First mom to deliver in new facility on September 12, 2010 will receive a year's supply of diapers, cleaning service for a year and much more

September 12, 2010 is not only the move date for Sunnybrook's Women & Babies Program from its downtown site to 2075 Bayview Avenue, but also a lucky day for a family delivering their baby at the new facility.

The first couple delivering a baby in Sunnybrook's new facility on Sunday, September 12, 2010 will receive a "diapers for a year" courtesy of Babies R Us, a year's worth of baby clothes from Snug-a-bug, learning toys for baby's first year and a spa package from Elizabeth Milan Spa. See contest rules and regulations for full details

"If you're thinking about starting a Sunnybrook family or adding to your family, now is the time," says Dr. Jennifer Blake, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sunnybrook. "The new home for the Women & Babies Program includes welcoming birthing rooms where women can progress through labour, delivery and recovery in the same suite. There are comfortable and private spaces for visitors and an advanced operative birthing suite."

The new facilities at Sunnybrook will include:

• 20 private Labour, Birth, Recovery and Postpartum (LBRP) rooms, where women will journey from labour and delivery to postpartum recovery, all in the same comfortable room
• 48 beds for neonatal intensive care which will provide around the clock care for 1,200 of Ontario's critically ill and premature infants
• Three operative birthing rooms for high-risk, Caesarian section and multiple births
• A 23 bed High Risk Antenatal Unit for moms-to-be experiencing pregnancy complications
• Access to critical care expertise in the areas of heart, cancer and neurosciences, all of which are located at the Bayview campus

"The new facilities, designed with input from patients and families, will provide a state-of-the-art environment for our world-class Women & Babies team," says Dr. Barry McLellan, President and CEO of Sunnybrook.

The Andre Picard Files: Summer of 09 to the year end

Drugs made in China: opportunity or threat? Dec 11, 2009

The man from Pfizer: Should Big Pharma help steer health research? Dec 03, 2009 

Rich v. poor: The lives we can expect from our income Nov 27, 2009

Base breast-screening on reason, not passion Dec 14, 2009

Reader questions on H1N1 answered Nov 02, 2009

Forget poppies – vets deserve flu vaccine Nov 11, 2009

Flu-shot impatience: Let's try a dose of reality Nov 04, 2009

Here's a radical health care idea: Put the patient first Oct 22, 2009

Our two-tiered health system: a rural-urban split Oct 16, 2009

Stop the conflusion: Here are the H1N1 facts Oct 09, 2009

Note to MPs: Our kids are more important than your re-election Oct 02, 2009

To find a global solution to cancer, we need a global conversation Oct 01, 2009

Burying the story won't stop suicide Sep 19, 2009

We do have to put a price on life Oct 03, 2009

With more than 500 aboriginal women missing, action is overdue Sep 03, 2009

New Brunswick has betrayed its doctors - and the public Aug 28, 2009

At 25, the Canada Health Act deserves better from our leaders Aug 21, 2009 EDT

We need fewer barriers to abortion, not more Aug 27, 2009

We could learn a few things from the U.S. Aug 07, 2009

Poor leadership is the real listeria culprit Jul 22, 2009

Trans fatty acids are good for the heart?

(Winnipeg, December 1, 2009) Research scientists at St. Boniface Hospital and University of Manitoba have published a study suggesting that vaccenic acid (VA) – a natural trans fatty acid found in small amounts in milk and dairy products like yogurt and cheese – could actually aid in reducing the incidence of heart disease. This finding indicates that we can no longer assume that all trans fats are harmful.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition in collaboration with scientists from the University of Laval, was led by Dr. Grant Pierce, a member of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at St Boniface Hospital and a Professor of Physiology within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. The work indicated that a diet fed to animals including the trans fat vaccenic acid helped protect against atherosclerotic plaque buildup in arteries – the primary cause of blockages resulting in a heart attack or stroke. The study measured actual reductions in arterial plaque by eating natural trans fats ‐ by as much as 31%.

“It is clear from our study that not all trans fats cause harm to our blood vessels. Industrially hydrogenated trans fats are found in vegetable shortening and baked goods like cookies and donuts. Eating these trans fats caused mice to develop plaques, whereas eating natural trans fats did not. In fact, our research demonstrates that natural trans fats actually prevented plaque buildup,” said Dr. Chantal Bassett, a graduate student in Dr. Pierce’s lab and lead author on the paper.

