Summer 2012 Newsletter - Roger's House

A Message From Our Board Chair—Erin Crowe
Summer is currently in full swing but as this newsletter reaches each of you we will be wondering where the
time has gone once again. Fortunately, by the time the nights start cooling off and the days become shorter
we will still have many fond memories of this past spring and summer to help us through to next summer!
We kicked off the summer months on May 10 th with a successful celebration for all of the hard work done
by our staff and volunteers. As part of the Queen’s 60-year reign, Jubilee awards were created in her honour.
A number of our staff and volunteers were awarded with this incredible tribute and for that I congratulate
each of the recipients.
Then, on June 17 th , we held the annual Walk, Roll & Run for Roger’s House. This was once again a terrific
event thanks to the support of everyone involved. We were able to raise $160,000 in support of Roger’s
House. This event has once again shown the level of commitment to Roger’s House from the community.
I would like to extend my appreciation to Ian Hendry and Chad Schella who are leaving the Board this year. They have both been involved
with Roger’s House since we opened. In fact, Chad was involved even prior to that in his role with the initial fundraising and
construction of the house. Both Ian and Chad have committed countless hours and much sage advice over the past six years in guiding
the organization. They will be missed.
Finally, as this is my final newsletter as Board Chair, I would like to thank every member of the Roger’s House family for continuing to
support Roger’s House in striving to be the best paediatric palliative care facility that we can be! This would not be possible without the
help of staff, volunteers, the Sens Foundation, and supporters like you!
A Night in the Cellar
Honourary chairs Chris and Caitlin Neil hosted An Evening in Roger’s Cellar, a fundraiser
with a goal of raising additional funds to finish the Roger’s House basement. Held on
Tuesday, June 12 th , close to 100 guests visited the basement and tried various wines
provided by special guest sommeliers like Cyril Leeder and Dr. Don Chow while also enjoying
food pairings from Thyme & Again. While circulating to the various wine and
food stations, the guests, which included current and potential Roger’s House donors,
media personalities, Ottawa Senators and Roger’s House and Sens Foundation board
members, also learned about the plans to finish the basement with a recreation room,
staff and volunteer training room and proper workshop and storage areas. The evening
raised an additional $27,000 towards the $300,000 project. Total funding for the project
now stands at approximately $175,000.

A Message From the Executive Director—Lloyd Cowin
I would first like to thank Erin Crowe our outgoing Board Chair. Erin has been on the board since our inception and has been Chair of
our Finance Committee, Vice Chair of the Board and has just completed her term as Chair. Thankfully, we
will retain Erin’s leadership and influence as she will remain on the Board as Past Chair this coming year.
It is my pleasure to welcome Susan Richardson as our new Board Chair. Susan has been on the Board for
five years and has been Chair of our Quality Committee and Vice Chair of the Board, so she is very familiar
with the needs and goals of Roger’s House.
The major change and investment made this past year was in our IT infrastructure and support. We have
contracted Grade A Techs as our IT service provider. We have also replaced our server and now host our
own email, which gives staff better access to email remotely. We also purchased new computers and laptops
this past year. All of these changes combined to improve work flow, communication and reduce risk.
We successfully met the requirements for renewing our Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) Level 2
accreditation requirements. This demonstrates the commitment of the staff, physicians, volunteers and
Board to providing excellent and safe care to our children and families.
Finally, I would like to congratulate the Sens Foundation who received the Philanthropy Leadership Award from Hospice Palliative Care
Ontario at HPCO’s annual conference in April! This award recognizes the Sens Foundation’s ongoing commitment to hospice and palliative
care. As the charity of choice for the Sens Foundation, Roger’s House is very proud and appreciative of the Sens Foundation’s
award and ongoing commitment to hospice palliative care.
We Can Never Say ‘Thank You’ Enough to Our Volunteers!
In honour of National Volunteer Week we highlighted a special volunteer engagement role, the Memory Box Artist. Roger’s House
hosted a Painting Day on Thursday, April 19 th with more than 25 volunteer artists assembling in the basement. The day began with welcoming
words from Carol Chevalier, social worker at RH, who expressed
our gratitude to the volunteers for the tremendous gift they donate by
painting these special boxes. The artists toured the house and then set to
work! The painting workshop was facilitated by Mrs. Bonnie Lucas and assisted
by Hazel Brayman, two dedicated RH volunteers; both ladies assisted
and advised the painters on colour and design choices.
Roger’s House Volunteers were invited to visit and meet the artists as they
created the memory boxes over the course of the day.
A big thank you goes out to all the artists who supported the Roger’s House
mission by assisting with an important element of bereavement services.
The annual staff and volunteer BBQ was held June 20 th ; it was one hot and
memorable evening! Many people contributed to the success of the event. Thank you to all for your generous help.
As part of the festivities, we honoured the dedicated volunteers who have contributed more than 500 hours of service. Donna Babcock,
Cathy Auchinleck, Ann Buchanan, Rachel Derks, Bill Gordon, Mac Hiltz, Marjorie Myles, and Judy Young were the volunteers honoured
Walk, Roll, and Run: A Huge Success for Roger’s House!
Roger’s House families were out in force on Sunday, June 17 th in
support of the annual Scotiabank Walk, Roll & Run for Roger’s
House. More than 800 people supported Roger’s House by registering
and collecting donations from family and friends. As usual,
some of the top fundraisers are intimately connected with the
House including Scotiabanker Julie Frey, past board member Chad
Schella, and top team Connor McHardy’s Mates lead by Mindy and
Geoff McHardy. The event raised $160,000 for the Sens Foundation
which now contributes 25% of Roger’s House annual operating
budget, provides funding for capital, Quebec family usage,
and invests in two endowments for Roger’s House.

