Latest news with #AcadiaUniversity
CBC
26-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Lung program's success in rural N.S. leads to expansion
Nova Scotia has some of the highest rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the country. A researcher at Acadia University started up an online program to make sure lung patients in rural communities get the help they need. Now that pilot program is set to expand across the Maritimes. Carolyn Ray reports.
CBC
26-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Online rehab program for rural lung patients to expand across Maritimes
When Lily MacDonald first signed in to an online workout session for women with COPD, she was sure she wasn't going to like it. She couldn't imagine doing an effective workout at her kitchen table. "At first I thought, 'How can I exercise, what am I going to do?'" said MacDonald, who lives in Glace Bay, N.S. She was one of the first participants in a pilot project to offer virtual physical rehabilitation to lung patients in rural parts of the province. The project went so well it will expand across the Maritimes this fall. "I felt great, I really did," MacDonald said. "As it happens, you live by yourself, you have no motivation, but I started back into exercising." Nova Scotia Health estimates that 86,000 people — or 13 per cent of the population — have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is often caused by exposure to smoke. Those rates are some of the highest in the country. That worried Carley O'Neill, an assistant professor in Acadia University's kinesiology program and a clinical exercise physiologist. She says COPD patients often complain of being out of breath. "Exercise can really help to reduce that symptom," she said. "That's really going to help slow the rate of progression for this condition." Living in Wolfville, O'Neill saw the limitations of rehab programs that were limited to those who could attend in-person. She said a lot of people in rural areas were not getting the support they needed because they couldn't get to class. She worked with one of her students, Amanda Daniels, and the two launched a virtual class. They offered it to about 50 women across the province. The participants ranged in age from 43 to 86. "We wanted to start small before we upscale it to see what we could do," she said. The women were divided into small groups and met online twice a week to work out from home. They were mailed packages that included workout bands and pulse oximeters, small devices that monitor oxygen levels throughout the workout. Then they were encouraged to use small weights. Daniels suggested lifting soup cans or water bottles if they didn't have anything else. The key was that the program needed to be free, so cost wouldn't limit participation. Daniels, who is from Labrador City, N.L., knows all too well how hard it is to get care in rural areas, so she was eager to support the women. "Many of them live alone," she said. "Many of them don't have family members nearby to help care for them. Some of them are scared to go to the grocery store because they feel too breathless to walk around the store or get out for a walk or anything like that. "Being able to sit at home and talk to people, it's life-changing for them." This wasn't MacDonald's first attempt at a rehabilitation program. She participated in Membertou a few years ago, but she could no longer get a drive when the classes moved to Sydney River. MacDonald was self-conscious about going online, but she quickly came to love the Zoom meetings. "If you were late signing in, they would either call you or buzz you … because you knew somebody was out there who was going to care if you were there or not," she said. "It's the accessibility. Just to be able to get up out of bed, get ready and sit in front of the community and you're in class." This was the benefit that Carley O'Neill and Amanda Daniels didn't expect. While the program is intended to help someone's physical health, they loved that it also helped people's mental health. "Oftentimes what they say they've enjoyed the most has been the community and the friendships they build, which … hurts my heart a little bit because I'm an exercise physiologist and the exercise isn't really what's wooing them," said O'Neill. "But it's been a really positive outcome." O'Neill has now received a new grant from the Lung Association of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Classes in the fall will open up to people of all genders and in the three Maritime provinces. She'll do a feasibility study on the project, and she's hoping it will eventually be a permanent option for lung patients across rural Canada.
CBC
15-05-2025
- General
- CBC
2 little birds may delay opening of Acadia University's new nursing building
Two little birds have caused delays in the construction of a new nursing building at Acadia University and could ultimately affect the opening of the facility. The University Club on Westwood Avenue in Wolfville, N.S., was expected to be demolished in January to make way for the new building, with construction set to begin last month. But nature has thrown a wrench into the works. Last summer, Birds Canada spotted two chimney swifts entering one of the University Club's chimneys. Chimney swifts are a species at risk, and destruction of their habitat is prohibited without a permit. The university made an application to Environment and Climate Change Canada for a permit to destroy the chimney as part of the demolition, and after a 90-day review period, ECCC issued the permit. The chimney was capped, and the building is now scheduled to be demolished in mid-June. Construction of the new nursing building is now slated to begin in September. A university spokesperson says the delays mean the opening of the new building, originally scheduled for fall 2026, may be delayed. The province is investing $13.9 million to help build the facility, which will include a dry lab, clinic teaching spaces and simulation rooms. Acadia's nursing program, which began in September 2023 with 21 students, had 63 students in the 2024-25 academic year, and expects another 63 to begin this fall. Swifts use other campus chimneys The chimney at the University Club is not the only one on campus frequented by swifts. University Hall also has an active chimney swift roost. As part of the ECCC permit, that site must be monitored for three years. Samuel Jean, Acadia's conservation and education technician, will be leading the monitoring and conservation efforts. The spring monitoring will take place between May 17 and June 2, and more monitoring will be done in the summer and autumn. Jean says crews will sit outside the chimney about an hour before sunset, being very still and quiet, and try to count the number of birds that fly into the chimney. Cameras will also be used to record the birds flying into the chimney so a more accurate count can be completed by watching the video. The highest number of swifts recorded at the site was 810 in 2021. "It's super impressive to watch," Jean says. "A few hours before they go in, they gather and they circle and circle and circle. And then at some point they start going in in little groups. It's a nice phenomenon to witness." Chimney swifts are unable to perch on flat surfaces, instead requiring a vertical surface. They often roost in hollow trees, chimneys, wells and barns. Jean says he's happy to help monitor the birds on campus. "They're nice to have around. They're good neighbours," he says. "Biodiversity as a whole is an important thing to protect. We share this land with so many other creatures and I think we all deserve to be here. So it's important to find ways that we can live together and share that space."
