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ALEXANDRIA It’s not an easy year to get everyone in a festive mood.
But it’s been happening lately in an unlikely setting – a hospital, the one in Alexandria.
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Try refreshing your browser. A difficult year, but special holiday spirit at Alexandria s HGMH Back to video
A staff-led effort at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital has managed to capture the spirit of the season, with extensive holiday decorations all over the facility, from the emergency department to the business office, from the pharmacy to the nurses station.
“Our staff have worked so hard and we would love for the community to know how special they are,” said Kayla MacGillivray, HGMH human resources and patient relations manager, who led a tour of the building. “(They) pulled together to make our hospital a merry place and they created individualized Christmas experiences for all our patients.”
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In the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous mental health surveys found that post-secondary students were increasingly reporting feelings of depression and anxiety. Since measures to protect public health led to the closures of university campuses across the country, including Kwantlen Polytechnic University, students have had to adapt to a new regimen of online learning.
Mental health professionals at Canadian universities have observed that the trend of declining mental health among students has not only continued, it’s getting worse.
Many believe that the necessity of social distancing has exacerbated feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anxiety in a demographic that was already facing significant challenges to their mental health caused by financial, academic, and professional stress. In addition, a growing number of younger people report feelings of anxiety and depression linked to increased time spent on the internet and social media, worries abou