The Devil Thought He Had Me! Shares Remarkable Journey from Sinner to Servant of God
Milwaukee, WI, March 17, 2021 — At 18 years old, Wendell White lay trapped in the trunk of a car and assumed it would be his last ride. Battered from a beating during a drug deal gone-wrong, all he could think about was his 19-month-old son. White prayed. He asked God for forgiveness. He steeled himself to face the consequences of the sinful life he was living. And he wondered in angst, “How in the world did I get here?”
The Devil Thought He Had Me! is White’s raw, compelling story of resilience and survival, and a profound testimony to the power of God’s grace and mercy.
“After getting beaten and put into the trunk of a car, I knew then that I wanted to help the youth and adults all over the world to not make the same decisions that I had made,” he reflects.
The Devil Thought He Had Me! is the result of White’s genuine desire to use his own tragic story to connect with and help alter the trajectory of others who have veered off course. Whitecandidly walks readers through his early days in the poverty-stricken Englewood community on Chicago’s South Side, where his mother sold drugs to make ends meet and often left White and his siblings home alone as she worked the streets. He would later follow in his mother’s footsteps until that fateful day when a drug buyer paged him to purchase two and a half ounces of crack cocaine. And everything went wrong.
The Devil Thought He Had Me! is White’s profound journey from drug-dealing teenage father to well-grounded husband, father, friend, mentor and servant of God. It’s White’s hope that by openly sharing his experiences, he can help others facing difficult life circumstances realize that there’s a pathway out.
“This book was written to be a light in a dark world,” White says. “If I can change the way that you think, I can change the way that you live.”
Author and motivational speaker Wendell White has had to overcome obstacles most cannot even imagine. His difficult upbringing on the South Side of Chicago taught him many bad habits but also instilled in him the values of loyalty, toughness, respect and a strong work ethic.
Today, he is a powerful speaker who draws from his life experiences to address audiences. He is motivated by faith, changing lives, inspiring others and legacy. The Devil Thought He Had Me! is his first book.
Newport Beach, CA, March 17, 2021 — Traveling can open our eyes and minds to new cultures and experiences, and for licensed captain Gill Terry Causey, traveling by sailboat has also guided him toward profound personal discoveries through the self-realization and introspection that seafaring can inspire.
“It [sailing] is the most rewarding and fulfilling way to travel, and these experiences have been both transformational and even transcendental,” Causey says. “Sailing has taught me to unplug, discover and explore other awe-inspiring worlds, and I am thrilled to share my adventures with you.”
Let the Wind Carry Me: How Curiosity Can Open Doors of Perception and Learning is part autobiography, part detailed travelogue and part breathtaking pictorial of Causey’s worldwide sailing adventures. He shares vivid details (and more than 50 photos) from some of his most memorable excursions, and peppers his narrative with personal insights and reflections on the seeds planted early in his youth that inspired him to explore the world without boundaries.
Readers can experience the exact moment when he fell in love with blue water sailing and hop on board as he runs a successful charter boat in the Hawaiian Islands, explores South America and the Amazon forest, embarks on adventures in Central America, and sails the islands of French Polynesia. In all, Causey completed hundreds of interisland sails, including 12 sails to French Polynesia, 11 sails to the Line Islands, seven sails around New Zealand, three sails to Australia, five sails to Fiji, and one sail each to the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.
“Sailing has transformed my life because I have been able to travel to places that are best seen by sailboat,” Causey adds. “It is a way of life that I have always embraced.”
Let the Wind Carry Me is, at its core, Causey’s story, and one he hopes will inspire others to explore and embrace the transformational power of travel.
Author Gill Terry Causey is a lifelong ocean-cruising sailor and a patron of maritime causes and projects from Hawaii (where he lived for more than half his life) to California.
He is a licensed captain of a 50-foot sailing vessel that was built by the German navy in 1928. This vessel is iron riveted and does oceanographic work for the University of Hawaii, the University of Cambridge and the U.S. Department of the Interior. He also dedicates his time to many other projects, including the local Sea Cadets, and he continues to be a significant benefactor to Call of the Sea (https://callofthesea.org/).
He worked with the Polynesian Voyaging Society to revive their sailing culture, and funded and supported the building of the 135-foot Brigantine Matthew Turner in Sausalito, California. The ship was recently certified by the U.S. Coast Guard as a school ship, which will educate and inspire young people for generations to come.
