Tag: health

  • Jefferson Health, CommonSpirit Health CEOs to retire

    Jefferson Health, CommonSpirit Health CEOs to retire

    In a span of two days, the heads of two of the most notable well being devices in the nation have introduced their retirement.

    Dr. Stephen Klasko, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Overall health, and Lloyd Dean, CEO of CommonSpirit Wellness, will be stepping down inside the coming calendar year.

    Klasko, who has led the Philadelphia-based academic clinical establishment considering the fact that 2013, will retire from his placement on Dec. 31. He will keep on being a special advisor to the Jefferson board of trustees as a result of the conclusion of fiscal calendar year 2022.

    Beneath his leadership, Jefferson Health and fitness has grown from a few hospitals to 18, with annualized revenues rising from $1.5 billion to extra than $6.7 billion.

    Klasko led the 2017 merger of Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia College, and much more recently, Jefferson Health’s merger with Einstein Health care Community, which faced a Federal Trade Fee obstacle but overcame it.

    However Klasko’s deal was up back in 2020, there have been as well a lot of designs that ended up pending for him to phase down then, which includes the FTC problem, the pending acquisition of insurance company HealthPartners Designs and the design of the overall health system’s $800 million specialty care pavilion.

    “I felt that if I’d left then, it would have been type of ‘great vision but not accomplished,’” Klasko claimed in a cellular phone interview.

    Now that those attempts are finished, or at least underway, Klasko felt he could take his following ways, which contain working with startups that are driving health care into the future with an eye on well being fairness.

    “For the final a few or four several years, I’ve experienced this fantastic option to practically be a horse whisperer between the Silicon Valley shift-rapidly-and-break-factors entire world and the much more classic educational clinical planet,” he explained. “[Now I want to get] a lot more into that startup enterprise entire world and [help] them realize what they need to have to do to truly rework health care.”

    As he appears in advance, Klasko shared some assistance for medical center and wellbeing technique leaders that are still weathering the Covid storm.

    “If you want to lead a healthcare procedure by means of a time of external cataclysmic alter, you just cannot use the outdated playbook,” Klasko explained. “Start to imagine about what other industries have performed [when they] are going by way of a crisis. Prevent counting on health care leaders to give you information.”

    Dean will leave Chicago-based mostly CommonSpirit Health in the summer time of 2022, signaling a new period for the reasonably new health and fitness process. CommonSpirit was developed by way of the merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health and fitness Initiatives in February 2019. Dean, who was formerly CEO of Dignity Health for 19 years, was named as chief of the blended firm last July.

    Because its Dean took in excess of, CommonSpirit Wellness has entered into an educational partnership with Baylor Faculty of Drugs and introduced a 10-year, $100 million initiative with the Morehouse Faculty of Medication to coach additional culturally competent clinicians. It has also partnered with Tia, a startup concentrated on women’s well being, and collaborated with other vendors to start information company Truveta.

    “This is the fantastic foundation for the next leader to construct upon, while bringing new concepts and expertise to tackle worries and possibilities,” Dean wrote in a LinkedIn put up saying his retirement.

    Dean has not still uncovered what his upcoming act will entail, stating instead that he will first concentration on closing out his time at CommonSpirit.

    “I’m seeking ahead to the future chapter, but my get the job done at CommonSpirit is not completed nevertheless,” he wrote in the LinkedIn article. “In the coming months, I will keep on being concentrated on our ongoing integration as a single corporation to achieve improved outcomes and increase the well being of individuals we provide, specifically the susceptible.”

    Each the CEOs steered their respective organizations by way of the upheavals brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although they noticed economical losses in 2020, the companies rebounded this 12 months.

    Jefferson documented a $5.9 million cash flow from operations in the fiscal yr that finished on June 30, 2021, as in comparison with a $459.4 million loss in the prior yr.

    In the meantime, CommonSpirit noted an functioning revenue obtain of $998 million in its most latest fiscal yr, vs . the $550 million decline it experienced through the economical year that finished on June 30, 2020.

    Image: Martin Barraud, Getty Illustrations or photos

     

  • Howie Mandel Shares Health Update After Collapsing in Local Starbucks

    Howie Mandel Shares Health Update After Collapsing in Local Starbucks

    Howie Mandel has discovered he has returned residence from medical center and “accomplishing much better,” after passing out for the duration of a stop by to a Starbucks in Los Angeles.

