 Earlier this month, we had another delivery of fresh coffee to Seasons Retirement Communities from Starbucks! We thank Starbucks for their continuous support of our Community Care project as well as the care staff, nurses, PSWs, and administrators at Seasons for working hard to support the residents there. We would also like to thank all of the frontline workers who have continued to keep our communities safe throughout the pandemic.
In this in-depth follow up piece, Olivia Earl continues to address ageism in the healthcare industry (catch up with Part 1 on a general ageism overview here). Here, she evaluates general attitudes by providers and considers the multiple barriers someone older may face in receiving healthcare. Her thoughtful writing invites us all to identify our own biases and understand injustices in our system. Written by Olivia Earl   Charlotte became a Companion Calls volunteer in March and participated in our pen pals program back in the fall of 2020. After reading SAGE’s mission, Charlotte felt motivated to support seniors, leading her to become a volunteer. She has been video chatting with a resident from the Ivan Franko Homes on a weekly basis and their friendship has strengthened over the last few months. They cover a number of topics during their hour-long conversations, including family life, travel memories, and summer activities. Both Charlotte and the resident look forward to their weekly call and are excited to catch up, highlighting how Companion Calls are beneficial for both volunteers and seniors. Charlotte is working towards a career change from the arts to healthcare, and has a particular interest in senior wellbeing. Through SAGE, she hopes to further her understanding of the unique challenges affecting seniors, especially during a pandemic that has made seniors vulnerable to social isolation. Charlotte will be attending Queen’s University, pursuing an M.Sc in Occupational Therapy. She hopes to incorporate her valuable insights and experiences she gathered from SAGE as she starts her career in Occupational Therapy. We thank Charlotte for bringing all of her commitment and dedication to SAGE.
 This week, the new long-term care minister, Rod Phillips, announced that restrictions will be easing up in long-term care homes. As of July 7, residents can have visits with up to 10 people in an outdoor setting, and 2 visitors and 2 caregivers indoors. In late July, Ontario will move into step 3 meaning that residents won't have any limits to the number of visitors. Buffet style dining, off-site excursions, and recreational activities like dancing will resume.
Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/8009239/covid-restrictions-loosen-ontario-long-term-care/  Yesterday, we delivered a 5 lb coffee bag to the residents and staff at Allendale Long Term Care Facility. The coffee was a donation from the Starbucks (insert tag) located at Toronto Premium Outlets. We thank Starbucks for their contributions to our Community Care project and continuous support to essential workers during the pandemic!
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