Since family is the most important thing, he retired to take care of his mother and relocated the family home to Newport Beach, California. He will always love sailing and still takes every opportunity to be on the ocean, enjoying the wonders of its cosmic power.
Let the Wind Carry Me: How Curiosity Can Open Doors of Perception and Learning ISBN-13: 978-0960105700 (Retail $49.95)
Currently available directly from the author (limited supply). Available through traditional retail channels in June/July 2021.
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Logibec Expands into Virtual Care with Ontario-based Acquisition
QoC Health will accelerate the Healthcare IT leader's innovation strategy with patient-friendly cloud solutions
MONTREAL, March 16, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Logibec Inc. (Logibec) today announced that it has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire QoC Health, an Ontario-based company. This transaction supports Logibec's growth in Canada and consolidates its innovative position in the healthcare sector by adding virtual care solutions to its offering.
"We are convinced that this acquisition will accelerate our potential for innovation in the healthcare network through new mobile and cloud solutions," said Marc Brunet, President and CEO of Logibec. "Our success in the future depends on our ability to integrate our solutions between care teams and their patients throughout the care trajectory in a way that's meaningful," he added.
QoC Health focuses on improving access to care by connecting patients at home with their care team through mobile and web solutions. The principal QoC product is Cloud Connect, a healthcare web services platform. This platform allows healthcare organizations to rapidly deploy patient-centered solutions across many different settings, from primary care and acute care to rehabilitation and chronic care. The QoC platform supports solutions such as post-discharge monitoring, educational tools and decision aids; it takes the complexity out of developing and deploying cloud-based compliant technology solutions and accelerates next-generation connected healthcare solutions by putting them into the hands of patients across Canada. QoC Health solutions are currently used at multiple customers in Canada and in the United States.
"We are very excited to join the Logibec team as we share the same vision in virtual and connected care. More specifically, by connecting patients living in their community with their healthcare team, so that they can receive the care they need," said Sarah Harvey, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of QoC Health.
The QoC Health team of experts are immediately joining the Logibec operations team to allow customers of both companies to reap the benefits of this transaction.
About Logibec
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada for nearly 40 years, Logibec deploys information systems that span the clinical, operational, and business needs of complex healthcare organizations. Logibec's clients are also empowered to improve and innovate by utilizing our industry-leading suite of actionable analytics solutions and advisory services. Earlier in 2020, Logibec also acquired AnalysisWorks, based in British Columbia, thus consolidating its position in Performance Management and Analytics for healthcare.
Since 2010, QoC Health has been helping organizations bring their virtual care solutions to life and connect patients with their care teams. The company's platform allows users to monitor patients, communicate, provide decision aids and integrate with existing medical records, thereby enabling the health care community to improve patient outcomes, increase patient satisfaction and reduce cost of care through virtual care technology.
SOURCE Logibec
Held in the Past, Pushed to the Future: A Young Woman’s Journey
Detroit, MI, March 16, 2021— Niran, a Muslim woman coming of age in Detroit after emigrating from Iraq, walks a fine line between ancestral norms and the freedoms of a new generation as the protagonist of award-winning author Weam Namou’s new book, Pomegranate.
Inspired by her idol Enheduanna of ancient Mesopotamia, Niran navigates societal challenges, fights against cultural stereotypes and most of all aims to make her voice heard by all around her.
Enheduanna, the first known poet in world history, was a woman who lived more than 4,300 years ago. The High Priestess was a genuine historical figure, whereas Niran’s story is a mixture of real and imagined stories. They focus on Muslim women who cope with many issues as they transition from old traditions to a modern, western society. Author Namou admits that some of the tales involving the fictional Niran mirror her own.
Moving from war-torn Iraq to the U.S. was not easy for Niran, especially since it meant living as a liberal Muslim immigrant in a neighborhood of well-to-do, conservative Christians during the 2016 presidential election. As a young adult, Niran chafes under the tight rein of her headstrong mother who, enforcing tradition and obedience, stifles her children's individuality.
About the Author
Weam Namou was born in Baghdad to an ancient lineage called the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians who still speak Aramaic). She’s an award-winning author of 14 books, an international award-winning filmmaker, journalist, poet and Ambassador for the Authors Guild of America (Detroit Chapter). She hosts a half-hour weekly TV show and founded The Path of Consciousness, a spiritual and writing community. She created Unique Voices in Films, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, and Namou’s work has been published in many national and international publications. One of her best-known books, The Great American Family, won the Eric Hoffer Award, and she wrote, produced and directed an award-winning documentary based on the same book. Additionally, she has written and directed Pomegranate the movie, which you can learn more about at www.PomegranateMovie.com.
