September 8, 2016
At a celebration today, residents, staff, volunteers and family members of Fudger House were joined by Mayor John Tory and Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell (Ward 28 Toronto Centre-Rosedale) to celebrate the long-term care home's 50th anniversary. A scroll to commemorate the occasion was presented to Administrator Lorraine Siu by the Mayor. Guests and residents shared stories of Fudger House and viewed archival photos and newspaper clippings which recount the rich history of the home.
"For fifty years, Fudger House has been a healthy, safe and inclusive home for seniors in Toronto. Fudger House has been a leader in inclusivity, especially when it comes to creating a positive space for our LGBTQ seniors," said Mayor John Tory. "I’m proud that our city offers long-term care homes to support our residents at the time in their life when they need it most. Thank you to the staff and volunteers over the last fifty years who have helped create a warm and caring home."
"As the City's demographics have evolved, so have the programs and services that our long-term care homes offer," said Deputy Mayor McConnell. "Our homes promote an inclusive, affirmative and fully accessible environment. Fudger House is no exception ? we strive to encourage residents to be themselves, take pride in who they are, and enjoy life in an open, dignified, respectful place."
Fudger House is named after Harris Henry Fudger, a co-owner and president of Simpson's department store, who acquired the original house (known as "Senator Cox's House") in 1916 to create a boarding house for young women establishing their careers in Toronto. The residence was named the Sherbourne House Club. It was renamed Fudger House in 1951 and continued as a young women's residence for another decade. In 1963 the home was sold to the former Metropolitan Toronto for use as a seniors' residence. The original structure was replaced with the current Fudger House in 1966.
Today, Fudger House is home to 250 residents who benefit from the full-range of services including nursing, medicine, food and nutrition, administration, building services, laundry, social work, recreation, rehabilitation, spiritual and religious care, complementary care and music and art therapies, delivered with compassion and professionalism by 300 full- and part-time staff, supported by 160 volunteers. This group of dedicated volunteers contribute almost 8,000 hours of service to Fudger House residents annually.
“I'm so proud of the warm and welcoming environment that Fudger House provides each and every day,” said Councillor Pasternak (Ward 10 York Centre), Chair of the City's Community Development and Recreation Committee. “The care that is provided to the residents is evident in the pride they showed at the anniversary event. Many thanks to our dutiful staff and volunteers for their time and efforts.”
Fudger House residents, staff and volunteers were instrumental in the creation of the LGBTQ Toolkit and Positive Space training which was developed and subsequently rolled out to all Long-Term Care Homes & Services staff at 10 homes, in the community and at the corporate office.
In 2013, Fudger House was selected as the recipient of a 2013 Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OANHSS) Award for its Quality of Life program. Working with a focus group of residents, Fudger House staff created a video documenting a positive roadmap for settling new residents into a home, helping them adjust and learn what staff can offer them. This video was shared with all 10 of the City's long-term care homes and is still integrated as part of staff training today.
Long-Term Care Homes & Services is a leader in excellence and ground-breaking services for healthy aging with a Commitment to CARE (Compassion-Accountability-Respect-Excellence). More information is available at:
http://www.toronto.ca/ltc
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit
http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
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Media contact: Jennifer Wing, Strategic Communications, 416-392-5349, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
