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Inside Alberta's front lines amid COVID-19 surge
Alberta's fourth wave means the province is running out of ICU beds. It has asked for federal help and plans to transfer patients to other provinces. Dr. Brian Goldman speaks with an ICU nurse and doctor to find out how it’s going inside the hospitals at ground zero.
LISTEN
'Our health-care system is collapsing right in front of our eyes,' say Alta. nurse
As Alberta battles COVID-19 surge, ICU nurse Mike Guerlan grapples with long hours, heavy patient loads and staff shortages.
The Dose
The familiar viruses that make us sick are back, say experts
With public health measures easing in many places and more people travelling, a variety of non-COVID respiratory viruses are rearing their heads again this fall, experts say.
6 million Canadians live with a disability. Advocates say federal parties need to listen to them
Rabia Khedr and her family have first-hand experience of the gaps in Canada's health-care system when it comes to people with disabilities. She hopes the federal parties are listening to the millions of people with a disability, like her, and what they have to say.
The Dose
Third COVID-19 shots: Who needs them and why?
Toronto infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch says Canada’s approach to third doses is a "reasonable first step."
Canada was already desperately short of nurses before COVID-19. Now nurses say they're hanging on by a thread
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened Canada’s already critical nursing shortage, and experts say it’s going to take strategic planning, incentives and a lot of effort to make work life more sustainable for nurses to build a bigger workforce.
The Dose
As delta surges among unvaccinated, how a focus on science can counter misinformation
With the majority of COVID-19 cases appearing in unvaccinated people, experts say it's as important as ever to increase vaccination rates across Canada to stem a delta-driven fourth wave.
Parents of kids with long-COVID warn that children can develop severe symptoms
Parents whose children have developed long-haul COVID are urging others not to underestimate the virus’s impact on kids as they prepare for the return to class this week.
THE DOSE
Cases are rising across western Canada. Does that mean the return of COVID-19 lockdowns this fall?
Delta has become the predominant strain of COVID-19 across the country. Nazeem Muhajarine, professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan, says a more regional response to COVID-19 flare-ups is more likely than a return to lockdowns.
These paramedics are helping give Canadians the choice to die at home
A Canadian Institute for Health Information report found that most Canadians with a terminal illness would choose to die at home if they could access palliative care, but only 15 per cent are able to do so. Community paramedics aim to be part of the solution.
'Like the roaring '20s,' but not for everyone: What history tells us about life after COVID-19
Post-COVID life will eventually be “like the roaring ’20s” that followed the 1918 influenza pandemic, but it’ll be a bumpy ride to get there, says a doctor and medical sociologist who studies the impact of pandemics.
ER a 'last resort' for sickle cell patients who face racism when seeking care, says advocate
People who have sickle cell disease, one of the most common inherited blood disorders, face racist barriers to appropriate treatment in hospital emergency departments, patients and their physician allies say.
'You have patients say the N-word': Black nurses call for support against racism on the medical frontlines
Nurses are calling attention to anti-Black and other racism they face on a regular basis from some patients, and are calling for better support in the workplace from their colleagues and officials.
To prepare for future heat waves, classify air conditioners as medical devices, UBC expert says
Advocates say the devastating heat dome in B.C. in June through early July should be a wake-up call for health authorities to develop new measures to better protect the elderly and other vulnerable populations from future extreme weather emergencies.
From victims to advocates: People with developmental disabilities are changing the health-care system
Dr. Brian Goldman explores how medicine has treated people with developmental disabilities, and what's being done to remedy the cruelty of the past.
Q&A
'Most important part of that job is the people part of it': Meet Iain White, dietary aide and health-care hero
Iain White’s mother says her son and other dietary aides are unsung health-care heroes of the pandemic because they plate, prep and serve food to residents while offering connection and companionship.
SPECIAL
Prescription for Resilience: How Canadians are coping with COVID
Canadians reveal how they’ve coped with loss and isolation during the pandemic, in big ways and small.
Q&A
Maria Boutilier: housekeeper and health-care hero
Maria Boutilier is an unsung hero of the pandemic for keeping up with the frenetic pace of cleaning and getting rooms and stretchers ready for patients sick with COVID.
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Why the new drug for Alzheimer's disease is causing controversy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave "accelerated approval" this month to the first new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease in nearly two decades. But there is controversy over the efficacy of the drug, as well as its cost and side effects. Saskia Sivananthan, chief of research and knowledge translation for the Alzheimer Society of Canada, breaks down what we know so far about the drug.
Off work for 8 years, woman says she got her life back with unique kind of talk therapy
Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy, a type of talk therapy that digs into the emotional roots behind a person's physical ailments, is gaining notoriety for helping some long-suffering patients with unexplained medical symptoms.
Q&A
How 'scary' ER visit led to an app that allows Indigenous patients to share stories of racism in health care
The incoming president-elect of the CMA invented the Safespace app with his brother after a “scary” ER experience. They hope to spur action on racism in Canada’s health-care system with a pseudonymous platform for Indigenous patients to share their experiences.
Q&A • The Dose
How the pandemic impacted vaping and smoking rates — and why it showed vaping is 'here to stay'
The pandemic contributed to a drop in the rates of smoking and vaping tobacco. But while smoking rates continue to fall, vaping rates especially in teens, appear to be creeping up again. David Hammond, a professor of public health, outlines the risks and why we also can't forget the 'old pandemic' of smoking.
Doctors worry they won't be able to help every cancer patient diagnosed, treated late due to COVID-19
As Canada begins to emerge from the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, specialists who work with cancer patients say they’re concerned they won’t be able to help everyone whose serious cancers have either gone undetected or been diagnosed late because of the crisis.
The Dose
Are you having a 2-dose summer? Expert weighs in on what's safe to do when you're fully vaccinated
More and more Canadians are getting their second dose of COVID vaccine. So what's safe for you to do if you're heading into a two-dose summer? Can you travel? Hug your grandkids? Go to restaurants? Infectious diseases specialist Lynora Saxinger has the answers for what life can look like if you're fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 shows pharmacists have bigger role to play in Canada's health-care system, experts say
The pandemic has demonstrated how pharmacists can and should play a bigger role in Canada’s health-care system, because they’re an easily accessible source of essential medications, medical advice and referrals.