Dr. Pierce, Executive Director of Research at St. Boniface Hospital explained, “This research has important significance for the meat and dairy industries. Meat and dairy products contain natural trans fats, mainly in the form of vaccenic acid. These meat and dairy trans fats may have been a concern to us prior to our study. We can now consume these products with confidence that it is a healthy part of our diet.”

Isabelle Neiderer, Director of Nutrition for Dairy Farmers of Canada, adds “These interesting findings add to the growing scientific evidence showing that industrial and natural trans fats have different effects on blood lipids and cardiovascular risk and they also lend support to a recent WHO scientific review which stated that natural trans fats, in amounts usually consumed, do not seem to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

“This is another great example of how Canadian research is leading the way in helping Canadians and citizens around the world to make healthier nutritional decisions,” said Dr. Peter Liu, Scientific Director at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health. “Educating Canadians on the differences between natural, healthy and industrial manufactured unhealthy trans fatty acids in their diet will help to further lower their cholesterol levels and their chance of developing heart diseases.”

Powerful World Alliance of Health Researchers Announces Landmark Pact on Priorities In Fight Against Humanity’s Most Fatal Diseases

Agencies managing 80% of global public health research funding set first priorities for common, concerted assault on heart and lung diseases, other “Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases”

An alliance of institutions collectively managing an estimated 80 percent of all public health research funding worldwide today announced their first targets for concerted action in the fight against “chronic non-communicable diseases” (CNCDs).

Lowering hypertension (high blood pressure), and reducing tobacco use and the indoor pollution caused by crude cooking stoves in developing countries -- which together factor into roughly 1 in 5 deaths each year -- were chosen as initial priorities for the unprecedented coordinated research program under the new Global Alliance for Chronic Disease.

The priorities were set earlier this month in New Delhi, India, at the Alliance’s inaugural scientific summit.

Three new member institutions (the South African Medical Research Council, the Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the US National Institutes of Health) as well as a new category of partner institution (see appendix 1), were welcomed by the Alliance’s six charter institutions:

• Australia National Health and Medical Research Council
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
• Indian Council of Medical Research
• U.K. Medical Research Council, and
• U.S. National Institutes of Health, specifically its National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the Fogarty International Center, now joined by NMIH (the three NIH members sharing one vote on the Alliance board).

The World Health Organization (WHO) is an observer on the board of the Alliance, created last June to support clear and coordinated research funding priorities in the battle against chronic, non-communicable diseases (CNCDs), namely:

• Cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke)
• Several cancers
• Chronic respiratory conditions, and
• Type 2 diabetes.

According to the WHO, of the 58 million deaths recorded in 2006, CNCDs caused about 60 percent.

Of the 35 million deaths caused by CNCDs, the Alliance’s first three research funding priorities are associated with 11.5 million of them (about one third; broken down below).

CNCDs cause twice as many deaths as the combined total of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and peri-natal conditions, and nutritional deficiencies.

The health impact and socio-economic cost of CNCDs is enormous and rising, upending efforts to combat poverty.

The Alliance’s multi-country, multi-disciplinary research in the first three priority topics, to be contracted next year, will focus in particular on the needs of low and middle income countries, and on those of low income populations of more developed countries.

They also agreed in New Delhi to commission several scoping initiatives to prepare future joint research related to obesity and diabetes, to be led by the Alliance’s acting Executive Director, Prof. David Matthews of Oxford University.

In total, Alliance members expect to invest tens of millions of dollars in their first coordinated research programmes over five years.

Members agreed that the research must, among other things:

• Involve local policymakers from the outset, with a commitment to scale up successfully tested programs
• Measure clinical outcomes – for example, a reduction in the incidence of stroke, not just a drop in the incidence of hypertension
• Not draw human and other resources away from any local health care system
• Create a tool-kit to be used later to scale up and replicate successfully tested programs
• Include a training / capacity building component.

Alliance members also agreed at their board meeting in New Delhi to fund a program to identify the world’s “Grand Challenges in Mental Health” under the leadership of the US National Institute for Mental Health, in association with Alliance Board Chair Abdallah Daar and Vikram Patel, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Sangath Centre in Goa, India.

