Making our funds work to help

York Central Hospital uses a team approach to delivering health care.

During your stay, depending on your needs, you may be seen by a variety of medical and associated health professionals – medical and surgical specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, dietitians, respiratory therapists, technicians and technologists, social workers, and more. Our volunteers also enhance our services and support excellence in patient care.

Team Members
Each member of our team is committed to putting your needs fi rst, and collaborating with each other in order to provide expert and compassionate care. Here’s a look at some of their roles. We encourage you and/or your family to ask them any questions about your care throughout your stay.

* Attending Physician – The attending physician is fully informed of your health needs, and is in charge of your complete medical care while you are in the hospital. As needed, this physician orders medication, tests or treatments; works with the rest of the team to give you the best possible medical care; and refers you to specialists within the York Central Hospital.
* Nursing Staff – They ensure ongoing assessments of your condition; administer and monitor treatments and medications; discuss, co-ordinate and provide teaching and education related to your health and care needs. As well as bring any questions or concerns forward to your physician or other health care professionals.
* Nursing Manager – The nursing manager is responsible for overall care and staffing on the patient care unit.
* Social Workers – Social workers can help you and your family to cope with the impact of illness, injury and hospitalization. These health care professionals provide counseling; facilitate discharge planning; and can help you link with a wide range of community resources and supports to ensure continuity of care.
* Registered Dietitians: Registered Dietitians provide you with nutritional care and education, including assessing your nutritional requirements and monitoring nutrition care plans.
* Physiotherapy – Physiotherapists assist you in improving and maintaining your physical abilities. This includes assessments, setting goals, and the services to help you in your recovery.
* Occupational Therapy – Occupational therapists are sometimes called in if your independence has been challenged by a disease, accident, disability, or other condition. Through assessments, treatment, and education, these professionals help you to learn or re-learn how to carry out daily living activities.
* Pharmacists – Pharmacists provide pharmaceutical care and medication management services. They review, dispense and monitor all medications ordered for you in hospital including home medications to ensure you receive the best possible results from your regimen. Pharmacists also counsel you about your medications during your hospital stay and when you are discharged.
* Speech-Language Pathologists – Speech-Language Pathologists assess your speech, language and swallowing abilities. They provide education and develop treatment and management plans to help facilitate your recovery.
* Other Staff – During your hospital stay, you may encounter several other staff (from the lab, medical imaging, nuclear medicine, etc.) who contribute to your diagnosis or treatment. Please don’t hesitate to ask any of these staff, or your doctor, questions about your treatment or tests.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, which causes thinking and memory to become seriously impaired. It is the most common form of dementia. (Dementia is a syndrome consisting of a number of symptoms that include loss of memory, judgment and reasoning, and changes in mood, behaviour and communication abilities. Related diseases include: Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Lewy body Dementia.)

The disease was first identified by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906. He described the two hallmarks of the disease: “plaques” – numerous tiny dense deposits scattered throughout the brain which become toxic to brain cells at excessive levels and “tangles” which interfere with vital processes eventually “choking” off the living cells. As well, when brain cells degenerate and die, the brain markedly shrinks in some regions.

Image of tangles and plaques

The image below shows, a person with Alzheimer’s disease has less brain tissue (right) than a person who does not have the disease (left). This shrinkage will continue over time, affecting how the brain functions.

Our Vision

To restore the gift of sight to people living with genetic forms of blindness.
Our Mission

To find the causes, treatments and ultimately the cures for retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and related retinal diseases by supporting research and public awareness.
Three Decades of Funding Groundbreaking Vision Research…

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is a Canadian health charity that was founded in 1974 by a small group of families intent on finding a cure for the disease robbing their children of sight. At that time retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and other retinal dystrophies were thought to be incurable. Undaunted, these families enlisted the support of Canada’s leading medical scientists and set to work collecting money for vision research. From these humble beginnings, The Foundation Fighting Blindness has grown to become Canada’s leading private supporter of retina research, having given more than $16 million to groundbreaking eye research taking place at universities and hospitals across the country. To view our Investment in a Miracle click here.
Pushing the Frontiers of Medical Science to Find Cures…

Over the last 30 years, The Foundation Fighting Blindness has funded dozens of research discoveries to identify the causes of genetic forms of blindness. Today, these discoveries have helped bring scientists to this very exciting time in vision research. Today marks the first time that a treatment exists to prevent vision loss and restore some vision for those with an eye disease called ‘wet’ age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – and the first time human trials exist to reverse blindness in certain patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). To read more about the latest discovery, please click here.
Building a Supportive Community to Fight Blindness…

The FFB is not just an organization, we are a community. Diverse and thriving, we represent hundreds of volunteers, thousands of individuals and families affected by retinal eye diseases, thousands of motorcyclists who fight blindness on our behalf and scores of Canadian scientists seeking cures for blindness.

A cure is in sight. It is just a matter of time.