Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care

History

The Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, formerly the Chinese Community Nursing Home for Greater Toronto, came about when Dr. Joseph Wong witnessed the lack of emotional support and difficulty in communicating for Chinese seniors within mainstream medical facilities. In 1987, Dr. Wong, spearheading the cause, gathered a group of thirty Chinese Canadian friends.

The Yee Hong Centre was officially opened in October 1994. The Centre applied to the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation, and was awarded a three-year accreditation in June 1996, its 20th month of operation.

In November 1996, just two years after the Centre's Grand Opening, an ambitious $8 million Expansion Campaign was launched to add two floors with 65 more beds to the existing Nursing Home and extra Day Care Program space. The expansion was completed and the first resident, who had been on the waiting list since 1994, was admitted on June 14, 1999.

In December 1999 the Council awarded another three-year accreditation to the just expanded facility. It praised Yee Hong for providing "stellar care" to elderly members of the Chinese population in Scarborough. It found Yee Hong to be so perfect that "No recommendations have been made herein."

Located on a 4.2-acre (17,000 m²) site in the heart of Scarborough's Chinese community, the first Centre at Scarborough McNicoll has a nursing home with a specialized Alzheimer's unit and long-term care facility that was honoured thrice as Grand Prize winner of the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) Occupational Health and Safety Week Competition since 1997. It also marked the third consecutive time Yee Hong has been accredited by the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation in 2003. With 155 beds at present in Scarborough McNicoll, the K.C. Poon Nursing Home is also connected to a Medical Centre and a Rehabilitation Centre. All of the Centre's staff are fluently bilingual in both English and Chinese and are familiar with the traditions of the Chinese culture.

The Centre includes a Seniors Community Centre which offers a number of social and daycare activities as well as community outreach, drop-in programs and meals-on-wheels. The Macrobian Club, Yee Hong's seniors social club which operates within the Seniors Community Centre, received the Certificate of Recognition from the Board of Health of the City of Scarborough. One of the Centre's other impressive accomplishments is the non-profit housing complex - the Aw Chan Kam Chee Evergreen Manor - featuring 130 apartments and 26 family townhouses. It was awarded the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association's Award for Excellence in 1997. In high demand, there is a waiting list of approximately couple of thousands who would like acceptance. Many of the residents have also become dedicated volunteers with the Centre as a way of giving back to the community.

With the Expansion Campaign successfully accomplished, Yee Hong has spread its renowned brand of high quality care to communities in other regions and to other seniors. In 1998 and 2001, the Ministry of Health awarded Yee Hong Centre a total of 715 bed licences, the largest such allocation to a non-profit organization in the history of Ontario.

The Yee Hong Centre Capital Campaign was embarked upon in April 1999 to build three new Yee Hong Centres with 200 beds each in Markham and Mississauga and 250 in the new Scarborough Finch centre. Yee Hong will extend its services to non-Chinese seniors, particularly those of the South Asian, Filipino and Japanese communities. While all three centres will contain an Alzheimer unit, each has its unique features. A child care centre will exist side by side with the senior day care centre in the Markham and Mississauga sites with their location in relatively young communities. The Scarborough Finch Centre will accommodate a 5-bed dialysis unit, the first one of its kind to be based in a nursing home. A separate 10-bed Hospice Care Center unit within the complex is being planned.

Locations

Scarborough McNicoll (Opened October 1994)

2311 McNicoll Avenue Scarborough, Ontario 155 beds

Markham (Opened 2002)

2780 Bur Oak Avenue Markham, Ontario 200 beds

Mississauga (Opened October 2003)

5510 Mavis Road Mississauga, Ontario 200 beds

Scarborough Finch (Opened 2004)

60 Scottfield Drive Scarborough, Ontario 250 beds