The Alliance expanded its mandate to include mental illnesses because of their link to CNCDs and the rising toll they take globally, including 1 million suicides annually, eating disorders and alcoholism leading to death by injury. Some experts predict mental health problems will become the world’s second leading cause of disease burden by the early 2020s.

Says Dr. Pamela Collins, Associate Director for Special Populations and Director, Offices for Special Populations, Rural Mental Health Research and Global Mental Health at NIMH: “Working with in house and extramural program staff, NIMH develops global projects and provides technical consultation to the international mental health community. We are excited to be working with the Alliance and look forward to developing the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health.”

It was agreed in New Delhi that Canada’s International Development Research Centre will host the Alliance secretariat. Ottawa-based IDRC was chosen from among six expressions of interest from around the world.

And, at the invitation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China will host the Alliance’s next scientific and Board meeting in 2010.

Hypertension
According to the World Health Organization, hypertension (high blood pressure) is the leading cause of cardiovascular deaths, causing 5 million premature deaths each year.

Experts estimate 1 billion people worldwide are affected by hypertension, with 1.5 billion victims predicted by 2025.

The World Hypertension League (WHL), an umbrella organization of 85 national hypertension societies and leagues, estimates that over half those with hypertension are unaware of it.

This major cause of illness, including strokes, is very poorly addressed in developing countries.

Tobacco
Tobacco (including India’s high-nicotine, flavored, filterless bidi products, dubbed “cigarettes with training wheels” by health authorities), is expected to kill 1 billion people prematurely this century.
The challenge is to reduce this toll, especially in the developing world, which is increasingly targeted by tobacco companies as western markets diminish.

Almost 5 million people died from smoking worldwide in 2000, rough half of them living in developing countries and half in rich nations.

At least half of these adults die between 30 and 69 years of age, losing decades of productive life. Cancer and smoking deaths have fallen sharply in men in high-income countries but are expected to rise globally unless smokers in low- and middle-income countries stop before or during middle age.

Indoor air pollution from cooking stoves
About 3 billion people cook their meals with wood, dung, coal and other solid fuels over open fires or on primitive stoves inside their homes.

As a result, the WHO estimates that 1.5 million people die prematurely each year.

The Alliance program will, among other goals, develop and evaluate new designs capable of large scale manufacturing, along with local and regional commercialization strategies.

Mental Health
According to the WHO, “mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common in all regions of the world, affecting every community and age group across all income countries. While 14% of the global burden of disease is attributed to these disorders, most of the people affected - 75% in many low-income countries - receive no treatment or care.

Estimates in 2001 suggested that about 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental or neurological disorders or from psychosocial problems such as those related to alcohol and drug abuse. Many of them suffer silently and alone without care on the frontiers of stigma, shame, exclusion and death.

Major depression is now the leading cause of disability globally and ranks as the 4th leading cause of disease burden global, rising to the 2nd leading cause by the early 2020s, according to WHO prediction.

Globally in 2001, 70 million people suffered alcohol dependence, about 50 million had epilepsy and 24 million had schizophrenia. For every successful suicide (1 million in 2001), the WHO estimates between 10 and 20 people attempt it.


* * * * *
Quotable quotes:
Abdallah S Daar, Chair of the Alliance, Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto and University Health Network’s McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health: “Our 2007 study in Nature identified the Grand Challenges in chronic non-communicable diseases. This month in Delhi, some of the world’s leading CNCD experts discussed potential early research funding priorities, such as the link between undernutrition in early life and the risk of diabetes and heart disease later, the connection between tuberculosis, diabetes and chronic obstructive lung disease, the strength of evidence for nutritional advice given to the public, and the growing epidemic of diabetes and obesity in developing countries. At future scientific and board meetings we will return to these and other topics, but for now we wanted to pilot the concerted research approach that, once successfully demonstrated for one condition, can be used for others.”

Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, Director, NHLBI: “Alliance members intend to jointly develop the request for proposals and combine on the peer review of those received, coordinate funding by Alliance members and partners, create standardized data gathering tools and databases, and harmonize evaluation methods. The Alliance represents an important new vehicle for making optimal use of limited global resources available to reduce the enormous toll of these largely-preventable diseases.”

