News Release

McCormick Home & AOS Present “Art and Soul”

Annual art therapy show features resident & day program art

June 17, 2011, London -- McCormick Home is proud to announce its 5th Annual Art Show from June 23 - 27, 2011, featuring art produced by McCormick Home residents and participants of the Alzheimer Outreach Services of McCormick Home (AOS) Day Program.

Entitled “Art and Soul,” this year’s show will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday June 23 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the Great Room at McCormick Home, with representatives of the Home offering thanks to the artists, art therapists, volunteers and Foundations that support the art therapy program, followed by refreshments and viewing of the art pieces, which will be on display through June 27.

Both McCormick Home and AOS, which runs the largest Day Program of its kind in Ontario for people with Alzheimer Disease and related dementias, offer art therapy programs. McCormick Home offers group and individual art therapy. Last year, AOS also began offering group art therapy for its Day Program Participants, who are affectionately nicknamed “Club Members.”

Regardless of their physical or cognitive challenges, residents of the Home and AOS Club Members can participate in these programs. Most of the artists whose work appears in the show do not have any previous art experience. “This is an opportunity for our residents and Club Members to share their creative spirit and energies with their friends and families,” explains Terri Guzyk, Administrator of McCormick Home. "Creative expression through art is so important to people who experience loss in language and other forms of communication due to the progression of illness,” notes Magdalen Carter, AOS Director. “It is certainly a ‘door opener’ for them.”

This year’s show will feature some 150 pieces of art, a substantial increase from last year’s show,  thanks to last year’s extension of the art therapy program to also include AOS.  The art to be displayed includes primarily acrylic and watercolour paintings, as well as pencil work, silk dyes on paper, and silk and paper flowers. Particularly interesting are the silk pieces, as well as paintings incorporating a unique approach of ripping watercolour paper, notes Susan Richardson, who provides group art therapy for Home residents and some AOS Day Program participants. Wanda Sawicki works with Home residents individually, thanks to a special program sponsored by the Westminster Foundation.

“All of the pieces are special,” adds Richardson. “They represent an expression of the tremendous courage, determination, creativity, joy and strength of our residents and AOS Day Program members to their families and to the community.”

Richardson says art builds the participants’ confidence, especially when recognition from others occurs at the show. “Identifying their own preferences and clarifying their unique abilities through art brings a sense of calm, greater self-esteem, and sense identity in a setting where so many choices have been taken from them due to physical and cognitive challenges.” 

McCormick Home (www.mccormickhome.on.ca) is a fully accredited, nonprofit 160-bed Home based in London, Ontario with a proud history of providing high quality care for seniors and others requiring long term care since the late 1800s. Alzheimer Outreach Services of McCormick Home (www.alzheimeroutreach.org) is an accredited, London-based non-profit organization offering a variety of high quality programs and services for families coping with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Operating out of McCormick Home since 1985, AOS offers a popular day program for individuals with ADRD, the largest of its kind in Ontario, as well as various specialized respite and support services for caregivers, managed by dedicated and experienced professionals including nurses, social workers, recreational therapists, and numerous volunteers.

For more information, please contact:

Ruth Adams
Director of Communication
WCA ~ Wisdom. Compassion. Achievement.
Phone: 519 432 2648 (Ext. 2405)
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.wcalondon.ca

 For Immediate Release

News Release

Tax Benefits for Older Adults To be Presented at
Annual Alzheimer Awareness Month Caregiver Seminar

Seminars give practical tips for caregivers of persons with ADRD

(Jan. 5, 2010, London) – A free seminar on tax benefits for older adults and their caregivers, the second of the four free seminars for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) throughout January, will be held next Tues. Jan. 11 at Alzheimer Outreach Services (AOS), from 7 to 9 pm.

“This is part of our Second Annual Caregiver Support Seminars which we hold every January to honour Alzheimer Awareness Month,” notes Magdalen Carter, Director of Outreach Services at AOS.

She notes that this year, AOS is offering free seminars for caregivers every Tuesday evening throughout the month of January. “It’s our way of recognizing Alzheimer Awareness Month and showing caregivers the range of services available through AOS and our partners throughout the year.”

Titled “Tax Benefits for Older Adults & Caregivers,” the Jan. 11 seminar will feature a presentation by Revenue Canada on tax benefits for older adults and their caregivers.  “So many caregivers of older adults, as well as disabled adults can benefit from the latest financial information, which Revenue Canada will share with us next Tuesday evening,” says Carter. “We hope those who come out will find this information beneficial.”

The Tax Benefits seminar will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at AOS, located at 2022 Kains Road in London. While admittance is free, preregistration is requested. Interested persons can call Shelly at 519-439-9336 Ext. 2347 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The remaining seminars throughout January will feature a display of information on dementia care services by various London-based businesses and organizations on Jan. 18, and a presentation on how to care for the mind and body on Jan. 25 by the representatives from the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging and AOS recreation therapy specialists.