    The America’s Got Expertise star, 65, collapsed though viewing a branch of the coffeehouse chain in Woodland Hills with his spouse, Terry Mandel, and friends on Wednesday morning, TMZ claimed.

    A agent for the Los Angeles Fireplace Section even more instructed Amusement Tonight that they gained a connect with at 10:03 a.m. about a 65-12 months-outdated male encountering a health care problem.

    The former Deal or No Offer host, who TMZ noted recovered on an outdoor cement bench as he awaited help, was then transported to a clinic in close by Tarzana.

    Canadian-born Mandel took to Twitter hrs later to update fans on his health and fitness, as very well as the reasons at the rear of the health and fitness scare.

    “I am house and doing better. I was dehydrated and had reduced blood sugar,” the Television set personality knowledgeable his a lot more than 820,000 followers.

    He then went on to thank the clinical workers that took care of him, as effectively as those people who contacted him as information of the incident circulated.

    “I take pleasure in the terrific medical professionals and nurses that took these excellent treatment of me,” he added. “Thank you to all people who arrived at out but I am performing okay!”

    I am home and performing greater. I was dehydrated and had low blood sugar. I enjoy the wonderful health professionals and nurses that took these types of great treatment of me. Thank you to everybody who attained out but I am undertaking ok!

    — Howie Mandel (@howiemandel) October 14, 2021

    Times before the incident, Mandel was in the clinic for distinctive reasons as he underwent a colonoscopy and endoscopy.

    Sharing video footage of himself in healthcare facility on Instagram right after the treatment, the star wrote: “The affected individual in the subsequent mattress identified my voice and attempted to audition for agt as he was waking up.”

    Mandel has been open up about his well being in the past, particularly his ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    In a 2019 job interview with the Houston Chronicle, he also spoke about his superior cholesterol, which he had been identified with in his early 40s, but did not acquire significantly as he lived a wholesome life style.

    “It failed to suggest something at the time, so I didn’t take treatment of it,” he admitted. “I run each and every day, take in balanced and I continue to be bodily in shape. I failed to come to feel bad, so it was like likely to a laptop or computer shop and they try to provide you all the know-how that you you should not really require for your notebook.”

    While his medical doctor approved him a statin at the time, Mandel mentioned that he did not like the way it manufactured him feel, so stopped getting it.

    “[My doctor] gave me the riot act,” he recounted. “He explained, ‘Why would you prevent and not explain to me?’ Turns out, there are a lot of decisions of statins, and I could obtain 1 that did not have lousy side outcomes. That was vital.”

    Mandel, who turned to advocacy by backing the Get Cholesterol to Heart Campaign, urged many others to just take it more significantly than he to begin with did.

    “You are not able to make an knowledgeable decision on your personal health without staying a qualified,” he defined. “Mainly because it really is so silent, it is not nearly anything that individuals seriously are speaking about. Everybody talks about a undesirable back and what chiropractor they use, but this is numerous occasions more harmful.”

    Howie Mandel
    Howie Mandel attends “America’s Bought Talent” Period 16 Finale at Dolby Theatre on September 15, 2021 in Hollywood, California. The Television set personality gave fans a health update, after passing out at a local Starbucks in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
    Amy Sussman/Getty Visuals

  • Tips to Boost Mental Health

    Tips to Boost Mental Health

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    Mental well being is a broadly applied time period that incorporates psychological, psychological, and social perfectly-becoming. The point out of our mental health and fitness has an effect on how we assume, sense, act, make decisions, and relate to others. Superior psychological overall health is not the exact as no acute mental ailment, just like excellent physical overall health is not the identical as no sickness or harm at this moment.

    Sustaining your psychological well being, like retaining your actual physical health and fitness, calls for a consistent plan and superior wellness-hygiene behavior. 

    A man or woman whose mental overall health is in great condition is resilient, ready to come to feel and specific a total variety of emotions (optimistic and adverse) and to form and preserve positive relationships with some others. Transform and uncertainty are taken in stride and do not overwhelm. Mentally balanced people can understand new points and cope with unusual occasions and scenarios. None of us can prevent the surprising, but we can just take great treatment of our mental well being so that when surprises or problems take place, we can approach and cope with them.     

    Initial and foremost, if you are struggling, there is assistance for you. If you are in crisis, phone 911 or go to the closest crisis area. For non-disaster mental well being care, INTERGIS Psychological Health is dedicated to serving to you by featuring a range of remedy possibilities, together with free of charge anonymous on-line screenings and useful resource facts, and a 24/7 crisis line to get you pointed in the proper route.