For over a decade, Namou has been giving talks, presentations and workshops at libraries, colleges and universities, and for special groups. She is currently available both nationally and internationally via virtual platforms.
Pomegranate Publisher: Hermiz Publishing, Inc. Release Date: February 14, 2021 ISBN-13: 978-1945371004 Available at Amazon.com
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The Home Stretch Poignantly Captures Midlife Moments of Reckoning
Seattle, WA, March 16, 2021 ― While no two journeys are ever exactly the same, many of us will one day retire from a career that defines us, become a caregiver to a parent and contemplate our own mortality. How we navigate these changes depends largely on our ability to make sense of life’s complicated path and to find forgiveness for others while we still have the chance.
From award-winning author Wayne M. Johnston comes The Home Stretch, a powerful coming-of-age story for grownups that poignantly captures the complex crises that often accompany middle age and the unresolved emotions that surface when our past and present selves collide.
The Home Stretch is presented through the voice of everyman Bill Smith (loosely based on Johnston himself) who, throughout his life, is confronted with extraordinary circumstances. Raised in a religious cult, Bill’s unconventional upbringing and strained relationship with his father inform his life experiences and underwrite his formidable urge, from a young age, to simply escape this life altogether.
Bill struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, and embarks upon a career navigating the rough waters of the Pacific on a tugboat. His tales of weathering gale-force winds and violent storms at sea provide metaphorical undercurrents for Bill’s fraught relationship with his father, his failed early marriage, his father’s descent into Alzheimer’s and his own battle with leukemia, which he is told will kill him.
Just when Bill has come to believe he has put the worst of it to rest, he learns something more about his father that opens everything up again, except this time, Bill’s sister is the victim.
Johnston’s thoroughly absorbing, reality-based story offers candid glimpses into life-defining moments of reckoning that many of us will have to face head-on. The Home Stretch serves as a stark reminder that the peace we hope for as we age is often shoved aside to make room for another crisis, but it is also an ultimately inspiring tale woven with themes of forgiveness and survival.
Wayne M. Johnston taught English, Creative Writing and Publications at La Conner High School for 19 years. Prior to that, he worked on tugboats for 22 years, usually as chief engineer, towing freight barges between Canadian and West Coast American ports. In 2011, he won the Soundings Review First Publication Award for his essay, “Sailing,” and has published other essays locally. For his debut novel, North Fork, he drew from years of experience reading student journals to reproduce the way kids voice serious matters to a trusted adult. North Fork was released in 2016 as a YA novel. The story is told through the voices of three 17-year-olds as journal entries for their English class. Bill Smith, the protagonist in The Home Stretch, is their English teacher, and The Home Stretch (book two in a planned trilogy) is his back story.
Johnston lives with his wife, Sally, on Fidalgo Island in Washington State where he is working on another book.
New Book Empowers, Challenges Gay Men to Own their Truths
Seattle, WA, February 16, 2021 — Acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage has increased dramatically over the past two decades, but this expanding approval from society at large does nothing to negate the internal struggles that most gay men face — particularly young gay men — in response to familial and societal expectations. Their road toward self-discovery is long and arduous, pockmarked by generational biases and homophobic messaging. An introspective tug-of-war wages each time a new milestone approaches, and with no clear path in sight, many gay men simply find themselves in a proverbial roundabout, trapped in an endless loop of no-win situations.
“If we don’t live honestly and openly, we won’t have the skills, wisdom, or relationships necessary to manifest our dreams,” says Britt East, author of A Gay Man's Guide to Life: Get Real, Stand Tall, and Take Your Place. “But when we do come out, we must confront the full force of societal homophobia, and consider a variety of questions.”
Among those uncertainties are how to create a family without mimicking the norms of a straight society; how to overcome internalized homophobia and cultivate sustainable gay friendships; and, in a world of hook-up apps and disposable relationships, how to find lasting love.
AGay Man’s Guide to Life, which ispart memoir and part inspirational guidebook, addresses these crucial topics and many others, through the lens of a gay man, for gay men everywhere.