We are in the Presence of Royalty!
On May 10, 2012, some members of the Roger’s House family were honoured with a Diamond Jubilee Medal in celebration of Queen
Elizabeth II’s 60-year reign. These medals are not only to honour the Queen but also to celebrate significant contributions by Canadians.
It was an exciting day that included Max Keeping and Leanne Cusack hosting the event as well as Retired Senator, Sharon Carstairs, and
our Board Chair, Erin Crowe, presenting the medals. We capped off the day with a traditional high tea.
We are proud to celebrate the work done by the members of our family to improve the lives of yours! Congratulations to our recipients!
Builders Physicians Volunteers Staff
Eugene Melnyk
Dave Ready
Chad Schella
Julie Tubman
Louise Coulombe
Bill Splinter
Christina
Vadeboncoeur
Beatriz Alvarez
Cathy Auchinleck
John Buchanan
Mary Grainger
Diane Grisé
Deirdre Adams
Lise Beauchemin
Sarah Bolton
Susan Casey
Nancy Graham
Lynn Grandmaison
Dumond
Mauri-Anne Guitard
Shannon Lussier
Jan Mingie
Erin Monument
Invitation to Participate on the Joint Advisory Group
The Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre, the Ottawa Rotary Home and Roger’s House are jointly seeking individuals who are interested
in becoming a part of an advisory group to help ensure a continuing level of high quality, family-centered care among each of these organizations.
The Joint Advisory Group will be responsible for providing suggestions to better coordinate planning, communication and
education amongst the three organizations
The Joint Advisory Group will meet three to four times a year to advise on what would be in the best interest of the families that use
these services. In order to be a member of the group we ask that interested individuals are either a current or past client of at least one
of the service providers involved in the joint effort.
Should you have any questions or comments or would like to be involved in the effort to provide the highest level of family-centered
care, please contact one of us.
We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your continued interest in our organizations.
Nora Ullyot Sharon Lefroy Sarah Picard
Roger’s House OCTC Rotary Home
613-523-6300 ext. 607 613-688-2126 613-236-3200
Carinne Moreau
Marion Rattray
Monica Sevigny
Nora Ullyot
Joann Zimmerling

New Canadians in our Midst
We would like to congratulate Nushaiba Nusha Tabassum and her family
on becoming Canadian Citizens on June 7 th , 2012. Nushaiba, her parents
Nargis and Aung, and her sister Arika came to Canada from Bangladesh in
August 2007. Roger’s House staff, volunteers, and guests celebrated this
occasion by raising Canada’s flag and singing the national anthem along
with Nusha and her family.
Research at Roger’s House
The Roger’s House Research Team will be embarking on a new research
project that will evaluate Family-Centered Care delivery at the Hospice.
Family-Centered Care is recognized as an optimal philosophy in pediatric
health care settings and guides our practice in pediatric health and pediatric
palliative care. The study entitled Family-Centered Care in a Pediatric
Palliative Care Hospice: Exploring Perceptions and Practices received approval
from the CHEO Research Ethics Board in June, 2012 and will begin
recruiting participants in the Fall of 2012. Based on eligibility criteria, clinical
staff, volunteers, board members and families of guest’s at Roger’s
House may be approached to participate. Lynn Grandmaison Dumond, RN
(EC) is the Principle investigator for the project.
Family Satisfaction Survey
Pam Martin, a Roger’s House volunteer, will be calling Roger’s House families
to conduct a Family Satisfaction Survey. The survey will take approximately
20 minutes to complete. The purpose of
this survey is to better understand what you value
most in your experience here at Roger’s
House so we may better cater to you and your
family’s needs. We value your feedback and
greatly appreciate your continued support and
commitment to Roger’s House.
Personal privacy is of the utmost importance to
Roger’s House and, as such, all responses will be kept anonymous and
confidential.
THANK YOU TO OUR FOUNDING SPONSORS!
Welcome Katt!
It is with extreme pleasure that we announce the hiring of
Katt Brooks to the Roger’s House team on a full-time basis.
Katt started with Roger’s House as a student from the University
of Waterloo
Therapeutic Recreation
program and has since
won over the children,
families, volunteers,
and staff alike with her
enthusiasm, creativity,
and dedication.
Katt has been hired on
a one-year, full-time
contract replacing the
recreation students we
usually hire every 4
months. It is our hope
that this will increase
the consistency of programming
for the children.
Katt will continue to be responsible for planning and implementing
activities for all guests staying at Roger’s House.
Should you have any questions regarding the activities in
which your child participates during their stay, do not hesitate
to ask Katt at your earliest convenience.
Please join us in welcoming Katt to the team!
Volunteer Information Session
Thursday November 22, 6:30-8:30 pm at Roger’s House.
Registration required: volunteers@rogershouse.ca
IN MEMORY…
We honour the following
children who have recently passed away:
Stephanie Blier Annabelle Brooks
Mubrk Ibraham Hannah Morkis
Mathoni Sanson Andraya Smith