    Superior routines will enable with psychological and actual physical wellness, but for persistent or acute ailments (eg: anxiety, despair, bipolar disorder, and others), a mix of medicine coupled with very good psychological wellbeing patterns is necessary. Think of it this way: anyone with Sort 2 diabetes can in all probability make improvements to their blood sugar ranges with eating plan and exercise, but fantastic behaviors put together with medicine are more successful.

    The National Institute of Mental Wellness states it’s time to request professional assist if you are suffering from extreme or distressing signs that have lasted two weeks or additional, this sort of as the adhering to.

    • Difficulty sleeping
    • Appetite adjustments that result in undesired body weight changes
    • Battling to get out of bed in the early morning mainly because of temper
    • Problems concentrating
    • Decline of curiosity in factors you usually locate pleasant
    • Incapacity to accomplish standard daily functions and responsibilities

    Really don’t wait right up until your symptoms are mind-boggling. Speak about your fears with your most important care company, who can refer you to a psychological wellbeing professional if necessary. 

     

    Right here are 9 tips for keeping or enhancing working day-to-working day excellent psychological health and fitness.

    Self-care. This plays a part in preserving your mental wellness. Self-care indicates earning time to do things that make existence wonderful. For some, that could be managing on your own to a weekly motion picture night. Others get pleasure from time spent looking at, talking with close friends, soaking in a bubble bath, or going for a lengthy (or brief) stroll. A couple tiny functions of self-kindness each and every week can make a significant difference in how we truly feel. 

    Get plenty of rest. Rest is critical to excellent wellbeing, psychological and actual physical. Adhere to a timetable, waking and likely to mattress at the very same time every single day. Build a wind-down schedule. Place on your most cozy sleepwear, brush and floss your enamel and settle in for a good, extended snooze. Nix blue-light emitting products ahead of bed and steer clear of as well significantly caffeine. 

    Find out how to offer with tension. Strain is a part of daily life. Acquiring coping skills can change how considerably worry affects you, and how resilient you are. Deep breaths are a terrific on-the-location anxiety minimizer. Consciously comforting your muscles can diffuse a tense moment. So can listening to a most loved tune or looking at a funny video clip. In the prolonged-expression, the resources that enable preserve us mentally and bodily healthier are the incredibly identical instruments that enable us deal with tension: fantastic slumber and nourishment, physical exercise, self-care, connection with other folks and the other tips outlined in this posting.  

    Liven up your routine. Human beings enjoy a superior routine, and most of the time we love the feelings of security and safety they give. BUT…a tiny alter of rate can liven up your day. Generate to function a new way or pick a different jogging route. Rearrange the images on your walls or your dwelling area household furniture. Make a new recipe. Brush your teeth with the opposite hand. You get the notion!

    Address you with kindness. Enjoy out for self-criticism and adverse self-converse.  Your interior critic is accomplishing you no favors. Most likely you are not even aware of your interior critic – start out to listen to your interior monologue and when you listen to the critic, inform it you really do not want to hear it. Immediately after you have practiced silencing the critic, operate on changing the critic with an interior ally who notices the excellent factors about you. 

    Say no when you need to. Concentrate on your purpose and priorities, and if you begin to really feel like you are using on too considerably, say ‘no’ or ‘not suitable now’ to new duties. At the finish of the working day, be conscious of all you have attained, and attempt not to transform the narrative to what you did not get to.

    Consume very well and drink a lot of h2o. What you place into your system will affect how you come to feel. Junk in, junk out. Getting a very good harmony of nutrition, which include fiber and drinking water, can have a stabilizing result on your temper. Sugary or in excess of-processed foods spike your blood sugar levels, which then fall, leaving you sensation exhausted, cranky and even unstable. Much too little of distinct nutrition including vitamin B12, selenium, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc and calcium has been joined to depression. Purpose for foods that consist of a vibrant variety of fruits and veggies, lots of protein and average amounts of healthful fats.

    Surround on your own with good people today. Our friendships and relationships can often assist (or harm) our mental wellness, so it’s crucial to request out interactions with people today who are supportive, form and good. Reaching out to new people today can be challenging but worthwhile. Search for favourable persons you’d like to engage with where ever you go regularly: get the job done, university, church or even the gymnasium are good sites to begin. 