Britt candidly and vividly shares his own traumatic, personal journey, and uses his experiences and insights to inform an approachable, no-nonsense path to help gay men set down excuses and get to the business of improving the most important facets of their lives, including body, mind, spirit, career, family and more. He offers hope and support, giving readers the sense of family that perhaps they never had. AGay Man’s Guide to Life is not comprised ofnew-age mumbo jumbo or wishy-washy self-help jargon. It is about real work focused on real results to help members of the gay community.
At its core, AGay Man’s Guide to Life is a manual for personal growth and development, with plenty of pragmatic advice to challenge and inspire gay men to uncover their true selves and live their best lives.
Britt East is an author and speaker who uses his experience, strength and hope to challenge and inspire change-oriented gay men to get down to the business of improving their lives. With over two decades of personal growth and development experience in a variety of modalities, such as the 12 Steps, Nonviolent Communication, yoga, meditation, talk therapy and the Hoffman Process, Britt is committed to building a personal practice of self-discovery that he can then share with gay men everywhere. He lives in Seattle with his husband and their crazy dog.
For more insights from the author, please visit www.britteast.com, or follow him on Instagram (@britteast); Twitter (@britteast); or Facebook (@brittdawsoneast).
A Gay Man's Guide to Life: Get Real, Stand Tall, and Take Your Place
Publisher: Houndstooth Press
ISBN-10: 1544509227
ISBN-13: 978-1544509228
Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, Apple Books and many online outlets
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Feeling Forwards: Learn How to Harness the Infinite Energy of Your Emotions
"Feeling Forwards helps you find the power within to overcome unbelievable challenges and take a quantum leap forwards." — TONY ROBBINS
New York, NY, March 16, 2021 — Everything you need to transform your life is already within you, asserts bestselling author and personal reinvention coach Elizabeth Gould. Her empowering new book, Feeling Forwards: How to Become the Person Who Has the Life You Want, can help you say farewell to negative habits, release painful beliefs and tap into your full potential by harnessing the infinite energy generated by your emotions.
“Feeling Forwards is a thinking and feeling revolution. It’s not about writing to-do lists or visualizing every step toward a goal,” Elizabeth says. “Feeling Forwards is about living life as the complete person you’ve forgotten you already are and not as the person who’s just waiting to shine.”
The first half of Feeling Forwards is a fascinating deep-dive into the science proving the true power of our emotions, enabling them to travel forward and backward in time, influence pre-programmed computer outcomes, reverse aging, impact crime rates, fast-track personal reinvention and much more. After understanding the effects that our emotions can truly have on our lives, Elizabeth offers practical applications of the strategies in Feeling Forwardsusing real-life examples of those who’ve successfully integrated the principles into their lives.
Woven throughout are Elizabeth’s candid, personal stories of embracing these principles to thrive through several life-threatening events and dramatic personal upheavals.
The result is a refreshingly relatable, actionable guide to help you create the life you genuinely want to live. Feeling Forwards teaches you how to become the person who has the life you want … today. As Elizabeth reveals, “Today is the past of your future.”
About the Author
A bestselling author and founding member of Randi Zuckerberg’s global leadership school at the Zuckerberg Institute, Elizabeth Gould experiences the joy of working with people around the world to unlock their potential. She has spent decades interviewing thousands of successful professionals to understand how they behave to achieve what they want. Her work is endorsed by world-renowned life and business strategist, Tony Robbins. Feeling Forwards is her third book.
Medicago and GSK start Phase 3 trial of adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Trial to enroll up to 30,000 volunteers worldwide
Fast Track designation granted by US FDA
Feasibility study initiated of a vaccine candidate to address emerging variants
QUEBEC CITY and LONDON, March 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Medicago, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Quebec City and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), are pleased to announce the start of Phase 3 clinical testing of Medicago's plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate in combination with GSK's pandemic adjuvant, as part of the ongoing Phase 2/3 study. Medicago received approval from Canadian and US regulatory authorities to proceed with enrollment of healthy adults in the Phase 3 portion of the trial based on positive interim Phase 2 results. In parallel, Medicago has also initiated a feasibility study of a vaccine candidate to address the emerging COVID-19 variants.
"We are pleased to take the significant step of initiating the Phase 3 clinical trial at sites around the world," said Takashi Nagao, CEO and President of Medicago. "This brings us one step closer to delivering an important new COVID-19 vaccine and contributing to the global fight against the pandemic along with our partner GSK."
