A publication of the Board of Directors
Issue 2, Jan, 2009
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ANNIVERSARY OF
COPERNICUS
LODGE
Upcoming 2009
Events
Copernicus Lodge is very
pleased to induct a new
member into the Centenarian
Club. Stefanja Psica, reached
the magic milestone on October
th
14 , 2008. Presently, there are
a total of five Centenarian
residents at Copernicus Lodge,
four in long-term care, and one
in self-care.
Mrs. Stefanja Psica
Age: 100
Mrs. Kay Wilhow
Age101
City Hall Reception,
April TBD
Celestial Ball,
May 30, 2009, Bellagio
Polish Consulate
Reception, June TBD
Father Smith Golf
Tournament, June 20
Lt Governor’s Reception,
September TBD
Copernicus Thanksgiving
Mass
St Casimir’s Parish, Oct
17, 3PM
Stefanja came to Canada in
1931 on the Batory. She moved
into Copernicus Lodge in 2003.
She lives in a self-care
apartment and is still very
independent. Every day she
goes for long walks and loves to
play bingo. Stefanja has 2
children, 4 grandchildren and
one great-grandchild.
Born in the Ukraine, Kay moved
into Copernicus Lodge in 1994
where she was reunited with an
old friend she knew as a child.
Kay was very active in Ukrainian
clubs and societies and actively
participated in their singing and
dancing troupes. She is the last
surviving person in her family.
**********************************
Mrs. Janina Wojcik
Age: 104
****
*************************
Mrs.
Eugenia Ojrzynski *****
Age 105
Married in Poland, she lost
both of her children during
World War II. After her
husband passed away, she
spent her life as a piano
teacher, studying literature
and music and playing sports.
Eugenia has traveled all over
the world and when she was
96, she took her last trip to
Russia.
**********************************
Mrs. Janina Mazur
Age: 106
(TBD – To Be Determined)
Happy New Year
On behalf of the residents, staff, and volunteers at
Copernicus Lodge, the Board of Directors wishes to thank
sincerely everyone for their support and generous donations
to Copernicus Lodge. Your continued friendship and
generosity support our vision and commitment to providing
the very best health care and quality of life for our residents,
and our community.
2009 is indeed a transformational year for Copernicus
Lodge. We will be celebrating our 30th Anniversary with a
series of exciting events in the coming months. We look
forward to keeping in touch with you about our plans,
activities and accomplishments, and how your generosity is
helping us lead the way in caring for our aging Polish
population.
Your Board of Directors.
Janina arrived in Canada in
1929 with her daughter to join
her husband. She spent her
years working as a seamstress
in the garment industry. Janina
moved into Copernicus Lodge at
the age of 97. She has 2
children, 3 grandchildren and 5
great grandchildren, all living in
Toronto.
Born 27 May 1902 in Gidle,
Poland, Janina arrived in
Halifax with her husband in
1947 with their daughter,
Grazyna, aboard the sister
ship of the Titanic, the
Aquitana. They bought a 50acre farm in the Niagara
peninsula. She loved to sing,
dance, embroider, and play
piano.
*******************************
VISIT THE COPERNICUS WEB PAGE
www.copernicuslodge.com
Page 2 of 4
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In keeping with its reputation
for innovative and creative
activities designed especially
for the residents and caregivers
alike, Copernicus participated
in an inter-generational
memoir-writing program called
Storylines Bridging the Gap.
week. Nine student-senior
pairs participated.
Cristobal Murialdo-Smith-Stefan
Wadas
Jerzy Zralski-Ruth Lau
Cecilia Gugula-Maria Morgan
The aim of this unique program
is to bridge the gap between
generations and to foster a
more meaningful community
spirit.
As part of their grade 12
Writer’s Craft Independent
Study Unit, the students
assisted their senior partners
in recalling, sharing, and
writing their personal life
stories.
Each week the student
encouraged their senior
partner to think back – way
back, to early childhood,
school days, teenage years,
marriage and careers, or
retirement.
The life-story albums
produced by each student are
a “gift of respect” to each
senior and their families.
Pablo Calderon-Helen Misztal
Irena Lubczynski-Katie Breaks
Vicky Pazos-Lena Matysek
Magdalena Berechulka-Ruthie
Titus
For 5 consecutive weeks, a
Grade 12 student from Western
Technical-Commercial School
and a senior resident from
Copernicus met twice per
Geoff Johnston-Henryk
Piotrowski
It was an opportunity for
each student to make a
meaningful contribution, form
a wonderful relationship, and
learn about local and world
history through the eyes of
their senior partner.
What one student had to say about his
experience with one of our seniors
Dear Stefan,
This experience has meant a lot to me and is something
that I will remember and cherish forever. As you told me
the many wondrous stories of your amazing journey, I was
fascinated by the brightness of your character and the
appreciation you showed for the gift of life. You have
become a great friend and a heroic role model, with more
life lessons than I ever expected. Thank you for taking the
time to share your world with me over the past six weeks
for they have really touched me. I now know what wisdom,
bravery, perseverance, kindness and love are all about. If I
can someday be half the man you are, I will consider myself
to be quite lucky.
Lots of love from your friend,
Cristóbal Murialdo-Smith
P.S. I promise to always be a gentleman, like you advised.
At a closing celebration at the
end of the program, each
student read one of their
written stories and presented
their senior partner and family
with a life-story album, which
contains their personal
stories, photos, and sketches.
This treasured gift will last a
lifetime – one that will be
shared among family
members, friends and
caregivers.
Jessica Martel- Maria Fiutowski
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Słynąc ze swojej innowacyjnej i twórczej
działalności odnoszącej się zarówno do
mieszkańców jak rownież do ich
opiekunów, Dom Kopernika uczestniczył
w Międzypokoleniowym Programie
Spisywania Pamiętników zwanym
”Opowiadania Wiążące Pokolenia”.