Dr. David Matthews, Professor, Oxford University and acting Executive Director of the Alliance: “The epidemic of chronic disease in the world has accelerated. We urgently need to understand how to reverse the trend, not just in small trials, but in all the world communities. This new initiative will provide urgently needed resources to find and implement solutions”

Dr. Alain Baudet, President, Canadian Institutes of Heath Research: “We know quite a lot about how to manage chronic diseases on a small scale. The challenge is how to scale up interventions, especially in low resource settings. For Canadians, this includes our own aboriginal populations, whose health outcomes need to be improved dramatically. For example, they have some of the highest incidence of diabetes type 2 in the world.”

Prof. Warwick Anderson, CEO of the Australia National Health and Medical Research Council: “Australia has some of the most advanced medical care in the world, yet our aboriginal population continues to suffer from high levels of both infectious and chronic diseases, including mental illness. They have high rates of diabetes, and many wind up with end-stage kidney failure, requiring prolonged dialysis or transplantation. We must address chronic diseases seriously and urgently.”

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Director, Medical Research Council of the UK: “We wanted to take an engineering approach: what is the problem, how can we bring different people together to design a solution, develop a plan to implement the solution, and then scale it up. We wanted policymakers to be involved from the beginning. This is implementation science. And that is what we need now.”

Dr. V.M. Katoch, Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research: “India has become the diabetes capital of the world; its people suffer from cardiovascular diseases at an early age and millions suffer chronic lung diseases as a result of smoking tobacco and our own type of cigarettes, the bidi, which the government is unable to regulate or tax. And indoor pollution from old fashioned cooking stoves is a major cause of chronic lung diseases, especially among children and women. These problems cannot afford to wait to tackle these problems.”

Prof. Depei Lu, President, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences: “China has a huge population, and CNCDs and mental health problems constitute a huge burden of disease and disability. The Alliance provides a mechanism for us to work with our colleagues around the world to identify how best to address these conditions. We welcome the Alliance to China next year.”
* * * * *
Appendix 1
Partner organizations:

• The National Institute of Medical Research, Tanzania
• The World Heart Federation,
• The Pan American Health Organization

* * * * *
Media contacts at member institutions:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health:
+1-301-496-4236


nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
+1-613-941-4563; +1-613-808-7526 (m)


mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

U.K. Medical Research Council
Ms. Hazel Lambert, +44-(0)-207-670 5301; +44 (0) 20 7637 6011

press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Australia National Health and Medical Research Council
Ms. Carolyn Norrie, +61 (02) 6217 9342; +61-0422 008 512 (m)

carolyn.norrie@nhmrc.gov.au

Telemedicine Provides Psychiatric Lifeline for Kids in Crisis

TORONTO (November 19) - Every year, thousands of youngsters in Ontario experience a mental health crisis, yet the vast majority end up waiting months for psychiatric assessment and treatment because of the severe shortage of these specialists. Now a groundbreaking new program is bridging the gap between kids and care.

Nearly 20 per cent of young people under the age of 18 in the province are affected by a mental illness or disorder.  Astoundingly, only one in six of these will actually receive the mental health services they require.

"Imagine being the parent of a child in serious mental crisis. And then imagine arriving at a hospital emergency department and being told that it will be months before the child can be properly assessed by a psychiatrist.That is the sad reality for many families," says Dr. Ed Brown, CEO of the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN).

OTN's live, two-way video conferencing technology is assisting hospitals to provide more immediate care to this vulnerable population. The program, called the Virtual Emergency Room, was launched in 2008 by Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Lakeridge Health, Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Ross Memorial Hospital. The program allows young patients with an urgent mental health problem that require specialist intervention to be assessed within 72 hours. The participating psychiatrists are able to link to these youngsters using OTN's network.

Dr. Gabby Ledger is a child/adolescent psychiatrist at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and is one of three physicians at the hospital currently providing care through the Virtual Emergency Room.

"Kids suffering with untreated serious mental illness are at risk.  They may begin failing in school, pulling away from their peers and families, becoming socially isolated. They may end up living on the streets or in the most severe cases, they may try to take their own lives," says Dr. Ledger.  "That's why the VER program is so important; it allows us to reach these kids before their mental health problems worsen."

