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

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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...

Look who’s talking

DocTalks community lecture series returns in 2019 with an impressive lineup Back by popular demand, the DocTalks program hopes to build on its inaugural success with six new talks scheduled for 2019. The lectures are a way for the public to learn valuable health information directly from physicians...

Sharing the wealth of knowledge

The field of urology is continually evolving. New techniques, new research and new equipment are advancing care of the urinary-tract system and male reproductive organs. Canada is among the leaders in the changing landscape of clinical care but for other countries, simply remaining current is a...

Home for the holidays

In the fall, the thought of spending Christmas at home was a distant hope for Floyd Blanchard. The 80-year-old had suffered a stroke that left much of his body paralyzed. Shortly after his acute care, Floyd became an inpatient in the Stroke/Neurological Rehabilitation Program at Parkwood Institute...

The gift of caring

Twelve years ago, registered nurse Lyndsey Wintle, wondered what she could do to help bring a little extra holiday cheer to the older adult patient population she worked with in the mental health care program at St. Joseph’s. While brainstorming with colleagues around a table, little did she know...

Roger and Halle bring the ‘pawfect’ holiday cheer at Parkwood Institute

Roger Littlejohns, a volunteer at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute, jokingly admits that people sometimes forget his name when he starts his weekly shift– but they never forget Halle’s, his seven-year-old black lab. Every Tuesday, Roger and Halle give their time by providing pet therapy to...

Alice and her warrior grandfather

At a recent gathering of wise, diabetes “warriors” at St. Joseph’s Hospital, many of them in their senior years, there was a young visitor who took it all in – five-year-old Alice. They came to receive a St. Joseph’s Diabetes Half Century Award presented to patients with type 1 diabetes who reach 50...

Know your status

You can’t rely on symptoms to know if you have HIV. Tremendous progress has been made in the response to AIDS/HIV since the virus infection first emerged in the 1980s, but not enough. While HIV treatment now allows people to live much longer, healthier lives and is highly effective in preventing HIV...

Study reveals clinical factors linked to reduced mortality in injection drug users with heart valve infection

London researchers show importance of cardiac surgery and addictions counselling. Cases of endocarditis – infection of the heart valves – have risen dramatically in recent years as a result of the opioid crisis. In London, Ontario, 55 per cent of people who experience heart valve infections are...

Persevering through poetry

Melissa Weiler proudly holds her first self-published book. Entitled “Emotions”, it's a collection of thought-provoking poems written over a 30-year span. Many emanate feelings from her high school days. They are reflections on life, loss and all the mixed emotions of being a teenager. Melissa, 48...