Thomas Breuer, Chief Medical Officer, GSK Vaccines said, "This advance to late stage clinical testing further reinforces our confidence in the adjuvanted vaccine candidate's potential to make a difference in the continued fight against COVID-19. We look forward to sharing results later this year."
Medicago's plant-derived vaccine candidate against COVID-19 uses Coronavirus-Like-Particle (CoVLP) technology with the vaccine composed of recombinant spike (S) glycoprotein expressed as virus-like-particles (VLPs) co-administered with GSK's pandemic adjuvant. Two doses of 3.75 micrograms of CoVLP are administered 21 days apart.
The vaccine candidate, in combination with the pandemic adjuvant, was granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 17, 2021. Fast Track designation allows the FDA to expedite the development and review of new medicines and vaccines intended to treat or prevent serious conditions and address an unmet medical need.
"The FDA's decision to grant Fast Track designation for Medicago's vaccine candidate will help us expedite our efforts to bring the first plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine to market, subject to regulatory approval," said Carolyn Finkle, Chief Operating Officer of Medicago. "We are grateful to the FDA and look forward to continuing to work with them as we move forward in our clinical trials, planned application for Emergency Use Authorization, and eventual vaccine licensure application process."
The Phase 3 portion of the study is an event-driven, randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled, two-way cross-over design that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the adjuvanted CoVLP formulation, compared to placebo. The study will enroll up to 30,000 subjects initially composed of healthy adults (18y to 65y), followed by elderly adults (65y+) and adults with comorbidities. The trial will take place in 10 countries pending regulatory approvals, starting with Canada and the United States, and will enroll males and females from ethnically and racially diverse populations.
The Phase 2 portion of the trial is approaching completion and results are expected to be made publicly available in April 2021.
About Medicago
Medicago is on a mission to improve global public health using the power of plants. Founded in 1999 with the belief that innovative approaches and rigorous research would bring new solutions in healthcare, Medicago is a pioneer in plant-derived therapeutics. We are proudly rooted in Quebec, with manufacturing capacity in both Canada and the US. Our passionate and curious team of over 450 scientific experts and employees are dedicated to using our technology to provide rapid responses to emerging global health challenges, and to advancing therapeutics against life-threatening diseases worldwide.
GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com/about-us.
GSK is collaborating with companies and research groups across the world working on promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates through the use of our innovative vaccine adjuvant technology. The use of an adjuvant is of particular importance in a pandemic situation since it may reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, allowing more vaccine doses to be produced and therefore contributing to protecting more people. GSK does not expect to profit from COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic phase and will invest any short-term profit in coronavirus related research and long-term pandemic preparedness, either through GSK internal investments or with external partners.
SOURCE Medicago
Amgen announces Artificial Intelligence (AI) Partnership with Mila
MONTREAL, March 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Amgen announced today that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute. One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Amgen uses cutting-edge science and technology to discover and develop innovative therapeutics, and AI is currently deployed in several of its R&D and manufacturing activities. This new partnership will permit Amgen to expand its knowledge of AI and deep learning by interacting and engaging with experts in Mila's unique ecosystem, both virtually and (eventually) on the Mila campus in Montreal. This announcement was made during Effervescence 2021, an international virtual gathering of scientists, entrepreneurs and industry professionals from the life sciences and health technology sectors in the presence of the Quebec Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
"We are very happy to have signed this partnership with Mila," said Philip Tagari, Amgen's Vice President of Research, Therapeutic Discovery. "AI is a powerful and innovative tool, and is affecting every step of drug discovery, from better understanding the biological mechanisms of disease and designing molecules to predicting clinical responses and safety profiles. Mila is recognized as being at the global forefront in deep learning and we are excited by the opportunity of combining Mila's world-renowned expertise with Amgen's use of AI in drug development, as well as the possibility of engaging with a uniquely talented group of young AI professionals," he added.
"In Mila we see a strong example of Quebec's leadership in AI and in healthcare innovation," stated Brian Heath, Vice President and General Manager of Amgen Canada. "We are eager to explore the synergies between Mila's expertise and Amgen's mission to serve patients as we continue to develop the next generation of innovative medicines."
"More and more of Mila's world-class AI experts have research interests at the intersection of AI and life sciences, recognizing the incredible potential of AI-driven solutions for healthcare and pharmaceutical R&D activities," explained Stéphane Létourneau, Executive Vice President at Mila. "Meaningful collaborations, such as this newly established partnership between Amgen and Mila, are essential in order to maximize the full potential of AI for health innovation. We are excited to welcome Amgen within our scientific community and to consolidate our efforts towards advancing and accelerating drug discovery and development."
