Providence Healthcare (Toronto)
Providence Healthcare is a health care facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, specializing in rehabilitation for patients who have experienced strokes, orthopaedic surgery, or lower limb amputation, or who require specialized geriatric rehabilitation, assessment and treatment. It also provides long-term care and community outreach for individuals with geriatric conditions. It is located in Scarborough near Warden subway station. The current chair of the hospital is Ms. Gretchen Van Riesen.
History
Providence Healthcare’s Catholic legacy dates back to 1857 when the Sisters of St. Joseph founded the original House of Providence. The original site of the House of Providence was on Power Street in downtown Toronto, which is now the Don Valley Parkway exit to Adelaide and Richmond Streets. At that location, the House of Providence hit a peak of 700 people they were providing accommodations for, among them were the most vulnerable in society. Providence moved to its current location in 1962. The location is a former farm owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Once the facility changed its location it began to focus on residential care for the elderly and sick. Along with this, the name House of Providence changed to Providence Villa and Hospital. The name was changed once again to Providence Centre so it would better reflect its diversity of services, not only to residents and patients but the entire community. The Sisters of St. Joseph sponsored Providence Centre up until 1998 when the Catholic Health Corporation of Ontario assumed sponsorship. The name was changed once again in 2004 to Providence Healthcare. In 2007, Providence Healthcare celebrated its 150th year of providing care and its tradition still continues to this day.
Services
Programs and services are provided through three Integrated Care Divisions: Providence Hospital, one of Ontario’s largest rehabilitation and complex continuing care facilities; the Cardinal Ambrozic Houses of Providence, a long-term care facility for 288 residents; and Providence Community Centre, specializing in community clinics, caregiver support, education and neighbourhood outreach programs, such as Adult Day Program and the Tamil Caregiver Project. Included in the facility is an Integrated Healing Arts Centre. This centre offers services including acupuncture, chiropody, chiropractic services, massage therapy and physiotherapy
Providence Healthcare’s adult day program provides caregiver relief, and meaningful activity for individuals with moderate to severe dementia. They offer family and client-centric service 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday and daytime service on Saturdays. The service is open to anyone living in the GTA with irreversible dementia. Providence Healthcare provides a custom designed space that includes a living and dining area with a grand piano, overnight suites that are equipped with computers, flat screens plus outdoor garden spaces.
Providence Healthcare includes a Scotiabank Learning Centre that reaches out to families coping with chronic conditions and other illness. The space provides a computer workspace, meeting table, media centre, outdoor garden and play area for visiting children. The Scotiabank Learning Centre offers numerous group education sessions such as Living with Stroke, Living with Stroke and Aphasia, and other self-management programs created by Stanford University. In addition, the centre holds three monthly support groups. The meetings are held to discuss topics related to dementia and how to be a caregiver for those who have it. Participants in these discussions are encouraged to share their thoughts, ideas and helpful hints for caring for someone who has dementia.
Another component of the facility is the Toyota Canada Motor Skills Clinic. This is a component of Providence Healthcare’s rehabilitation program. The purpose of this clinic is to give patients confidence in doing everyday activities that they are no longer used to performing. Toyota Canada donated $300,000 to build this addition to Providence Healthcare. The Toyota Canadian Motor Skills Clinic includes a wheelchair-accessible ramp, crosswalk with traffic light, different outdoor surfaces for patients to practice walking on, grassy area with a bench and table, and a vehicle for patients to practice getting in and out of safely.
Employment
In 2009, for the second year in a row, Providence Healthcare was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.[1]
See also
References
"providence.on.ca". 2013. Providence Healthcare. Web. 7 Mar. 2013
External links
Coordinates: 43°42′43″N 79°17′06″W / 43.712°N 79.285°W