Seniors

Berwick Parksville is taking shape! The seniors residence expects to welcome its first residents in spring 2022.

A sneak peek at Parksville’s spectacular new seniors residence

From pickleball courts to the rooftop patio and lounge, the newest Berwick is distinctly Parksville

  • Feb 15, 2021
Berwick Parksville is taking shape! The seniors residence expects to welcome its first residents in spring 2022.
Cottonwoods Care Centre residents in Kelowna celebrate receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Photo: Interior Health

For B.C. seniors in care, it’s been nearly a year of isolation to combat COVID-19 outbreaks

COVID-19 isn’t ‘blowing in through the window,’ so how does B.C. put a stop to care home outbreaks?

Cottonwoods Care Centre residents in Kelowna celebrate receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Photo: Interior Health
Retired nurse Donna Lessard is shown in a recent handout photo provided by Lessard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Donna Lessard MANDATORY CREDIT
Retired nurse Donna Lessard is shown in a recent handout photo provided by Lessard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Donna Lessard MANDATORY CREDIT
(File photo)

Alert Qualicum Beach resident, 77, foils ‘grandparent emergency scam’

RCMP receive calls of fraudsters attempting to fool seniors into providing cash

(File photo)
George Olson with his copy of 'Our Wild & Precious Lives: Collective Wisdom and Wit from the Heart of Berwick Qualicum Beach.' Books cost $25, and 100 per cent of the proceeds go to the Society of Organized Services (SOS).

Qualicum Beach seniors pen stories of resilience

Wit and wisdom, poetry and prose, with $25 from each sale going to SOS

  • Jan 25, 2021
George Olson with his copy of 'Our Wild & Precious Lives: Collective Wisdom and Wit from the Heart of Berwick Qualicum Beach.' Books cost $25, and 100 per cent of the proceeds go to the Society of Organized Services (SOS).
JaHyung Lee, “Canada’s oldest senior” at 110 years old, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. He lives at Amenida Seniors Community in Newton. (Submitted photo: Amenida Seniors Community)

Rapid COVID tests in long-term care key during vaccine rollout: B.C. care providers

‘Getting kits into the hands of care providers should be a top priority,’ says former Health Minister

JaHyung Lee, “Canada’s oldest senior” at 110 years old, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. He lives at Amenida Seniors Community in Newton. (Submitted photo: Amenida Seniors Community)
The Gardens at Qualicum Beach

Finding ‘home’ in a senior living community to love both today and tomorrow

For many seniors, the opportunity to age in place – with friends,…

  • Jan 18, 2021
The Gardens at Qualicum Beach
People wait to be screened before entering Little Mountain Place, a long-term care home that has had 41 residents die since a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at the facility in November in Vancouver on Sunday, January 3, 2021. Staff in long-term care homes across Canada are struggling to isolate elderly residents with dementia during COVID-19 outbreaks, accelerating the deadly spread of the virus, experts say. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Care home staff struggle to isolate dementia patients during outbreaks: experts

The novel coronavirus has taken a lethal toll on Canadians living in long-term care homes

People wait to be screened before entering Little Mountain Place, a long-term care home that has had 41 residents die since a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at the facility in November in Vancouver on Sunday, January 3, 2021. Staff in long-term care homes across Canada are struggling to isolate elderly residents with dementia during COVID-19 outbreaks, accelerating the deadly spread of the virus, experts say. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
JaHyung Lee, “Canada’s oldest senior” at 110 years old, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. He lives at Amenida Seniors Community in Newton. (Submitted photo: Amenida Seniors Community)

One of Canada’s oldest seniors, at 110 years old, gets COVID-19 vaccine at Surrey care home

JaHyung Lee, 110, is a resident at Amenida Seniors Community

JaHyung Lee, “Canada’s oldest senior” at 110 years old, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. He lives at Amenida Seniors Community in Newton. (Submitted photo: Amenida Seniors Community)
A worker is seen cleaning surfaces inside Little Mountain Place, a long term care home in Vancouver, on January 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. care home allowed group activities to continue after positive test: family

