Keystone Staff

Wendy Johnstone, Principal & Case Manager

B.P.H.E., P.B.D. (Gerontology), M.A. (Gerontology)

With a Master’s Degree in Gerontology and  20 years experience working with family caregivers and seniors, Wendy is well-equipped and passionate about helping others make informed decisions while they deal with a crisis or navigate transitions associated with the aging process.

Wendy understands the importance of supporting caregivers and seniors in making informed decisions about their future care.  In addition to her private geriatric case management side, she provides coaching and consulting services with Family Caregivers of BC.

Wendy loves to write, almost as much as she likes to talk.  You can find all of her columns and blogs here or follow her on Facebook.   Wendy also writes for Inspired Senior Living.

When Wendy isn’t talking or writing,  she loves being outdoors on her growing collection of bikes.  She also love to sneak in a good book or amble in the forest with her goofy dog.   Originally from Toronto, Wendy traded her urban lifestyle (but hasn’t quite adopted Island time yet!) and moved to the Comox Valley in 2004.  Wendy enjoys spending time with her daughter, Carly and partner, Geoff.

Cheryl Taylor, Case Manager

Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN)

Cheryl spent her formative years in Saskatchewan, but developed a love for BC via her grandparents, who retired to the Okanagan and opened their home to their many grandkids every summer.  She is grateful to now be able to live and play on the unceded territory of the Comox first Nation, in one of the most beautiful places in Canada!

After graduating from Psychiatric Nursing in 1983, Cheryl enjoyed a few years working in New Zealand and Australia.  On her return to Canada she moved to Vancouver and met her husband, Jim.  She worked part time while her two wonderful daughters were young, and then settled firmly into a case management position with Island Health for 18 years.

She has a passion for social  justice and advocacy, organic gardening and the environment, jewelry-making, and is proud to have kept her pandemic sourdough starter alive for a year and a half! On the weekends, you will find Cheryl on her e-bike, camping in her wee Boler or on Savary Island.  She brings compassion , organization, and a good sense of humour to all she does, and has quickly become an integral part of the Keystone Eldercare Solutions team.

Karen Melnyk, Case Manager

Retired Registered Nurse (RN)

With a nursing career that spanned 4 decades and 5 provinces, taking her from coast to coast in Canada, Karen finally found home when she arrived in Cumberland on Vancouver Island in 2003… and she’s never moving again.   

Her wide and varied nursing experience has covered the life continuum starting as a long-term care aide in 1977 in Saskatoon, to caring for newborns in Neonatal ICUs in Saskatoon, Summerside, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Grande Prairie, to the inpatient eating disorder unit in Edmonton, and back to long term care in Island Health as a Home Support Supervisor (with a healthy dose of Project Management and Nursing Management in between for good measure) – the full circle!  

Karen has a love of travel and history, music and the arts.  She dabbles in genealogy and silversmithing, is the current Chair of the Cumberland and District Historical Society and President of her Strata Council.  She walks daily in the forest surrounding Cumberland with her Golden Retriever, Brewster, and goes camping whenever she can.  She is so grateful to be living life to the fullest on the unceded territory of the K’Omoks First Nation. She is thrilled to be joining the team at Keystone Eldercare Solutions.