Anne (real case, name changed to protect identity), a parent,, understands first hand what can happen when access to these specialists is limited.  For years, her son struggled with mental illness, purposely harming himself on many occasions.  Doctors told Anne that his issues were behavioural and that he was just seeking attention.  Anne's son attempted suicide at 13 years old. 

"I was so frustrated...for years I had been telling doctors something wasn't right and no one would listen.  Even after his suicide attempt, it would have taken months to see a child psychiatrist.  The VER allowed him to be seen within a week.  We are so grateful that he is finally getting help."

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people in Canada and accounts for more deaths in this age group than cancer and AIDS combined.  And for every young person who dies by suicide, there are an estimated 200 attempted suicides.

By linking to any of the four hospitals via the OTN system, the participating psychiatrists are able to provide more immediate care to more young patients at risk. The program serves children and youth who suffer from complex mental health issues such as bi-polar disorder, psychosis and severe behavioural disturbances.

The technology also helps address geographic distances. The Central East LHIN stretches from Victoria Park (Scarborough) to Algonquin Park, so there is a lot of ground to cover and not enough child/adolescent psychiatrists to serve the area.

"The program has been incredibly well received by patients, their families and referring physicians," says Dr. Ledger.  "They are usually so relieved when they discover how quickly they can be seen."

The Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) is an independent not-for-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario. OTN is a secure, encrypted video network that helps deliver clinical care and professional education among health care providers and patients.

 
 

For more information, visit www.otn.ca or contact:

Damage control is the name of the game in Berlin on Monday as politicians rush to deny that they are receiving a better, safer swine flu vaccine than ordinary Germans. The first of 50 million doses arrived in Germany on Monday

One might think that the arrival in Germany of the first of 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine on Monday might be cause for celebration. But with news breaking over the weekend that top government officials in Berlin will be injected with an alternative vaccine -- one widely seen as safer -- a debate about an alleged two-class medical system has erupted.

SPIEGEL over the weekend reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel, a number of her ministers and other government officials would receive a vaccine manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Baxter -- the same vaccine that the German military opted for, as was reported last week.

The mass-circulation tabloid Bild on Monday plastered the story on its front page on Monday, assuring its readers that "experts are accusing the government" of serving up "second class medicine" to ordinary Germans. Click on the title for the continuation of  this story.

Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too.

WASHINGTON - Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer.

Scientists at the University of Virginia, long known for its virology research, tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds and reported the results Tuesday at a major conference on infectious diseases.

Doctors don't know how often people catch colds from touching germy surfaces as opposed to, say, shaking a sick person's hand, said Dr. Birgit Winther, an ear, nose and throat specialist who helped conduct the study.

Two years ago, she and other doctors showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left, waiting to be picked up by the next person checking in.

For the new study, researchers started with 30 adults showing early symptoms of colds. Sixteen tested positive for rhinovirus, which causes about half of all colds. They were asked to name 10 places in their homes they had touched in the preceding 18 hours, and researchers used DNA tests to hunt for rhinovirus.
"We found that commonly touched areas like refrigerator doors and handles were positive about 40 per cent of the time" for cold germs, Winther said.

All three of the salt and pepper shakers they tested were contaminated. Other spots found to harbour the germ: six out of 18 doorknobs; eight of 14 refrigerator handles; three of 13 light switches; six of 10 remote controls; eight of 10 bathroom faucets; four of seven phones, and three of four dishwasher handles.

Next, the researchers deliberately contaminated surfaces with participants' mucus and then tested to see whether rhinovirus stuck to their fingers when they turned on lights, answered the phone or did other common tasks. More than half of the participants got the virus on their fingertips 48 hours after the mucus was smeared.

The study was sponsored by Reckitt-Benckiser Inc., makers of Lysol, but no products were tested in the research. The study, designed by doctors with no ties to the company, was an effort to lay the groundwork for future research on germs and ways to get rid of them.

In a separate study, the university's Drs. Diane Pappas and Owen Hendley went germ-hunting on toys in the offices of five pediatricians in Fairfax, Va., three times during last year's cold and flu season.

