All aboard: Health P.E.I.'s newest dental clinic is coming to you this summer
Health P.E.I. is rolling out a new mobile dental clinic. The large RV-style clinic has two treatment rooms and an X-ray machine. Officials say it could be a gamechanger for getting dental care to vulnerable people. CBC's Connor Lamont has the story.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Alberta's measles outbreaks are now the worst in nearly half a century
Alberta's measles surge is so dramatic, the last time case counts were higher Calgary did not have an NHL team, O Canada was not yet the official national anthem and gasoline would set you back 24 cents a litre. The province reported 29 more cases on Thursday, bringing the total since the outbreaks began in March to 868. That pushes the province past the levels seen during a surge in 1986, when 854 cases were reported. A higher case count hasn't been recorded since 1979. "It's a little shocking. The numbers we're looking at now today really haven't been seen in Alberta since the 1970s," said Craig Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary. "[We're] really going back to an era where the vaccine program really was just getting started. We're going back to, really, pre-vaccination times here in Alberta," he said. While there had been earlier versions of a measles vaccine, Alberta launched its routine immunization program for a single dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in 1982. According to the Public Agency of Canada, the rollout of the single MMR dose took place across the country between 1974 and 1983. Two doses of the vaccine became routine between 1996 and 1997. "By the time we got into the early 1980s, for the most part most children in Canada were vaccinated and measles became a thing largely of the past," said Jenne, who's also the deputy director of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. "There were years with significant outbreaks, including 1986, but as the numbers reveal today we've eclipsed even those outbreaks. So we really have thrown the province back into a situation where we're looking much like Canada did before we had open access to measles vaccines." According to the Alberta government, the highest recorded measles case count was in 1957, when 12,337 cases were reported. Health officials are cautioning that this year's official case count is just the "tip of the iceberg" and that there are cases in the province going unreported and undetected. The south, central and north zones continue to be the hardest hit. A standing measles advisory remains in effect for southern Alberta due to widespread transmission. "Unfortunately we've seen this threshold coming now for several weeks when we had seen the establishment of community level transmission, where vaccine rates simply aren't high enough to stop community spread," said Jenne. As of June 7, a total of 75 Albertans had been hospitalized due to measles since the outbreaks began, including 12 people who ended up in intensive care. The vast majority of cases have been among the unimmunized, according to provincial data. Alberta is offering an early and extra measles vaccine dose to babies as young as six months old who are living in the south, central and north zones. Measles can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation, premature delivery and death. Children under the age of five, pregnant Albertans and those with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable. Measles symptoms include: High fever. Cough. Runny nose. Red eyes. A blotchy, red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts. In darker skin colours, it may appear purple or darker than surrounding skin. Alberta Health provides detailed information on measles case counts, symptoms and free immunizations here. A measles hotline is available for people with questions about symptoms, immunization records or to book an appointment: 1-844-944-3434. AHS is advising anyone with measles symptoms to stay home and call the hotline before visiting any hospital, medical clinic or pharmacy.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Obstetrical, gynecological care patient complaints on the rise in Ontario, says patient ombudsman
New data shows more people are filing complaints about obstetrical and gynecological care in Ontario, with insensitivity, poor communication and lack of trauma awareness among the most common grievances. Ontario's Patient Ombudsman Craig Thompson says his office received 168 complaints between April 2024 and March 2025, compared to 130 over the same period the previous year — a 29 per cent increase. Complainants also detailed experiencing a lack of responsive care to factors such as history of sexual assault, pregnancy complications, miscarriages, and difficult births. Many complaints were related to pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care provided in hospitals, he said. There's also been an increase in complaints regarding services at community surgical and diagnostic centres that do ultrasounds, X-rays and surgical procedures. Complaints are filed online, by email, fax or mail, and then reviewed by the ombudsman, who engages with both parties to reach a resolution. National data from the Canadian Medical Protective Association suggests patient complaints across medical disciplines are on the rise, with more than 4,045 in 2020, up from 3,379 in 2016. They said many complaints showed communication was an underlying issue. The Ontario ombudsman's data will be published later this year in an annual report on the overall number and themes of health-system complaints, but Thompson shared the ob-gyn numbers with The Canadian Press in the wake of an investigation published last week that included several patients alleging neglectful care going back almost a decade by the same Toronto doctor. The patients described traumatic experiences while under the care of ob-gyn Dr. Esther Park, with some alleging they were not adequately informed about certain procedures performed at her clinic and the hospital she worked at for 25 years. Dr. Park stopped practising medicine in April. Attempts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful. WATCH | Toronto gynecologist linked to hepatitis, HIV exposure resigns: Toronto gynecologist linked to hepatitis, HIV exposure resigns 1 month ago Duration 2:55 In the ombudsman's last annual report released in March, the number of obstetrical and gynecological-related complaints in the province was described as an "emerging concern" that Thompson said he would continue to monitor. No confirmation of broader investigation of ob-gyn complaints While Thompson said the way women's health is delivered in Ontario has been an issue for many years, he said what's new is the number of grievances about obstetrics and gynecology, and the nature of the complaints. "We are in that role of a bit of the canary in the coal mine. We identify early signals of a problem," he said, explaining that annual reports are shared with the province's ministries of health, long-term care, and relevant health agencies. The patient ombudsman's role was created by the provincial government in 2016 to help resolve complaints and conduct investigations on issues of public interest. Thompson calls his office the "last resort" for patients who are not satisfied with a hospital's response to a complaint, and who need help reaching a resolution. But he also tries to pinpoint if a broader issue needs to be investigated and what can be done. Thompson said he tries to determine: "Where's the breakdown? Is this a breakdown in policy? Is this a breakdown in education