only part of a nurse’s responsibilities. After 17 years of nursing, she understands that listening to a patient and their families, answering their...
Read more
Luana Viernes, RN

No boundaries for compassion

International borders do not exist when it comes to delivering compassionate care as a nurse. No one knows that better than Luana Viernes, a registered nurse trained in the Philippines, who worked in Saudi Arabia and now cares for residents at Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care. Luana participated...
Read more
Carina, nurse in Palliative

Making a difference in Palliative Care

Carina Jacob lives her life a bit differently after caring for people who have died. As a registered nurse for six years, she spent the first four years of her career on the frontlines in Palliative Care at St. Joseph’s Health Care helping patients manage their symptoms due to a serious or life...
Read more