Centre stage
Donor support creates authentic, meaningful and individualized programs for people who call Mount Hope Centre for Long term Care home
Fern McNab has lived most of her life gracing centre stage. She started performing at age 11. She made her television debut at 15 and by 16 had cut her first record.
From Loretta Lynn to Whitney Houston – she covered some of the greats, performing across the North America and in the Caribbean for nearly 45 years.
A mother of three, grandmother to eight beautiful grandchildren and wife and partner to her husband Ross for 40 years, McNab feels blessed for a wonderful life.
Today, she is one of 375 residents who make their home at St. Joseph’s Mount Hope Centre for Long term Care.
McNab moved to Mount Hope in late 2023 and she admits to feeling a little apprehensive at the prospect of picking up roots and leaving her home. It wasn’t long until she settled in, though.
“I wasn’t sure about coming here,” she says. “But before my first week was over, I really liked it – and then I got to love it. I feel like home here.”
“Everyone is so wonderful. They are kind and loving. They wake me up with a smile on their face and it lights up my day,” she adds.
Within weeks, McNab was getting involved in all aspects of life at Mount Hope – keeping her days full of activities.
She’s a member of the Resident Council that works with care leaders to bring forward new ideas regarding life at Mount Hope, and has taken on a role with the Food Council working with the nutritionist to refresh the meal plans. She’s also a Mount Hope ambassador, welcoming the newest residents and providing a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on.
When McNab is not enriching the Mount Hope community, she can be found volunteering at events, singing in the choir or gardening – hobbies she has always enjoyed.
These recreational and music activities are central to the therapeutic programs offered to all residents at Mount Hope. And they are essential in ensuring that residents thrive in their new home.
Katherine Plested, Manager, Therapeutic Programs, says the program team is exquisitely skilled in creating customized, meaningful programs for residents that promote quality of life and put them at the centre stage of their lives.
“We lead with our hearts and compassion,” says Plested. “We want to learn each resident’s story and design programs that are authentic and unique to them, and that will support them through the different stages of their life.”
It’s thanks to community support that so many of these programs are available. This past year, more than $118,323 was granted to support residents at Mount Hope, including $20,544 for therapeutic programs. This included things like musical entertainment, holiday treats, Camp Mount Hope (a summer camp experience) and the Green Thumb Program, a gardening initiative.
Plested says that the team strives to make each resident’s experience meaningful. And that none of it would be possible without donor support.
“Once a resident becomes involved with the programming, we see them light up, smile and laugh in ways they haven’t before,” says Plested.
And it’s because of the generosity of people in the community.