Program ten jest mostem łączącym
generację starszych oraz wychowanków
kształtując znaczące poczucie wspólnoty!
Ten unikalny program który odbywał się
2 razy w tygodniu przez pięć kolejnych
tygodni, połączył licealistów z Western
Technical-Commercial School z
seniorami Domu Kopernika.
W ramach programu autorskiego 12-tej
klasy, studenci asystowali seniorom w
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przypomnieniu sobie przeszłości oraz
w spisaniu opowiadań z przeżyć ich
osobistego życia.
Program ten stworzył wspaniałą
możliwość dla studentów wniesienia
znaczącego wkładu w kształtowanie
cudownego związku pomiędzy nimi a
seniorami, jednocześnie ucząc ich
miejscowej i światowej historii z punktu
widzenia osób starszych.
Każdego tygodnia studenci zachęcali
swoich partnerów do przypomnienia
sobie przeszłości – dalekiej przeszłości
sięgającej wczesnych lat dziecięcych,
okresu szkoły, lat młodzieńczych,
małżeńskich, zawodowych oraz okresu
emerytalnego.
Na pożegnalnej uroczystości każdy
student odczytał jedno ze swoich
opowiadań i zaprezentuje swojemu
seniorowi-partnerowi oraz jego rodzinie
album zawierający opowiadania z
osobistego życia seniora, zdjęcia i
szkice. Te albumy zawierające
przeżycia, spisywane i tworzone przez
studentów, są wyrazem szacunku” dla
seniorów i ich rodzin.
Ten cenny dar, który przetrwa
pokolenia – jest czymś, co będzie
wspominane i dzielone z członkami
rodzin, przyjaciółmi i opekunami przez
długie lata.
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Once again this year, Copernicus Lodge’s Dietary Services Department
did a wonderful job hosting a traditional Wigilia - Christmas Eve Dinner
for Long Term Care residents, apartment tenants and their families in our
newly renovated main dining room. All of the 115 people in attendance
enjoyed a delicious meal with 12 traditional Polish dishes, sharing
oplatek, and singing Christmas carols. The Board thanks and recognizes
the contributions made by all staff who worked to make Wigilia such a
success for our residents.
Ponownie w tym roku, Dział Dietetyczny Domu Kopernika
wspaniale się spisał przygotowując tradycyjną Wigilię w naszej
nowo odrestaurowanej jadalni dla mieszkańców Domu Opieki
Długoterminowej, lokatorów apartamentów samodzielnych oraz
ich rodzin. 115 uczestników delektowało się kolacją złożoną z
12 tradycyjnych polskich potraw, dzieliło się opłatkiem i
śpiewało kolędy. Rada Dyrektorów składa podziękowania oraz
wyrazy uznania dla całego personelu, dzięki któremu Wigilia
okazała
się
wspaniałym
wydarzeniem
dla
naszych
mieszkańców.
Page 4 of 4
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Copernicus Lodge is pleased
to announce the appointment
of Rachel Smith as the new
Director of Programs and
Services.
Rachel has a Bachelor of
Arts in Gerontology and
certification in palliative care,
personal support, and social
services in gerontology. She
has extensive experience in
family and community care,
supportive housing and
services for seniors, adult
day/enrichment programs,
and recreation and personal
support. The Director of
Programs and Services is
responsible for the Activation
Therapy Assistants, Volunteer
Coordinator, Volunteers,
Pastoral Care Coordinator,
Pastoral Caregivers, Social
Work, Physiotherapy and
Hairdresser. She is also
responsible for Resident
Council and Family Council at
Copernicus Lodge.
The Board welcomes Rachel
Smith into the Copernicus
Lodge family and looks
forward to working with her.
Self Care Apartments: New Rates
The Ministry of Health has set the new rates for our self-care
apartments for 2009 (1.8% increases):
•
•
•
1 Bedroom - $1,047 from $1,028.
Phase I Bachelor - $866 from $851.
Phase II Bachelor - $833 from $818.
The Ministry of Health and LongTerm Care is responsible for
reviewing all long-term care
facilities in the province to ensure
that health standards and criteria
for resident care, programs and
services meet government
standards.
On 18-20 November 2008, the
Ministry conducted a surprise
intensive compliance review of
Copernicus Lodge.
The compliance review involved
detailed audits of over 1,000
standards and criteria, and
interviews with residents, family,
and staff.
We are pleased to inform you
that Copernicus Lodge passed
the annual compliance
government review with a
PERFECT SCORE. No
unmet standards or criteria
were identified.
This is an outstanding
achievement as very few such
homes receive such perfect
passing scores.
The Board wishes to
commend all staff and
volunteers for ensuring that
such high standards of quality
care and services are the
norm and not the exception at
Copernicus Lodge.
Our residents remain our
number one priority.
22000088 LLoonngg--TTeerrm
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Caarree SSaattiissffaaccttiioonn SSuurrvveeyy
Every year, we mail out Satisfaction Surveys (45 questions) to
all long-term care residents, family, and caregivers to solicit
their opinion on the quality of care and services provided by
Copernicus Lodge.
The graph below summarizes the responses on the services
provided by all departments in the Lodge in 2008.
Fair
13%
Copernicus Lodge regrets these increases but has no control
in establishing the rates.
Good
33%
Copernican Editorial Committee:
Very
good
54%
Manny Radomski, Editor;
Andrew Chomentowski; Krys Streich; Kasia Wojciak; Tracy
Kamino
E-mail address: [email protected]
THE COPERNICAN
Copernicus Lodge
66 Roncesvalles Ave.
Toronto, ON, M6R 3A7
PUBLICATIONS MAIL
AGREEMENT
No. 40039914
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