The Upside (June 2024)
Let's focus on good things happening in and around Waterloo Region
School’s out and summer is in! That seems like the perfect time to share some local good news.
After a years-long hiatus in new patient intake due to resource constraints, the Refugee Health Centre in Kitchener is preparing to accept new patients with funding from Ontario Health. “At the core of this initiative lies an integrated care team model, which the Refugee Health Centre has been piloting for the past 1.5 years. This model offers wrap-around services, addressing both physical and mental health traumas, and ensures a smooth transition of patients to community-based medical teams, alleviating pressure on hospital resources.”
University of Waterloo researchers have invented a new hydrogel that can be used to heal damaged heart tissue and improve cancer treatments.
Researchers designed “the synthetic material using cellulose nanocrystals, which are derived from wood pulp. The material is engineered to replicate the fibrous nanostructures and properties of human tissues, thereby recreating its unique biomechanical properties.” This research aims to use injected filamentous hydrogel material to regrow heart tissue damaged after a heart attack.
Woodland Cultural Centre is a recipient of a $150,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. This grant will replace the insufficient HVAC to safely control the climate in the Museum and preserve the collection of sacred Indigenous artifacts. “By installing an upgraded HVAC unit with the correct climate monitoring controls, we can continue to offer our community the opportunity to view and learn from artifacts in a space that is safe and accessible.”
Cambridge’s Idea Exchange recently received national recognition for its summer reading programs. On May 3, the Cambridge library was presented with two awards for its work in creating accessible and accommodating programs (the TD Summer Reading Club Accessibility Award and a TD Summer Reading Club Library Award).
The Idea Exchange will be launching its 2024 summer reading club on July 2 at all of its five locations across Cambridge. Learn more at the library's website.
Waterloo has a new self-cleaning and fully accessible washroom in Uptown Waterloo - and it seems pretty amazing!
Self-cleaning features include an anti-graffiti coating and the ability to autonomously wash the toilet and clean the floors between users.
There are several accessibility features included as well. “Detectors can guide people to the washroom’s entrance where they’ll find a tactile map of the washroom, including braille translations. It also has an adult change table and emergency button.”
The washroom is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.
In honour of Pride Month, the Kitchener Public Library notes that Waterloo Region has many locations that are significant to our local 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Check out their bike map to visit several of these important places.
This pup reminds us that bigger isn’t always better!
One final reminder that beginning next month, the monthly subscription fee for any new paying subscribers will move to $6.00 (you can still subscribe to Citified for free, of course!). This price increase will only apply to new subscribers, so if you’d like to lock into the current monthly rate of $5.00, please become a paid subscriber before July 1st. Thanks for reading!
Thanks, Melissa!