or training of our team? Is this a breakdown in practice? Is the practice that we've adopted not meeting the mark?" He would not disclose if he's conducting a broader investigation of obstetrical and gynecological care complaints. His last report included two pages on the practice, identifying "broader organizational issues, including a lack of trauma-informed care approaches that, if addressed, could improve the experiences of patients and their families." Doctor helping integrate trauma-informed approach in hospitals Dr. Heather Millar, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Women's College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, says a trauma-informed approach begins with an awareness of how common painful childhood memories, sexual assaults and triggering medical encounters are. It also includes strategies to avoid traumatizing or retraumatizing a patient. She said she first came across the method in 2015. "I was working with a physician at the time who used trauma-informed care principles and I realized that this was something that we should all be doing and that really should be implemented across our specialty," Millar said. The premise is to treat each patient as though they have a trauma history, for instance asking permission before touching them and covering their bodies during an exam to facilitate an environment that feels safe. Since then, Millar has been helping integrate the approach at hospitals, including within Mount Sinai's obstetric emergency training, and she teaches trauma-informed care to residents at the University of Toronto. She's also working on national guidelines with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) to formally implement this approach as a standard of care. "We're much more conscious now of how common trauma is in the general population … and also how the encounters and procedures in our specialty can be traumatic for people," she said, referencing vaginal exams that can feel invasive, and emergencies during deliveries, which may trigger painful memories. Trauma-informed care was not talked about Dr. Glenn Posner, vice chair of education for the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Ottawa, said when he was a resident more than 20 years ago, trauma-informed care was not talked about. But now, he sees residents bring this sensitive approach to their patients, for instance asking for permission multiple times before an exam, or showing them how a speculum feels on their leg before using it. But the stressful demands of the job and sheer volume of patients can at times hinder sensitive communication, and can translate into body language that patients will pick up on, he said. "Having a conversation with somebody with your hand on the door knob is perceived as you're rushing them. But you can spend the same amount of time or even less if you come in, pull up a chair, sit down." Similarly, Millar said there are small changes that can make patients feel more in control, such as raising the head of a hospital bed so that the physician can make eye-contact with them throughout an exam. Ministry of health responds to complaints In response to an email from The Canadian Press containing the ombudsman's new data, the ministry of health said it expects every hospital and health-care partner to uphold the highest standard of patient care. They referenced existing patient safety legislation and regulation, but did not say what they would do about the increase in obstetrical and gynecological complaints. "One complaint about the safety of care is too many," a spokesperson for the ministry of health said in a statement. The SOGC said it would not comment on the data since it has not seen the full report. The head of an advocacy group that speaks out on behalf of patients says she's seen similar reports for years without any investment in changes. "I am not surprised that there are more complaints that are coming in this particular area of practice," said Kathleen Finlay, chief executive officer of the Center for Patient Protection. Finlay, who has worked as a patient advocate for almost 20 years, said she often hears ob-gyn patients say, "They didn't listen to me. I had a lot of concerns and I felt I was just being rushed through the process. My questions weren't being answered." She said not enough is being done at the regulatory level to make changes to improve patient experience. "There are many issues that are, from a woman's perspective, very traumatic and so much of it is about not being treated with the respect that they deserve."
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
‘I forgot how tall I was': Former Humboldt Bronco Ryan Straschnitzki walks using exoskeleton
It's been a while since Ryan Straschnitzki looked at the world from a different perspective. The former Humboldt Broncos hockey player has been using a wheelchair since 2018, when he was paralyzed from the chest down in a bus crash in rural Saskatchewan that killed 16 people and injured 13 others. On Thursday, he demonstrated an exoskeleton that allowed him to walk along a 12-metre track in Calgary. 'I forgot how tall I was. I'm usually sitting really low, so I don't see people above their heads. Now being here, I get to see everybody's head. It's cool,' Straschnitzki said while standing in the wearable device. 'I feel like Iron Man in this thing. Just missing the helmet,' he added with a laugh. Vancouver-based Human in Motion Robotic's XoMotion system enables people with spinal cord injuries and in neurological rehabilitation to stand and walk with robotic support. Straschnitzki had been in the device before but got to control it Thursday. He used a small remote to move the device forward, backward and turn sideways. It also helped him handle a hockey stick and throw a football to staff at the rehab centre. 'It's pretty cool. I'm glad I played video games growing up,' he said. 'I got to learn how to two-step in this thing. Someone here's got to teach me, and I'll bring it to Stampede.' Straschnitzki said the technology wasn't even an option when he was injured. 'It was more so, is my body going to heal? Am I going to walk again on my own?' he said. 'Over time, you come to terms with the extent of your injuries. And then you realize that science is expanding every day, and there's technology like this one that will allow people with spinal cord injuries to walk again. It's super incredible and I'm very fortunate to try it.' The cost of the exoskeleton is about $400,000. Uyen Nguyen, executive director of Calgary's Synaptic Spinal Cord Injury and Neuro Rehabilitation Centre, said the exoskeleton mimics human motions. 'I never thought this was going to be possible. It's almost a Cinderella story that's come to life,' Nguyen said. 'It is one of the most advanced, because it is the most human-like in movement. Biomechanically, it is smooth. So when Ryan gets into it, it feels great, it feels natural.' The device will be offered to other patients at the centre, including those with spinal injuries or health problems like Parkinson's disease. Siamak Arzanpour, CEO of Human in Motion Robotics Inc., said the goal has always been to help those dealing with injuries have more independence. He said the long-term goal is to have exoskeletons deployed in real life activities, but there needs to be a controlled environment to prove they're safe first. He said Straschnitzki was the inspiration for developing the device. 'In 2018, Ryan probably didn't think about us. But from the beginning, we were thinking about him,' Arzanpour said. 'We wanted to use this device, helping him to walk again.'