    Steer clear of medicines and alcoholic beverages. Say no to medications and preserve your alcoholic beverages use to a minimum. New reports clearly show that for ladies, reasonable consuming suggests no extra than a few beverages on any one particular working day and 7 or much less drinks per week. For men, it is no much more than 4 drinks on any one day and no extra than 14 beverages for every week. As for other self-medicating or leisure drugs, avoid them.   

     

    If you have queries about your psychological overall health, be sure to get hold of your principal treatment company. For additional overall health and wellness written content, take a look at the INTEGRIS Overall health For You weblog.

     

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  • Testosterone Levels Matter for Men’s, Women’s Sex Lives | Health News

    Testosterone Levels Matter for Men’s, Women’s Sex Lives | Health News

    By Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter

    (HealthDay)

    WEDNESDAY, Oct. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — What launches fellas on serial sexual conquests and prompts solo action between ladies?

    It is testosterone, of training course.

    As the principal male intercourse hormone, it plays a top purpose in the sexual progress of fellas. But people frequently neglect the role it plays in feminine sexuality. Indeed, women of all ages have testosterone, far too, even though considerably considerably less of it — and it exerts a far diverse pull, new research suggests.

    “It was rather surprising that the website link with masturbation was much better amid females than gentlemen,” mentioned research leader Wendy Macdowall of the London Faculty of Cleanliness and Tropical Medication, in the United Kingdom. “And that among the gals we noticed no hyperlink with facets of partnered intercourse.”

    Apart from a person, that is. In girls, testosterone amounts have been sharply larger in all those who had at any time seasoned a exact same-sex partnership.

    For the shocking new examine, Macdowall’s group utilized mass spectrometry to review testosterone amounts in saliva samples from almost 4,000 older people aged 18 to 74. Participants also done a questionnaire to suss out links amongst hormone stages and sexual habits.

    Males who had comparatively substantial testosterone (higher T) amounts had been a lot more very likely to have had a lot more than one particular sex associate at the identical time all through the preceding 5 a long time, the research located. And straight men had been extra possible to have had a latest come across.

    The landscape was unique for women.

    All those with significant testosterone ended up extra possible to have had a very same-sexual intercourse connection at some point. They also masturbated additional typically — and extra not long ago.

    Higher T was also connected to far more solo sex for fellas. But the masturbation connection was notably stronger among females, the analyze uncovered.

    Members who experienced at minimum just one sexual companion in the preceding year were questioned about difficulties with sexual purpose, these as deficiency of desire or difficulties finding or maintaining an erection. No url of any variety was uncovered.

    As to the backlink in between substantial T and a larger push for masturbation among the ladies than men, Macdowall proposed it could finally owe to social, instead than biological factors.

    Ladies, she stated might be much more susceptible than gentlemen to societal pressures and norms — and people pressures are most likely much less when they are on your own than with a further man or woman.

    “It is claimed that masturbation might be a ‘truer’ evaluate of sexual drive, simply because it’s a non-public sexual action and less governed by social influences,” Macdowall explained.

    Even now, two experts who reviewed the findings mentioned that the all round impact of hormones on the sex patterns of both equally adult men and women of all ages feel to be rather negligible.

    “Finally, the bulk of proof does not help interactions amongst T stages in the usual range and sexual intercourse drive or lover number in possibly intercourse,” mentioned Carole Hooven, a lecturer in human evolutionary biology at Harvard College. “So this is astonishing to me.”

    David Puts, an affiliate professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania Condition College, was a lot less astonished at the notion that high T could influence sexual conduct. But, he added, the influence appears to be modest.

    “What is in particular fascinating is why, from an evolutionary standpoint, we see comparatively modest interactions in people in contrast to, let us say, deer or hamsters,” Puts claimed.

    He observed, for instance, that not like many other animals, individuals (and our ape cousins) will not have a selected breeding time period activated by hormone surges.

    Evolutionarily talking, Puts included, that could be mainly because our ancestors “in all probability lived in an setting in which temperatures and food items availability had been secure through the yr, and so there was very little gain to restricting breeding to particular periods.”

    So, Puts explained, the true problem may well be: Why do intercourse hormones such as testosterone even now have any impact at all on human sexual actions? Are some of these hormone-habits one-way links mere evolutionary holdovers?

    Absent an quick solution, however, Places claimed the takeaway is that these consequences exist but are not substantial. “And that variation in sexual curiosity and action in each intercourse is maybe improved stated by other variables, these kinds of as social variables,” he added.

    The findings were revealed on the net Oct. 11 in The Journal of Intercourse Analysis.

