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

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Tall dream comes true

With a list of burning questions in hand, Patricia Prance answered an incoming video call. On the other end of the line – a giraffe and his zookeeper. Prance has virtually visited not one but two giraffes thanks to St. Joseph's Health Care London's Palliative Care Unit at Parkwood Institute. Her interest in giraffes first sparked when she visited African Lion Safari as a kid. “I just fell in love with the way they ran and their tall necks. And I'm tall and lanky and run kind of like a giraffe,” she laughs. Prance always dreamed of meeting a giraffe and being able to pet it, but travel...

Stroke survivor Roger Oatman standing with a cane

FAST and slow - the varying speeds of a stroke journey

Would you recognize the signs of a stroke in yourself or someone else? 49-year-old Londoner Michael Lees is grateful his wife can. Her knowledge and quick action most likely saved his life. In the middle of the night in January 2022, Michael woke up with a strange feeling, “I kept tossing and...

Shauna Graf holding a copy of a book called the Zero Suicide Implementation Kit, standing in front of the Mental Health Care Building at Parkwood Institute

Free community toolkit in suicide prevention generates hope

St. Joseph’s Health Care London was the first organization in Canada to implement the Zero Suicide program. Today, the initiative is spreading across the province. What started as a lofty goal to reduce suicides and attempted suicides within a health care setting is taking flight in communities...

Dr. Laura Lyons holding an infant on an examination table in her office

Exemplary physician, compassionate cheerleader

Dr. Laura Lyons at St. Joseph’s Family Medical and Dental Centre was one of seven physicians in the province named Regional Family Physician of the Year in 2021 by the Ontario College of Family Physicians. It’s an honour that celebrates the vital contributions family doctors make to their patients...

a staff member showing thumbs up, standing behind a mound of bags full of paper towels

Harnessing the power of paper towels

Paper towels are often thrown into the garbage after use, but where do they go, and what is the impact on the environment? This is a question Environmental Services (EVS) at St. Joseph’s Health Care London recently tackled and the team has now found a solution that is eliminating paper towels from...

Paul Garrett and his wife surrounded by his care team outside of Parkwood Institute

Partnering to improve care

It took less than 30 minutes for Brenda Martin’s life to change forever. It was early one morning in 2019 when Brenda’s husband Paul asked her to call 911, saying he could no longer feel his legs. After days of testing, Paul was diagnosed with acute onset transverse myelitis, a rare neuroimmune...

Dr. George Athwal wearing a HoloLens2 headset, viewing a hologram of a shoulder joint

Hovering holograms hone surgeons' skills

Surgeon Dr. George Athwal at St. Joseph’s Health Care London was the first in Canada and second in the world to use revolutionary mixed reality technology as a tool in shoulder replacement surgery. At the Roth | McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital, orthopedic surgeon Dr...

Jessica Kocur sitting on the rocky ground in a mountainous region of Argentina

From care journey to Care Partner

Trekking through the jungles of South America was a dream come true for Jessica Kocur. She was in her late 20’s when she decided to take the trip of a lifetime with now husband Chris. They hiked up and down mountains, climbed up to 4900 metre above sea level in the Andes and then down into the...

portrait of Lori Higgs with text: Innovation, collaboration and generosity of spirit

A leader of distinction

Congratulations to Lori Higgs, St. Joseph's Vice President of Clinical Support and Chief Financial Officer, for being selected as a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (FCPA) – the profession’s highest mark of distinction. The designation of Fellow formally recognizes CPAs...

CIBC donation allows scientists to visualize the possibilities in cancer care

A generous donation from CIBC is giving scientists at Lawson Health Research Institute an impressive new tool to study illness and disease. The $240,000 gift to St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation was used to purchase a confocal microscope, state-of-the-art technology that is supporting medical...