CBC
09-05-2025
- CBC
No evidence cameras around Acadia University deterred bad student behaviour, report says
Video cameras installed in the residential area around Acadia University for a two-year pilot project didn't have any obvious effect on property crime and student partying, according to a report from Town of Wolfville staff. The surveillance cameras were mounted at 11 locations in the streets surrounding the Wolfville, N.S., university in 2022 due to escalating complaints from residents, with the hopes the presence of the equipment would deter bad behaviour and increase accountability. "I think maybe it just didn't meet our expectations," Jennifer Ingham, Wolfville's deputy mayor, said in an interview. There's no concrete evidence the cameras were a deterrent and when incidents did occur, "footage captured was not helpful in holding any individual accountable for their behavior," the staff report said. Despite this, the town said property crime, the theft of street signage and overall nuisance calls have decreased since 2022. Restrictions on public gatherings related to the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for students to be social, Ingham said, but once those restrictions were lifted, there were fewer issues with large gatherings spilling out into the residential streets. Better collaboration between the municipality, the university and RCMP have also gone a long way in keeping the peace, she said. "I think the partnerships are just working really well at the present moment," she said. Collaborative approach The RCMP are taking a more collaborative approach to preventing problems between students and residents in the neighbourhood surrounding Acadia, said the top Mountie for the area. "What we've done in recent years is we have made sure to involve partners more in the planning process," said Staff Sgt. Ed Nugent, commander of Kings District RCMP. Nugent said the Mounties do have an increased presence in the residential area next to the school during significant events like homecoming celebrations, but a large part of mitigating any issues is being proactive. The force is in constant consultation with the university, student organizations and even landlords, he said. Mounties work directly with the town's compliance officers when they know a big event is happening, Nugent said. "I think it's safe to say that we've built and strengthened our relationships greatly with the town and we currently enjoy a really good working relationship," he said. The vast majority of students and young people in the community are great to deal with, Nugent said. Wolfville's mayor also gave credit to the students for being a part of the solution. "Kudos to their majority in responsible partying," Jodi MacKay said at council's committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday. "I think we've come a long way." Councillors voted unanimously at the meeting to not continue the video surveillance project. A final decision on the matter will be made at the next regular council meeting.
CBC
01-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Would-be Nova Scotia Power customer unable to get electricity hooked up
A would-be Nova Scotia Power customer who is moving into a new home says she is unable to get her electricity connected while the company responds only to emergencies and outages amid a cybersecurity incident that was discovered April 25. Amara Fortier is in the process of moving from her residence at Acadia University to live off-campus in Wolfville, N.S., with three roommates. More than a week before the company disclosed the cybersecurity breach on April 28, she said she tried to create an online account but was unsuccessful. She called Nova Scotia Power and was told they couldn't do anything about it, she said. "Especially after a big move, we can't afford to be going and getting takeout, maybe getting a hotel room until power comes back on. We're just sitting there in the dark then," Fortier told CBC News on Wednesday, the day before she was set to move. "It's not very reassuring when you call the customer service and they tell you they can't do anything." Fortier attempted to get an answer from the company on Facebook too, but was told by the Nova Scotia Power account that it was "currently open to support our customers for emergencies and outages only." 'I wasn't getting any answers' Fortier said she turned to social media because she was stressed out about the situation. "I was upset because I wasn't getting any answers," Fortier said. Even customers with existing accounts who are trying to move into new homes are having a difficult time reaching Nova Scotia Power about new connections. James Walker is in the process of moving to Morden, N.S., from Dartmouth — about an hour and a half away. While the electricity in his new home in Kings County was still connected on Wednesday morning, Walker said he had no way of confirming how much longer that would last. "Fortunately, I'm in an apartment so I can take the next month to go and move. But if I wasn't, I would definitely be in a hard spot," Walker told CBC News. He said when he tried to log into his Nova Scotia Power account on April 25, the website wasn't accessible, but he didn't think much of it at the time. "But then I saw on Monday they actually posted they've been having a cybersecurity incident since then. I was a little surprised they took that long to go and post about it," Walker said. Questions remain about incident He said an email he subsequently sent to the company hadn't been answered. Walker wants to know if any customer information was compromised in the cybersecurity incident. In a response to that question on Facebook, the company said "the investigation is ongoing, but we will communicate with customers if it's determined that they have been impacted by this incident." Walker also wondered when service will be fully operational again. "I think they should be communicating a lot more, like even if they don't necessarily have progress, even just telling people, that is something as opposed to just leaving people guessing," he said. CBC News contacted Nova Scotia Power on Wednesday night to ask about the plight of new customers moving into new homes without electricity, whether customer information was compromised in the breach and when service would be fully restored. The company's response will be added once received. MORE TOP STORIES
