Yee Hong Newsletter

Yee Hong Community Wellness Foundation launched its long-awaited “Love Gives” capital campaign last month and has raised $10 million to date, including the inaugural donation of $5 million from the Wu Si Chong Foundation of Hong Kong. The campaign will support construction of three new long-term care facilities in Scarborough, Markham and Mississauga, doubling our current capacity and reducing the wait times.

The aptly named “Love Gives” campaign is all about giving. It is our turn to give back to our seniors so they can enjoy their golden years in the healthiest, most independent, and dignified way. Together we can achieve the true meaning of Love Gives.

Dr. Joseph Wong, Yee Hong Founder and Foundation Chair, was thankful for the generous startup donation. “The pandemic has delayed the official start of this campaign and affected much of our fundraising work. It’s inspiring to know the Wu Si Chong Foundation has committed their support for our vision of Yee Hong.”

Dr. Wong also expressed heartfelt gratitude to Yee Hong’s longtime donors and supporters. “Over the past three decades, Yee Hong has grown from a single nursing home to operating four centres with 805 long-term care beds, a hospice, and a wide range of community services. None of this could have happened without our volunteers and benefactors.”

“The Love Gives capital campaign has started off on the right foot, towards our goal of $80 million. It’s a monumental task but the reward will be tremendously fulfilling.” said Stephen Siu, President of Yee Hong Foundation.

The target of the campaign’s first stage is $30 million, to start construction of the new Scarborough centre. Please support us at yeehong.com/donate, because “Love Gives”.

Yee Hong is accredited with Exemplary Standing, the highest honour from Accreditation Canada for an organization’s commitment to quality and excellence. Accreditation Canada is an independent evaluator for health care standards and best practices. When you choose a provider accredited by Accreditation Canada, you can be certain that quality health care matters.

Yee Hong has undertaken the process to renew our standing for the eighth consecutive time since Yee Hong Centre began operation in 1994. Accreditation Canada will examine our methods and expertise over many months. We’ve been preparing the evidence to renew our accreditation. From June 6-10 we’ll host Accreditation Canada in our Centres for a closer look.

We encourage our residents, clients and their families to participate in the Accreditation Canada process, including focus groups and surveys. To find out more contact the Executive Director at the Yee Hong Centre near you, and watch your inbox for more information soon.

Brandishing shiny shears and a bright yellow comb, Finch Centre’s beloved hairstylist, Vivian works her magic on a resident’s silver locks. From the moment on-site salons at Yee Hong Centres reopened in February, the hardworking hairstylist has been met with fully booked appointment lists, day after day.

Although she is busier than ever, Vivian is extremely happy to be back and giving residents their long-anticipated haircuts. Residents share the same sentiment.

Ever since salons closed last December due to COVID-19 restrictions, our residents have eagerly awaited their reopening. For residents, a trip down to the salon means so much more than just a haircut. The seemingly simple experience has a profound impact on residents’ emotional wellbeing and overall quality of life.

Being able to head down to the salon and be pampered with a professional haircut brings excitement and breathes new life into daily routines. Residents leave the salon refreshed and feeling like a whole new person!

Moreover, many residents form a relationship with their hairstylist, so their appointment becomes an additional opportunity for social connection, a fact Vivian can attest to. On Vivian’s first day back, many residents wanted to stay after their haircuts to chat and catch up with their stylist friend.

And in the current pandemic reality, resuming regular personal care routines also symbolizes a collective step towards normalcy, bringing us ever closer to the light at the end of this tunnel and offering a renewed sense of hope.

Providing safe and convenient access to personal care services is an important piece of the work we do at Yee Hong to help residents live life to the fullest and support their dignified and independent aging. We’re extremely happy that on-site salons across our Centres are open once again.

To schedule an appointment for a Finch Centre resident, phone Vivian at 416-999-2998. At the McNicoll Centre, phone George at 416-293-3999 or 416-277-8339. Residents at Markham and Mississauga Centres can schedule a cut with help from their care team.

With Ontario’s gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, Day Programs at all Yee Hong Centres and off-site locations have resumed in-person services for community clients on a reduced scale.

Returning clients remain enrolled in any programs they attended before service was suspended in December.

As of Feb. 25, the following in-person services have resumed:

• Adult Day Program
• Congregate Dining
• Caregiver Education & Resource Centre
• Transportation services to and from Yee Hong Centres

An array of virtual services continue online, including virtual Active Seniors’ classes, Adult Day Programs and Congregate Dining programming.

Nothing truly compares to seeing each other face-to-face, so we’re very excited to welcome clients back in person!

For information and schedules, please contact us to learn about services available near you. New clients are always welcome.

When Omicron reared its head in Ontario, Yee Hong’s frontline workers and care providers rose to the challenge yet again to ensure residents stayed healthy and happy. In January, Colin Chang, grandson of a Finch Centre resident, gifted us a beautiful piano tribute to express his gratitude to the Yee Hong team.

“I thought it would be nice to play a few piano pieces to help cheer everyone up during these difficult times,” Colin explained. Indeed, as his heartfelt performance was broadcast at Finch Centre, bright smiles adorned staffs’ and residents’ faces.

Follow this link to watch Colin’s touching performance.

Older adults are cycling beyond borders, enjoying exercise and adventure on 10 new Centivizer exercise bicycles at Yee Hong Centre.

Participants in our Adult Day Programs enter a virtual world, travelling by video to new sights and memories. Video playback is controlled with feet or hands pedalling a stationary bike – if the pedalling stops, so does the video playback.

The grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the experience of Professor Mark Chignell of the University of Toronto brought the program to Yee Hong in 2021. “Exercise is the best drug and we are not getting enough of it, especially when we get older,” said Professor Chignell.

Professor Chignell’s “Centivizer” system makes exercise fun, helping older adults to overcome the barriers that discourage exercise. The $52,100 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation paid for VR pedalling units, sanitizing equipment for users and some staff costs.

“Yee Hong has done it again!” said the Honourable Raymond Cho, MPP for Scarborough North and Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. “This Virtual Reality Exercise project will take Yee Hong’s Seniors on virtual bike rides around the world. I can hardly wait to bike through the rest of North America, the Arctic, Africa, Asia and so on. Congratulations.”

The pandemic significantly decreased the opportunities for older adults to engage in physical and cognitive activity. More exercise games are planned for Adult Day Program participants, and for Yee Hong seniors living in our buildings too. Yee Hong is grateful for the generous support of our sponsors.

The residents of McNicoll have been working on a mandala colouring project for the past three months (September-December). They have been creative and bold in their artistic endeavors and have shown a wealth of diversity in talent and artistic expression. We are excited to be able to share their creations with you through a digital 2022 calendar displaying their artwork. Included is also a calendar displaying the various Art and Crafts projects that our residents have been working on throughout the year. Special thanks goes to our placement student, Goretti Chan, for putting the calendars together and running the mandala coloring program. We wish everyone a safe and happy holidays and best wishes for the new year!