    Resources: Wendy Macdowall, BSc, MSc, assistant professor, community health, environments and culture, London College of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, U.K. David Puts, PhD, affiliate professor, anthropology, Pennsylvania Condition University, Heart for Mind, Conduct and Cognition and Center for Human Evolution and Variety, College Park, Penn. Carole Hooven, PhD, co-director, undergraduate reports, and lecturer, office of human evolutionary biology, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. The Journal of Sexual intercourse Research, Oct. 11, 2021, on the web

    Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All legal rights reserved.

  • COVID-19 live updates: AHS responds to over 3,000 health measure complaints; U.S. will open to travellers immunized with approved vaccines; health-care sector bracing for staff shortages

    COVID-19 live updates: AHS responds to over 3,000 health measure complaints; U.S. will open to travellers immunized with approved vaccines; health-care sector bracing for staff shortages

    Watch this page throughout the day for updates on COVID-19 in Edmonton

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    COVID-19 news happens rapidly, we have created this file to keep you up-to-date on all the latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Edmonton.

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    What’s happening now



    Share your COVID-19 stories

    As Alberta grapples with a fourth wave of COVID-19 at the start of another school year, we’re looking to hear your stories on this evolving situation.

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    • Have you or a loved one had a surgery rescheduled or cancelled in recent weeks?
    • Are you someone who has decided to get vaccinated after previously being skeptical of the vaccines?
    • Have you changed your mind about sending your children back to school in person?
    • Have you enrolled your children in a private school due to COVID-19?
    • Are you a frontline health-care worker seeing new strains on the health system?
      Send us your stories via email at [email protected]

    1:33 p.m.

    Alberta Health Services responds to more than 3,000 COVID-19 health measure complaints

    Anna Junker

    The Alberta Health Services building in Calgary, Feb. 24, 2021.
    The Alberta Health Services building in Calgary, Feb. 24, 2021. Photo by Brendan Miller/Postmedia

    Alberta Health Services has received more than 3,000 COVID-19 related complaints or requests in recent weeks.

    The calls have come in between Sept. 16 and Oct. 5, said spokesman Kerry Williamson. They include requests from the public asking for AHS Environmental Public Health (EPH) to check if businesses, facilities, operators or events are complying with current COVID-19 public health measures, including masking, capacity and gathering limits, and compliance with the Restrictions Exemption Program.

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    “If AHS is made aware of a complaint, Public Health Inspectors carry out an education or advisory role as an initial step when responding. AHS does not issue tickets or fines,” Williamson said.

    “The goal of AHS’ Safe Healthy Environments team is to protect the health and safety of the Albertans. AHS Public Health Inspectors always seek to work collaboratively with businesses and organizations to ensure compliance with CMOH orders and current public health measures.”

    Read more


    11:52 a.m.

    U.S will open to travellers immunized with vaccines approved by WHO, FDA and CDC

    The Canadian Press

    A U.S. and a Canadian flag flutter at the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge, in Lansdowne, Ont., Sept. 28, 2020.
    A U.S. and a Canadian flag flutter at the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge, in Lansdowne, Ont., Sept. 28, 2020. Photo by Lars Hagberg /Reuters

    The United States will accept international travellers immunized with COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration.

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    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the decision today in an email and said more guidance will be provided as requirements are finalized.

    White House officials said last month the U.S. would begin welcoming fully vaccinated international travellers in November, but they did not say which vaccines would be accepted.

    The news means Canadians immunized with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be able to travel to the U.S. when new travel rules come into play next month.

    The AstraZeneca vaccine is approved by the World Health Organization, but not by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    The CDC says it began informing airlines of its decision last week.


    Sunday

    Canada’s overworked health-care sector brace for staff shortages as vaccine mandates loom

    National Post

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    An ICU team helping to intubate a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital in Toronto.
    An ICU team helping to intubate a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital in Toronto. Photo by Cole Burston / AFP

    Canada’s health and long-term care industries are bracing for staff shortages and layoffs, as deadlines for vaccine mandates loom across the country with unions pushing federal and provincial governments to soften hard-line stances.

    For hospitals and nursing homes, a shortage of workers would strain the already overburdened workforce dealing with nearly two years of the pandemic.

    The uncertainty sparked by vaccine mandates underscores the challenges on the road to recovery. Devon Greyson, assistant professor of public health at the University of British Columbia, said officials are steering into uncharted waters with mass vaccine mandates and it’s not clear how workers will respond.