Alzheimer Outreach Services (www.alzheimeroutreach.org) is an accredited, London, Ontario based non-profit organization offering a variety of high quality programs and services for families coping with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Operating out of McCormick Home since 1985, AOS offers a popular day program for individuals with ADRD, the largest of its kind in Ontario, as well as various specialized respite and support services for caregivers, managed by dedicated and experienced professionals including nurses, social workers, recreational therapists, and numerous volunteers. McCormick Home is owned and operated by the WCA, a community-based health and human services charitable organization that was founded in 1874 with a mission to support the elderly to maintain their independence and quality of life.
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For more info, please contact:

Magdalen Carter, MSW
Director of Outreach Services
Alzheimer Outreach Services (AOS)
Phone: 519 439 9336 Ext. 2343
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

or

Ruth Adams
Director of Communication
WCA. Wisdom. Compassion. Achievement
Phone: 519 432 2648 Ext. 2405
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

News Release

Caregiver Support Seminars During Alzheimer Awareness Month Offer Practical Help for Caregivers

Annual seminars provide essential caregiver support

(December 31, 2010, London) – In honour of Alzheimer Awareness Month, Alzheimer Outreach Services (AOS) will host its annual Caregiver Support Seminars every Tuesday evening throughout the month of January 2011. The first of the four seminars, which are designed to provide important practical information for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), will be held on Jan. 4. 

Entitled  “Safety:  A High Priority,”  the Jan. 4 seminar will feature a panel presentation on safety considerations and emergency services for older adults, with representatives from the London police, fire, EMS and the UWO Occupational Therapy department. “Our first seminar will focus on the critical safety needs of persons with dementia, and ways in which their caregivers and loved ones can keep them free from danger,” notes Magdalen Carter, Director of Outreach Services at AOS.

The remaining seminars throughout January will feature speakers and presenters on tax benefits for older adults and caregivers, the variety of dementia-care services of various London-based businesses and organizations, and mind and body care by the Director of the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging and AOS recreation therapy specialists.

“These seminars, which offer practical, useful information to caregivers who deal with ADRD, are our way of recognizing Alzheimer Awareness Month,” says Carter. “Our goal at AOS is to assist caregivers in their often demanding role by providing them with information and support through the variety of services that we offer--not only during Alzheimer Awareness Month but throughout the year.”

All of the seminars during January are free of charge but pre-registration is required. They will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at AOS, which is located in the East wing of McCormick Home on Kains Road in West London. Registration is available by calling Shelley at 519-439-9336 Ext. 2347. The Seminars dates are as follows:  Jan. 4, 2011 - Safety:  A High Priority; Jan. 11, 2011 - Tax Benefits for Older Adults & Caregivers; Jan. 18, 2011 - Partners in Dementia Care Fair; and Jan. 25, 2011 - Caring for the Mind & Body.

Alzheimer Outreach Services (AOS) is an accredited, London, Ontario based non-profit organization offering a variety of high quality programs and services for families who are coping with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). In operation since 1985 out of McCormick Home, AOS offers a highly popular day program for individuals with ADRD, the largest of its kind in Ontario, as well as various specialized respite and support services for caregivers, managed by dedicated and experienced professionals including nurses, social workers, recreational therapists, and numerous volunteers. McCormick Home is owned and operated by the WCA, a community-based health and human services charitable organization that was founded in 1874 with a mission to support the elderly to maintain their independence and quality of life.
 -30- 
For more info, please contact:

Magdalen Carter, MSW
Director of Outreach Services
Alzheimer Outreach Services (AOS)
Phone: 519 439 9336 Ext. 2343
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

One of our program’s caregivers shares the story of how she once purchased a ready-to-decorate Christmas tree, and the antics that occurred as she attempted to decorate it while caring for her spouse with ADRD.  She tells the story, below:

“Three days before the Choir Christmas Party was to be held at our home, I put up our tree and decorated it in the family room. When I went upstairs to work on decorating the rest of the house, I left my husband downstairs watching TV.”

“Later when I came downstairs to get him for supper, there was my tree, taken apart, with all the decorations on the table. I had to put it up again and redecorate it.

“For the next two days, the same thing happened repeatedly; I put it up, he took it down, I put it up, he took it down…. but eventually it was up for the party and for Christmas.

“Is this the end of the story? No way!

“The day after New Year’s, I took the tree down and put all the decorations on the table. Before I got everything packed away, however, I was called upstairs.

“When I came back down, my sweet husband had put the tree back up and was putting the decorations back on.

“When I asked him why, he said, ‘I thought I’d taken it down and you’d holler at me, so I’m putting it back up.’

“What could I do but laugh?  Every year we remember that tree. It’s a family tradition to tell the story.”

-- E. Harrison

We at AOS wish all of our clients and families a happy, and safe holiday and a peaceful New Year. Here’s hoping there’ll be plenty of light moments along the way in 2011.