News Room

Cassandra Cornelius hopes this New Year will bring better fortune than 2021. Talking about the past year during a break at Helen Henderson Care Centre where she has worked for the past 10 years as a Personal Support Worker (PSW), the 30-year-old Napanee woman describes the past year as difficult due to the pandemic and other hardships. “I’m so done with 2021. I can’t handle it anymore,” she says with sincerity. “I don’t know how I’m still standing. I should be down-and-out. This year has wiped me out.” A valued…

by Krystyna Sikora, Activity Aide Carveth Culture Club is studying Poland this January which is a country near and dear to my heart. I lived in Poland for 26 years and left in the summer of 1986. After living in Italy at a refugee camp for 18 months, we arrived in Canada in February 1988. People from Poland left the country for different reasons, but mostly because life was hard under communist regime. There is a lot I loved about Poland. It has beautiful landscapes, lakes, mountains, and 800 km…

This Christmas is going to be extra special for a resident of Carveth Retirement Lodge. Eileen Halladay, a resident since 2016, turns 100 on Dec. 24. 100 years ago, when Eileen was born in 1921: Chanel No. 5 was launched by Coco Chanel; the death penalty in Sweden was abolished; the Communist Party of China was founded; Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer of the Nazi Party in Germany; the first radio baseball game was broadcast; and the Russian famine begins, killing five million people before it ends in 1922. Speaking from…

A unique Christmas ornament has generated a lot of attention at a retirement home in Amherstview. “When I was coming in here, I had a shoebox full of costume-jewelry collected over the years,” says 83-year-old Marion Smith, a resident of Helen Henderson Retirement Lodge since May 28, 2021. “I needed to downsize and instead of discarding them, my daughter took them and made a Christmas tree of brooches.” Approximately 12 inches high, the tree is covered in the beautiful brooches Marion has collected in her lifetime plus a few from…

Felicia Hernandez never thought she’d like working in long-term care. Now, she can’t imagine working anywhere else. Speaking from Helen Henderson Care Centre, a retirement lodge and long-term care home in Amherstview, the 25-year-old Registered Nurse smiles when informed she is the Employee of the Month for December. “I absolutely love it here,” she says with a grin in November 2021. “It was the right decision for me to leave the hospital in search of a better schedule. I knew a few weeks into this job that this is what…

Carol Wedge is enjoying her golden years. A former Nurses’ Aide, the friendly woman retired from Carveth Care Centre on Oct. 1, 2021 after more than 30 years of service. She smiles as she talks about this new stage of her life. “I’ve been attending my grandchildren’s hockey practices and games,” she says with pride from her home in Gananoque. “My husband and I also play music. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I picked up my guitar maybe five times. Now that I am retired, I’ve been playing…

A new Dietary Aide at Helen Henderson Care Centre has won an award for her hard work and helpful nature. Jody McKinnon smiles when informed she is the Employee of the Month for November 2021 at Helen Henderson Care Centre. “It’s great here... I love my work,” the 59-year-old replies when asked about her job serving meals to residents in long-term care. “This is my forté.” Jody has worked at the popular home since July 2021. “I enjoy working in long-term care. I like interacting with the residents,” she explains.…

Canadians of German descent will be celebrating their roots this November at a relatively new program at Carveth Care Centre called Culture Club. A resident of the popular long-term care home for almost one-year, Axel Roose was born in Germany 74 years ago. His family still resides there except for his wife, Elisabeth, who lives in Kingston. Speaking on behalf of the poplar home in Gananoque, Recreation Director Shannon Buell notes, “I love hearing Axel speak German as it reminds me of my grandmother who was German. I really wish…

Thomas Martin has found his calling. A skilled carpenter who enjoys the company of seniors, Thomas started working in the maintenance department at Carveth Care Centre in early 2021. He liked his job immediately. “It’s a lot different pace than where I used to work,” the 31-year-old says with a smile from the popular retirement lodge and long-term care home in Gananoque. “Everyone is really friendly here.” Responsible for lawn maintenance, painting and general repairs, Thomas describes his job as ‘everything and anything’. “Tom is a great worker,” says Maintenance…

A temporary pandemic worker at Helen Henderson Care Centre is reaping the rewards of hard work. James Busby is a new paramedic. “I’m very excited to be working as a paramedic,” the 39-year-old says from the popular retirement lodge and long-term care home in late September 2021. “It’s been my dream for a while.” James worked at the home in Amherstview from April to September 2020 during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. His duties included cleaning and providing general assistance around the home.  “James was an asset to…