    “A shortage of workers can mean people’s health and well being. It’s scary,” Greyson said.

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    However, he added, “we’re in an ethical situation where it’s also scary not to ensure that all health workers are vaccinated. So it’s a bit of a catch-22.”

    To tackle staff scarcity, at least one province is offering signing bonuses to nurses. Provinces including Quebec and British Columbia have made it mandatory for healthcare workers and nursing staff to be vaccinated to continue working in their respective fields.

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also unveiled one of the strictest vaccine mandates in the world last week, saying unvaccinated federal employees will be sent on unpaid leave and making COVID-19 shots mandatory for air, train, and ship passengers.

    Layoffs have already started to hit, with one hospital in southern Ontario last week dumping 57 employees, representing 2.5 per cent of staff, after its vaccine mandate came into effect. A long-term care home in Toronto put 36 per cent of its staff on unpaid leave after they refused to get vaccinated, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.

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    Letter of the day

    Covid-19 forces Captain Jason Kenney to walk the plank. (Cartoon by Malcolm Mayes)
    Covid-19 forces Captain Jason Kenney to walk the plank. (Cartoon by Malcolm Mayes) Malcolm Mayes

    It’s not surprising that Premier Kenney wants to take Alberta children back to the 19th century by making rote learning central to the curriculum. He is a rote thinker, apparently capable of only two ideas — low taxes and incentives for business — which are basically just one idea. He constantly parrots his one idea that everything else is secondary to business, and that more business is the solution to every problem. This blinkered thinking partially explains the current mess our province is in.

    With three grandchildren between the ages of four and nine, I am extremely concerned that children between five and nine are now increasingly contracting COVID, due to the government’s shortsighted decision to end contact tracing in schools and elsewhere. I am continually amazed at how my grandchildren have rolled with all the shocks and changes of the past year and a half, although who knows what the long-term effects on the mental and physical health of any of us will be. Children don’t need to memorize facts. They need to learn how to access facts in order to acquire knowledge and ideas, so they can become developed human beings and critical thinkers. I suggest that Premier Kenney take a break from politics, go back to school, and finish off that philosophy degree. He could come up with some new and useful ideas relevant to the 21st century.

    K.D. Grove, Edmonton

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    Saturday

    Pregnant patients can bring COVID-19-positive person for support while giving birth at Alberta hospitals

    Lauren Boothby

    The Alberta government is urging pregnant women and those who are trying to become pregnant to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
    The Alberta government is urging pregnant women and those who are trying to become pregnant to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. Postmedia Wire

    Maternity patients giving birth in Alberta hospitals can bring a person infected with COVID-19 with them for support, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said in a series of tweets Saturday afternoon.

    AHS confirmed an exemption to quarantine rules allows a COVID-19 positive person to join a pregnant patient in exceptional circumstances and if the hospital is made aware ahead of time. A chief medical officer of health order in effect since July 29 says this designated support person must stay two metres away from everyone except the patient and infant.

    “These exemptions, which have been in effect since July 2021, are granted under exceptional circumstances and only at the request of the patient giving birth. We know the importance of having support at this time. This is a critical part of our approach to patient centred care,” reads an AHS tweet.

    Despite this, the provincial health authority says there are protocols in place to make sure people are safe.

    “The patient & essential support person will remain under contact & droplet isolation. This includes the facility providing access to bathroom facilities & food,” AHS says.

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    Saturday

    Alcohol-related illnesses in Alberta surging during COVID-19 pandemic

    Blair McBride

    Alberta is seeing a surge in alcohol-related illnesses that can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic
    Alberta is seeing a surge in alcohol-related illnesses that can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic Photo by Nicole Bengiveno /NYT

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    Alberta is seeing a surge in alcohol-related illnesses that can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say.

    Mental and behavioural disorders resulting from alcohol use as well as alcohol-related depression and withdrawal are among the few non-COVID causes of hospital admission that have increased in the province since March 2020, says Calgary physician Dr. Eddy Lang.

    An article co-written by Lang that was published in the medical journal PLOS ONE in June revealed alcohol consumption rose from the fifth-highest cause of hospitalization in the province to the third during the first six months of the pandemic.

    Alcohol-related illnesses accounted for 3.46 per cent of hospital admissions between March and September 2020, up from 2.65 per cent in that timeframe the previous year.

    “Considering the number of hospitalizations we have in Alberta, that’s a significant increase,” Lang said, attributing the rising drinking rates to heightened feelings of pandemic anxiety.

