{"id":559419,"date":"2026-03-25T09:16:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T09:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/559419\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T09:16:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T09:16:36","slug":"all-in-the-cards-for-sault-college-practical-nursing-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/559419\/","title":{"rendered":"All in the cards for Sault College practical nursing student"},"content":{"rendered":"

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News<\/a>Local News<\/a><\/p>\n

Lyliana DiTommaso\u2019s effort to deliver unique Valentine\u2019s to seniors continues to bring big smiles<\/p>\n

Published Mar 23, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0day ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n

\"F.J.F.J. Davey Home residents Don Pezzuto (left) and Joe Orlando were among those to receive greetings thanks to the efforts of Sault College practical nursing student Lyliana DiTomasso. Photo by Patricia Baker \/Special to The Sault StarArticle content<\/p>\n

Lyliana DiTommaso got a bright idea on how sharing a simple gesture could brighten the lives of many seniors residing Sault Ste. Marie care homes. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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While the Sault College<\/a> practical nursing student is working toward completing her second semester clinical rotation at the F.J. Davey Home<\/a>, she saw an\u00a0opportunity\u00a0earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Why not share some light-hearted fun by printing patterns of basic Valentine\u2019s\u00a0Day\u00a0cards, then colouring them with unique combinations? The idea would see cards made for those\u00a0who\u00a0reside\u00a0on each of the\u00a010\u00a0units where Sault College clinical instructors teach and support their groups of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those\u00a0residing\u00a0in several of these homes, including the F.J. Davey Home, Extendicare Maple\u00a0View<\/a>\u00a0and Mauno\u00a0Kaihla\u00a0Koti, one of four sites within the Ontario Finnish\u00a0Resthome\u00a0Association<\/a> (OFRA) seniors\u2019 residential community,\u00a0received\u00a0a card.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The annual celebration has come and gone, but the\u00a0program\u2019s rewards endure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would be a super sweet idea to do with the practical nurse program, and I decided to co-ordinate it,\u201d\u00a0 DiTommaso told The Sault Star in a recent interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cards\u00a0were hand delivered\u00a0to residents\u00a0by students assigned to specific units with their clinical instructors and\u00a0assisted\u00a0by staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their clinical days had taken place just before Valentine\u2019s Day this year and DiTommaso had cards ready to be shared with each unit. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The response was\u00a0inspirational\u00a0as residents responded in their own ways when they held their cards.\u00a0Clinical\u00a0instructors focussed on the lasting impact this\u00a0effort revealed about how kindness is universal;\u00a0residents were happy, families were impressed.\u00a0Some residents\u00a0asked\u00a0staff and\u00a0students to read their cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Even residents who may have been a little trickier to build a rapport with\u00a0cracked smiles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This project encompassed much hard, yet rewarding, work, with DiTommaso in the lead. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The idea came after a discussion with a relative\u00a0about the Canadian Nursing Student Association<\/a> (CNSA) council that\u00a0 both are and were\u00a0on; her stepbrother,\u00a0Cody Mount, was in the BScN program a few years back and was involved with the school and nursing programs. The two spoke of which events and conferences DiTommaso could assist with as an events co-ordinator with CNSA. Mount told how he had attended conferences, prepared cards for residents when he was at college and advised her on how to print cards and establish lists of contacts who would assist with numbers and unit locations for residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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DiTommaso got to work finding templates, printing them out to accommodate more than 300 residents. Then she alerted classmates to pick up templates to colour and help complete cards for the deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the night before clinical, DiTommaso discovered that some of the cards hadn\u2019t been completed and returned. So, she spent the night finishing the project in preparation for handing cards out to residents at clinical the next day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Valentine's Sault College practical nursing student Lyliana DiTommaso\u2019s card concept left plenty of big smiles among seniors to whom cards were delivered. Patricia Baker<\/p>\n

Her perseverance helped reach, and even surpass, the goal of brightening residents\u2019 lives by making it a day to remember. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing how much it meant to them and how engaged our cohort was made me realize how powerful a simple act of kindness can be in health care,\u201d said DiTommaso.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DiTommaso, 19, graduated from Korah Collegiate & Vocational School in 2024 and went on to Algonquin College in Ottawa where she enrolled in the pre-health program for the 24\/25 school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI, unfortunately, didn\u2019t graduate that program as I reduced my course load expecting to be able to continue the course in the summer, but sadly the program was full at that time,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By last September, she had enrolled in the\u00a0two-year\u00a0practical\u00a0nursing\u00a0program (diploma) at Sault College. Her first semester clinical hours were completed at the Davey Home, while she is presently halfway through her second semester,\u00a0also at the Davey Home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DiTommaso tapped into three intrinsic values nurses possess \u2013 care, compassion and empathy \u2013 and the response from residents was inspiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As health-care professionals know, special activities for\u00a0seniors\u00a0are vital for their mental and emotional well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel grateful and proud of how this turned out,\u201d DiTommaso said. \u201cThe goal was to simply brighten the residents\u2019 day in a small way, but we all saw how much it meant to them. It reminded me that nursing isn\u2019t just about the clinical skills, it\u2019s also about the connection, empathy and creating moments that make our residents and anyone feel valued. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of our class coming together to make it happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, perhaps, happen again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to see this to be continued in other homes and I would be more than willing to help future students,\u201d DiTommaso said. \u201cIt was so nice to see all the residents\u2019 reactions and it made me feel very proud to have fulfilled this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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