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

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Walking Beside Families on Life’s Final Journey: Inside St. Joseph’s Palliative Care Program

For more than 25 years, St. Joseph’s Health Care London has walked alongside patients and families during what can be a very challenging time —end of life care. Since opening in 1999, the Palliative Care Unit (PCU) at Parkwood Institute has been a place of dignity and compassion for individuals across London and Middlesex living with life-limiting illness. St. Joseph’s Palliative Care Program provides pain management and relief of symptoms to those experiencing life-threatening, progressive or terminal illness. The PCU care team helps patients find comfort, supporting them body, mind and...

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...

A stroke of gratitude

Allan Campbell shares his story of recovery at both London Health Sciences Centre and Parkwood Institute after experiencing a devastating stroke. Like any other night, Allan Campbell went to bed after a long day of work. Little did he know that at 11:45 pm, his life would forever change. No longer a...