CHEO nurses and staff receive generous gift in return for help early in pandemic
Nurses and other staff at CHEO received a $25,000 gift from Sienna Senior Living as a thank you for the work they did during the early days of the pandemic.
There were very dark days at the beginning of the pandemic for the Madonna Care Community in Orléans, and so many other homes across the province and country.
“Lots of people not really knowing what’s going to take place and we, unfortunately had the beginnings of a large outbreak,” Jennifer Powley, Sienna Senior Living V.P. of Regional Operations tells CTV News Ottawa.
It was a time of crisis, as COVID outbreaks were taking the lives of residents and staff at many seniors’ residences and long-term care homes.
“One of the biggest things we needed was staffing; we needed support, we needed people to come in and help care for our seniors,” said Powley.
Sienna Senior Living put out a call for help at Madonna Care Community and the nurses and other staff at CHEO answered.
“A lot of their own staff were sick, and a lot of their residents were ill, so they needed help,” says Helen Yoxon, a CHEO nurse who spearheaded redeployment efforts.
“CHEO was not in need as much as they are now and we jumped at the opportunity to offer our assistance,” she says.
It was a pivot from taking care of the youngest patients to the oldest.
“We wanted to help our community. You jump in with two feet, as a nurse. That’s one of the reasons I went into nursing. So when we saw these people were in need, we went for it,” she says.
Now, at a time when CHEO is struggling with an overflowing ICU, as respiratory illnesses like RSV, the flu and, COVID-19 are hitting kids hard, Sienna Senior Living is returning a favour, and saying thanks.
Tuesday morning, Sienna Senior Living donated a $25,000. The money will be used to create a ‘Care Cart’ to provide snacks and other comfort items to those working tirelessly at CHEO, says Steve Read, CHEO Foundation President & CEO.
“Maybe, more importantly, it’s a reminder to them that while they’re working so hard in extraordinarily challenging circumstances internally here, the community is behind them,” he says.
“During times of crisis, you really know who your friends are and CHEO went above and beyond during the COVID crisis at some of our homes, and came to support us in a very meaningful way and now, this is our time return the favour,” Nitin Jain, Sienna’s President and CEO tells CTV News Ottawa.
It is a gesture and gift that will hopefully have an impact on those taking care of the youngest patients in need.
“I think it’s really beautiful,” says Yoxon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Canada deploys military assessment team to Turkiye after earthquake
A senior government official says a Canadian military assessment team is on its way to Turkiye in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands.

'It was a nightmare': 2 children dead, driver charged after city bus crashes into Laval daycare
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
'There are no words': Laval daycare bus crash prompts outpouring of condolences on Parliament Hill
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
opinion | Before you do your taxes, take note of these tax credits and deductions you may not have known about
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
5 key takeaways from the BoC's first summary of interest rate deliberations
In a first for the Bank of Canada, it has released a summary of deliberations by its governing council regarding its policy decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent in January. Here are five key takeaways from those discussions.
Netflix Canada begins password sharing crackdown
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
Health-care workers have new hand-washing guidelines. Here's how you can apply them
The way respiratory viruses have circulated this fall and winter, most Canadians could probably benefit from a hand-hygiene refresher. Here are the latest hand-washing best practices to apply in your daily life.
Labour shortages could push up wages, 'reignite inflation' in long run, report warns
Protracted labour shortages in Canada could fuel more rapid wage growth and inflation over time, potentially prompting the need for higher interest rates long-term, a new RBC Economics report released Wednesday said.
Bank of Canada releases details on interest rate decision for the first time
The Bank of Canada released a summary of its Governing Council meetings on Wednesday, providing the public and financial institutions with more insight into the central bank’s decision to raise its key interest rate on Jan. 25.