Little Mountain Place became the deadliest care home outbreak in British Columbia

A worker is seen cleaning surfaces inside Little Mountain Place, a long term care home in Vancouver, on January 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Aging gracefully. Lia Crowe photograph

Aging Gracefully

Be Proactive In Preparing Your Mind and Body

  • Jan 1, 2021
Aging gracefully. Lia Crowe photograph
Debbie Drew poses for a photo with her father Graham Drew during her visit to a long-term care home in British Columbia in this undated handout photo. She said visiting restrictions that were initially needed at facilities like the Lynn Valley Care Centre are now causing more harm than good for her dad and other residents mostly confined to their rooms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Debbie Drew *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Visit restrictions contributed to depression among care home residents: doctor

Findings released last month show a seven per cent rate of increase in antipsychotic use

Debbie Drew poses for a photo with her father Graham Drew during her visit to a long-term care home in British Columbia in this undated handout photo. She said visiting restrictions that were initially needed at facilities like the Lynn Valley Care Centre are now causing more harm than good for her dad and other residents mostly confined to their rooms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Debbie Drew *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Arbutus RV owners Rose and Craig Little. Photography by Lia Crowe

Sales surge for Arbutus RV

Recreational vehicles on a roll for province’s largest RV dealer

  • Dec 25, 2020
Arbutus RV owners Rose and Craig Little. Photography by Lia Crowe
(Waveland/Facebook)

Virtual concert series Songs for Seniors to bring families separated by COVID together

Songs for Seniors is hoping to bring communities and their families together virtually, no matter where

  • Dec 24, 2020
(Waveland/Facebook)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hinting that provinces that don’t want to work with Ottawa to improve standards in long-term care homes won’t get federal funding. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

No funds for provinces that don’t agree to improve long-term care standards, PM hints

He said Ottawa will help them cover the costs of those improvements

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hinting that provinces that don’t want to work with Ottawa to improve standards in long-term care homes won’t get federal funding. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Parksville’s Christiana Conway, left, husband Chris Conway, right, and friend Elizabeth Doell write letters designed to bring Christmas cheer to senior residents at area care homes. (Submitted photo)

Parksville woman helps create special messages of Christmas cheer for seniors

Hand-written letters designed to help lonely residents during holiday season

Parksville’s Christiana Conway, left, husband Chris Conway, right, and friend Elizabeth Doell write letters designed to bring Christmas cheer to senior residents at area care homes. (Submitted photo)
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Tuesday Dec. 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

First Pfizer vaccine shots to be given right at delivery sites, not LTC homes: Tam

Pfizer’s vaccine is extremely delicate and must be stored at temperatures below -70 C

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Tuesday Dec. 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug intended to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is shown at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto on Friday, April 4, 2014. The first wave of COVID-19 triggered an increase in psychiatric drug prescriptions in long term care homes, new data shows, and geriatric experts warn this puts elderly patients with dementia at risk for further harm from falls, stroke, and sedation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michelle Siu

Doctors concerned about rise in dangerous medications in LTC homes during pandemic

Geriatrics experts are concerned that the global pandemic is undoing years of hard-won progress

Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug intended to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is shown at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto on Friday, April 4, 2014. The first wave of COVID-19 triggered an increase in psychiatric drug prescriptions in long term care homes, new data shows, and geriatric experts warn this puts elderly patients with dementia at risk for further harm from falls, stroke, and sedation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michelle Siu
Menno Place. (Google Street View image.)

B.C. care home looks to hire residents’ family members amid COVID-19-related staff shortage

Family would get paid as temporary workers, while having chance to see loved ones while wearing PPE

Menno Place. (Google Street View image.)
Helen Watson, posing for a photo for her 100th birthday, turned 105 on Saturday (Nov. 21). (File photo)

B.C. woman who survived Spanish Flu turns 105

Helen Watson has packed a lot into life – including being in two pandemics

Helen Watson, posing for a photo for her 100th birthday, turned 105 on Saturday (Nov. 21). (File photo)