Covid in the House of Old Presents 鈥淪tories for a Revolution鈥� by Associate Professor Megan J. Davies at 91亚色 on September 14

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2023 鈥� Giving voice to the tales of devastating loss, tragedy, hopes and aspirations, (CIHO) by 91亚色 Professor and historian Megan Davies will exhibit at four new GTA locations this fall.

The travelling, national exhibit will start at 91亚色 on Thursday, Sept. 14 with a presentation, Stories for a Revolution, by Davies鈥� of her latest work, including two new chairs 鈥� Kayley鈥檚 Chair and the Rainbow Chair. It is a commemoration of the COVID-19 pandemic through CIHO, an exhibit about the impacts of the pandemic on Canadian residential care homes.

Kayley鈥檚 Chair tells the story of a young woman who lived in two Saskatchewan care homes as a teenager and young adult before moving to her own house in 2019, while the Rainbow Chair, created with the help of the Senior Pride Network, highlights the stories of queer elders in long-term care during the pandemic.

Davies, of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, created the exhibit with the help of families, staff, and residents and their stories are represented through the wooden storytelling chairs that sit at the heart of the exhibit. The chairs feature powerful audio stories of frustration, outrage, care, love, and grief that trace the fault lines that COVID-19 revealed in this country鈥檚 eldercare system.

As one of the first public commemorations of the pandemic, CIHO brings stories from a national humanitarian crisis to Canadians and asks them to take action. CIHO remembers the thousands of Canadian care home residents and workers who died of COVID-19 or suffered extended periods of stress and isolation. Some 7,609 seniors in Canadian care homes died of COVID in the first seven months of the pandemic. The chairs in this exhibit represent some of the stories told by their daughters, sons, grandchildren and more.

Visitors can share their own stories about COVID-19 in residential facilities and their thoughts about the future of eldercare at the exhibit鈥檚 Story Space. Story contributions will be uploaded to the and preserved in Montreal's Archives Passe-M茅moire, creating a permanent national collection of these thoughts, feelings, and memories.

91亚色 graduate and undergraduate students have been integral to creating and sustaining the exhibit and Story Space.

Davies, of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, will present on Sept. 14, from 3 to 4 p.m., in the 7th floor lounge of the Kaneff Tower on 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus.

Davies, exhibit curator, will be in Toronto and available for interviews.

Additional exhibit dates for COVID in the House of Old:

• Thursday, Sept. 28 to Saturday, Sept. 30: Buddies in Bad Times Cabaret, 12 Alexander St, Toronto. Exhibit hours: Sept. 28, 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Sept. 29 to 30, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 3 to Tuesday, Oct. 10: Christie Gardens Apartments & Care, 600 Melita Cres, Toronto. Exhibit hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Story Space hours: Oct. 3 to 9, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 12 to Wednesday, Oct. 18: Active Adult Centre, 377 Burnhamthorpe Rd. E., Suite 116, Mississauga

• Friday, Oct. 27 to Monday, Oct. 30: Castleview Wychwood Towers, 351 Christie St., Toronto, ON

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TORONTO, May 7, 2020 鈥� COVID-19 has hit long-term residential care facilities particularly hard. It鈥檚 a situation brought on in part by a lack of attention to a sector many people choose to ignore, but 91亚色 Professor Pat Armstrong, who led the 10-year project , says that needs to change.

Armstrong and her international team recently published the report, .

鈥淐urrently, the state of nursing homes and the number of beds available suggest we do not highly value older people or the growing number of younger people who are now in nursing homes or those who provide their care,鈥� says Armstrong of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. 鈥淎t least, we do not value them enough to ensure they have the conditions and care they need.鈥�

鈥淲hat has also become so evident in this crisis is that ensuring everyone has the care they need helps protect us all,鈥� she says.

Armstrong can talk about the following:

• Why long-term care facilities should be part of a universal health care system.
• Why private, for-profit models of care are not the route to take. Research has shown they tend to have lower staffing levels, more verified complaints, as well as higher rates for both ulcers and morbidity. They also contract work out 鈥� laundry, cleaning 鈥� and that brings more people into the home daily, presenting a risk.
• The importance of having enough beds available and the resources to support the work to provide appropriate care.
• The problems facing the nursing home labour force and the use of part-time and casual workers who work in more than one home.
• Why Canada is almost seven times as likely as some Nordic long-term care facilities to report they face violence on a daily or almost daily basis.
• What needs to be done in the short- and long-term.

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91亚色 champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317, sandramc@yorku.ca

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TORONTO, June 22, 2016 鈥� 听A team of researchers from across Canada, including 91亚色 Professors Tamara Daly and Pat Armstrong, has received $2 million for a study on quality of life among people in late life who are living in residential long-term care settings, their caregivers and supporters.

Seniors 鈥� Adding Life To Years (SALTY) is a four-year research project that will evaluate promising programs, practices and policies being used in residential long-term care facilities across Canada.

The project, involving decision makers, clinicians, care providers, including family and friends care, is being conducted in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia, led by Professor Janice Keefe at Mount Saint Vincent University and director of the .

91亚色 U Faculty of Health Professor Daly will co-lead one of the streams with Professor Ivy Bourgeault of University of Ottawa and Dr. Katie Aubrecht of Mount Saint Vincent.

鈥淥ur goal is to map promising approaches to care relationships in the context of system and organizational level policies that affect everyday care,鈥� says Daly. 鈥淲e are interested in the relationships between those providing paid and unpaid care and the ways these relationships affect care quality in late life.鈥�

Other study research stream leads include Professor Kelli Stajduhar, University of Victoria; Professor Deanne Taylor and Heather Cook at Interior Health Authority (Kelowna); Professor Carole Estabrooks, University of Alberta; and Dr. Leah MacDonald, Vancouver Island Health Authority.

鈥淭he focus on late life care in nursing homes makes this project unique and urgently needed. Nursing home care in late life is under-researched and undervalued. This project brings together the leading researchers and influencers of change in long term care in Canada,鈥� says Keefe. 鈥淥ur approach will actively engage the end users of the research, challenge current thinking and practice, and involve robust multi-method health services research.鈥�

The researchers will develop innovative strategies to understand and assess impact on quality of care and quality of life, with the aim of spreading effective approaches within and across jurisdictions. According to the researchers, the project鈥檚 outputs are critically important to support change in how decision makers and practitioners provide care and support in long-term care across the country.

This project is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions and the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

听is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world's most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide.

Media Contact:
Gloria Suhasini, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094, suhasini@yorku.ca

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