About Amgen Canada As a leader in innovation, Amgen Canada understands the value of science. With main operations located in Mississauga, Ontario's vibrant biomedical cluster, and its research facility in Burnaby, B.C., Amgen Canada has been an important contributor to advancements in science and innovation in Canada since 1991. The company contributes to the development of new therapies and new uses for existing medicines in partnership with many of Canada's leading healthcare, academic, research, government and patient organizations. To learn more about Amgen Canada, visit www.amgen.ca.
About Mila
Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the Université de Montréal, Mila is a research institute in artificial intelligence which rallies over 700 researchers specializing in the field of deep learning. Based in Montreal, Mila's mission is to be a global pole for scientific advances that inspires innovation and the development of AI for the benefit of all. Mila is a non-profit organization recognized globally for its significant contributions to the field of deep learning, particularly in the areas of language modelling, machine translation, object recognition and generative models. For more information, visit Mila.quebec.
SOURCE Amgen Canada
Canadian seniors re-evaluating aging priorities in light of pandemic
New research from Home Instead shows seniors more committed to aging at home, more apprehensive about long-term care
TORONTO, March 16, 2021 /CNW/ - As we reach the one year mark of COVID-19 lockdowns, and as vaccine rollout ramps up, many are considering how life will be different post-pandemic. New research from Home Instead, Inc.1 confirms that Canadian seniors – the demographic hardest-hit by the pandemic – are re-evaluating what's important as they age.
Approximately two-thirds (69 per cent) of Canadian seniors surveyed say the pandemic has made them more committed to staying in their homes as they get older, and 68 per cent say the pandemic has made them apprehensive about living in a long-term care home. The Coronavirus' impact on the desire to age at home is even more prevalent in Canada than among U.S. seniors (69 per cent in Canada vs. 57 per cent in the U.S.), as are pandemic-induced concerns about long-term care homes (68 per cent in Canada vs. 56 per cent in the U.S.).
"The pandemic has been absolutely devastating for our senior populations, but if there's a silver lining, it's that we've been given an opportunity to reimagine how we care for seniors in the future," said Dr. Lakelyn Hogan, PhD, gerentologist and caregiver advocate for Home Instead. "As we rebuild, it's clear we need to work harder to provide safe, viable opportunities for seniors to age how they wish to age – where ever they call home."
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1 Home Instead, Inc., franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care network, fielded an online survey of 1,000 Canadian seniors aged 65 and older, including 495 ages 75 and older. The survey was fielded between February 9 and 16, 2021.
According to Home Instead's research, the pandemic hasn't just changed how seniors plan to age, it's changed how they connect to the world around them. More than half (52 per cent) of Canadian seniors are more comfortable using technology since the start of the pandemic, and 35 per cent are more comfortable using technology to help with their care at home moving forward. This comfort with technology is critical for ensuring families and care providers can design care plans that enable a senior to age safely in the place they call home.
Technology is also critical to help ensure seniors stay connected to their loved ones. Just under half (46 per cent) of Canadian seniors are using video calling more or for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and of those using communications technology more frequently, 40 per cent are reporting deeper connections with their loved ones and 72 per cent of seniors say they'll continue to use technology to communicate after the pandemic is over.
"Isolation and loneliness are serious threats to seniors' mental and physical wellbeing, and will be long after the pandemic has ended." said Hogan. "Connecting with your senior loved ones regularly – whether virtually or in person – and spotting signs of loneliness early can increase the likelihood that a senior can continue to age safely at home longer."
Despite the challenges of the last year, the majority of Canadian seniors remain hopeful for the next 12 months (62 per cent).
For more information about how to keep your senior loved one safe at home during the pandemic and beyond, and to download a home safety checklist, visit homeinstead.ca.
ABOUT HOME INSTEAD The Home Instead® franchise network provides personalized care, support and education to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, the network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for seniors, with more than 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 80 million hours of care annually throughout Canada, United States and 13 other countries. Local Home Instead offices employ approximately 90,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services that enable seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. Home Instead franchise owners partner with clients and their family members to help meet varied individual needs. Services span the care continuum – from providing personal care to specialized Alzheimer's care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. Visit HomeInstead.ca. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
SOURCE Home Instead
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