    “There’s been lots of lost employment and family separation. We know that people are managing that with alcohol and cannabis. That’s going to manifest with people going overboard,” he said. “Alcohol is like gasoline on the fire of mental illness. If you’re already depressed you might think alcohol will make you feel better but in long run it makes things worse because it contributes to suicidal thoughts.”

    Increased rates of drinking in Alberta are also showing up in liver health.

    Hospitalizations for alcoholic hepatitis rose by 90.5 per cent in the first wave of the pandemic, according to a study soon to be published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

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    Saturday

    Albertans leave messages at UCP MLA offices to say no thanks to the government

    Gil McGowan (front, President, Alberta Federation of Labour), Jeffrey Strom, Beth Strom and Karen Kuprys (right, Secretary Treasurer, Alberta Federation of Labour) invited concerned citizens to Alberta UCP MLA Kaycee Madu’s office in Edmonton on Saturday, October 9, 2021, to leave messages voicing their disapproval to the Alberta government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants also shared their messages on social media with the hashtag #NoThanksGivenUCP. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
    Gil McGowan (front, President, Alberta Federation of Labour), Jeffrey Strom, Beth Strom and Karen Kuprys (right, Secretary Treasurer, Alberta Federation of Labour) invited concerned citizens to Alberta UCP MLA Kaycee Madu’s office in Edmonton on Saturday, October 9, 2021, to leave messages voicing their disapproval to the Alberta government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants also shared their messages on social media with the hashtag #NoThanksGivenUCP. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA) Photo by Larry Wong /Postmedia

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    Albertan have been leaving messages at UCP MLA offices to say no thank you to the government that has needlessly endangered peoples lives.

    In a Thursday news release, the Alberta Federation of Labour asked Albertans to leave messages at UCP MLAs offices saying no thank you for the government’s handling of COVID-19 outbreaks on Saturday. They could also leave comments on social media using #NoThanksGivenUCP

    The group says that Albertans are angry that hospitals are over capacity, health-care workers are being pushed to their breaking point, surgeries are being cancelled and many schools are facing outbreaks in the news release.

    “The UCP refuse to take needed actions to keep Albertans safe,” says the release.

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    Saturday

    ‘I see you ICU:’ Albertans express gratitude for health-care workers at Thanksgiving

    The Canadian Press

    Teams in a crowded Calgary intensive care unit tend to a COVID-19 patient on a ventilator.
    Teams in a crowded Calgary intensive care unit tend to a COVID-19 patient on a ventilator. Photo by Supplied by Alberta Health Services

    Hundreds of Albertans are sending coffee, gift cards and Thanksgiving meals to those working in intensive care units overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

    J’Val Shuster says she and her staff at Devour Catering will be delivering turkey dinners to 200 nurses, doctors and health-care staff at four Calgary hospitals on Sunday and more meals are to be delivered in the days to come. People have been paying $15 a meal through the company’s “I See You ICU” drive.

    “We’ve had over 1,700 people purchase a total of 6,000meals for doctors, nurses and staff,” Shuster said.

    “Nurses (have said) even if they don’t get the meals, they’re very uplifted just by the fact that people are showing their support and wanting to do something.”

    Shuster said she began the idea last month as she struggled to keep her business afloat. Support has been so overwhelming, she said, she has had to temporarily stop taking meal orders.

    “We’re going to co-ordinate with all the departments at what frequency they want the remaining ordered meals. We can’t prepare 6,000 meals at once.”

    Betty Wade of Calgary purchased 50 dinners for health-care staff.

    “I’m absolutely thankful for them, particularly now in this fourth wave,” said the retiree.

    “They’ll have something at the doorstep when they leave their shift that makes them realize that they are appreciated more than they know by so many people. We are very, very thankful for every one of them doing their job saving lives as best they can in this situation.”

    She recalled that at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic many cheered and clapped for workers on the streets.

    “But there’s a difference now … it’s the intensity in the ICU and in the hospitals,” she said.

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  • Dentist Offers 5 Oral Health Tips for Patients With Cancer

    Dentist Offers 5 Oral Health Tips for Patients With Cancer

    Chemotherapy regimens can wreak havoc on patients’ oral wellness, generating it extremely critical that folks see their dentist before starting up remedy – and keep up with them throughout most cancers treatment, too, discussed Dr. Susan Calderbank.

    Calderbank is an associate professor of oral medicine at the University of Pittsburgh College of Dental Drugs and operates her own private apply, the place she raises awareness of the oral problems of most cancers therapies. She said that approximately 30{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of patients going through chemotherapy will have mouth ulcers, and in individuals with head and neck radiation or mobile transplants, that percentage goes up to about 80 to 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

    In a the latest job interview with CURE®, Calderbank – who is also on the experienced advisory board at Breastcancer.org – talked over why clients must see their dentists as a portion of their most cancers treatment team and supplied insights on what people should really know about oral treatment in advance of starting off chemotherapy.

    CURE®: Can you give a short overview of how chemotherapy influence a person’s mouth and dental wellness?

    Calderbank: When individuals get chemotherapy, a ton of periods they consider they are getting a magic bullet which is only likely to go and get treatment of the cancer cells, and they really don’t know that it also impacts usual healthful tissue.

    (The mouth has) the cells that divide the speediest in the human body, and when a individual has most cancers, the cure is targeted to have an effect on quickly-dividing cells. So when the chemotherapy shuts down the fast-dividing cells, it has an outcome in the mouth also. As these substitution cells in the tissue of the mouth are remaining sloughed off with talking, consuming (and) yawning, the replacement cells usually are not there to fill in the gap, and then the tissue by itself will get thinner and thinner and thinner. And then what can come about is that the mouth gets to be infected and irritated. And then alterations basically can manifest.

    What are the most prevalent oral side outcomes that people must search out for?

    The 1st side impact that you can see is that the tissue will become purple, and that is a signal that you can find irritation likely on. If which is not stopped, then the swelling – and as the tissue thins – it can ulcerate really, promptly. In putting the dental care of the patient ahead of the most cancers procedure, then we can leap in and give the individual practical ideas, like the Pure Dentist rinse, which is usually effective in reducing inflammation. It has a really robust aloe vera base and quite a few other botanicals, and which is a seriously robust anti-inflammatory. In utilizing that prior to starting the procedure, you’ve by now begun to minimize any neural inflammation in the mouth and make the tissue much healthier. When it truly is more healthy, it will withstand chemotherapy substantially improved.

    In addition, in placing the dental treatment ahead of the cancer procedure, we have the capability to evaluate the procedure of the affected individual – what the requires are, for instance, (like) if there are abscessed enamel, if there are teeth that are likely to be resulting in an infection. Simply because do not ignore, in chemotherapy, the body’s resistance to an infection will decrease. And that’s when an an infection which is been remaining unattended can actually flare up and cause huge troubles for the individual that can actually lead to a lethal an infection that is not able to be healed with antibiotics. So it can be a fairly significant phase.

    What we like to feel of is that the cancer treatment would be extra holistic – you would really be earning connections and synergy concerning the different vendors, which is always to the reward of the client. In our observe, we get the (patient with) most cancers right in, there is incredibly hardly ever a delay of cure. It performs out for all the get-togethers associated: the oncologists have an much easier time, since the individual is not in discomfort, they’re still ready to take in. When you get a mouth ulcer, it can be really agonizing. You you should not want to try to eat or drink or discuss. And a great deal of situations these are published off as just top quality-of-life problems, when essentially they have a really crucial aspect influence in that it may possibly be to the detriment of the individual receiving the cancer therapy.

    What do you want the remaining takeaway for patients with most cancers to be?

    From time to time dentistry is regarded as the divorced next cousin of the relaxation of the overall body, and the mouth. It really is extremely essential to go to the dentist…for these patients, it’s just immensely practical, simply because if we can see them early, we can assistance them get via their therapy.

    If they get ulcerated to the level where by they are unable to swallow … the tissue is the exact basically from the mouth all the way down by the digestive tract, so when they begin to change it, people alterations can also be in the throat. That’s one particular of the terrific issues about the Normal Dentist (rinse) since it is all organic. If they get the ulcerations in the throat, the individuals can gargle with it and in fact swallow it and soothe the tissue in the alimentary tract which is getting ulcerated also.

    It’s a earn-get, generally, for the sufferers to get these pre-most cancers treatment method dental checks. Truly, I wrote an article the moment and it was entitled, “You’ve obtained to be kidding me,” because when most individuals are informed they have to go to the dentist, (they believe) “I have cancer I need to handle it. Why do I have to go to the dentist?” and you know, essentially that’s the extremely to start with spot they should really appear.

    For a lot more news on cancer updates, investigation and education and learning, really do not overlook to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters right here.