Tests showed fragments of cold viruses on 20 per cent of all toys tested - 20 per cent of those in the "sick child" waiting room, 17 per cent in the "well child" waiting room, and 30 per cent in a sack of toys that kids are allowed to choose from after being good for a shot.

"Mamas know this," Hendley said. "They say, `We go to a doctor for a well-child checkup, the kids play with the toys and two days later they have a cold.'"

There is no proof that the remnants themselves can infect, but their presence suggests a risk, said Dr. Paul Auwaerter, an infectious-diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins University. He was familiar with the study but had no role in it.

Doctors have long advised frequent hand-washing to avoid spreading germs. Wearing surgical masks and using hand sanitizers also can help, a novel University of Michigan study found.

About 1,000 students who live in dorms tested these measures for six weeks during the 2006-07 flu season. They were divided into three groups: those who wore masks, those who wore masks and used hand sanitizer, and those who did neither.

The two groups who used masks reported 10 per cent to 50 per cent fewer cold symptoms - cough, fever, chills - than the group who used no prevention measures.

Researchers note that the study was not "blinded" - everyone knew who was doing what, and mask wearers may have been less likely to report cold symptoms later because they believed they were taking steps to reduce that possibility.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paid for the study.

The conference was a joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Electronic records have already provided one big change. eRecords in the US

The debate over health care reform is proving to be a no-holds barred battle but, as New York Times' David Pogue reports, electronic records have already provided one big change.

Actor Dennis Quaid ("I'm not really a doctor. I don't even play one on TV!") is a believer that computerized health systems save lives.

In 2007, his newborn twins were victims of a terrible medical mistake.

"About a week after we brought them home from the hospital, they started to develop what turned out to be a staph infection," he said. "They were supposed to receive a 10-unit dose of heparin. And the nurse had the wrong bottle and gave them a 10,000 unit dose each of the drug. And they were in real danger of dying." 

Watch thisCBS video.

Unlearning. A book by Dr. Alejandro R. Jadad

Reposted from Monday, October 13, 2008


Dr. Alejandro R. Jadad writes:
"I just published my first non-medical book, entitled "Unlearning", which I am using to explore the impact of combining online publishing, social networking and the notion of "Freeconomics".

The book can be downloaded for free or purchased at:

http://www.lulu.com/content/4132419

I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to share it with anyone you think might find this interesting.

------------------------------------

Here is an excerpt:
------------------------------------
I still remember my maternal grandfather quoting
[Benjamin] Franklin’s words:

“For Life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points
to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in
which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in
some degree, the effects of prudence or the want of it.”

Many years later, when I was in my late teens and already
a medical student, my grandfather’s image and Franklin’s
words came to me suddenly, while I was playing as the
captain and goalkeeper of my university in-door soccer team.
I could see the entire field from under the goalposts and was
shouting instructions to my teammates. I suddenly felt like
the King on a Chessboard, being the target of the opposing
team, unable to move from my box and hoping that my
teammates would follow my commands. I also realized that, at
the same time, in my life outside the pitch, I was a
dispensable pawn at the hospital where I was training as an
intern, with little control over my future. It was my superiors,
not me, who would decide where and when I would work, and
what role I would play in the war against diseases. I replayed
the words from Franklin’s essay and realized that I could
easily replace the word Chess for game, making his
statements even more prescient:

“Life is a kind of game, in which we have points to gain,
and competitors or adversaries to contend with, in which there
is a variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the
effects of prudence or the want of it”.

At that moment, feeling like a piece on a board, I started
to suspect that not just Chess, but all games in general, are
much more than enactments of life. They may be signaling to
us, constantly, that life itself is a game.

This thought set me on a path that proved to be much
more challenging and exciting than I could have ever
anticipated.

Perhaps, I wondered, by looking at the nature and
structure of games, I could gain valuable insights about my
own life and how to live it.

North West LHIN honoured with International Public Participation Award

The North West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) was honored Monday night with the Innovation Award by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) at the 17th annual conference in San Diego, California.

The North West LHIN’s project, Share Your Story, Shape Your Care, won this award for innovative practices to involve remote communities in strategic planning for health care delivery. Through the use of multiple public participation efforts and techniques that included significant use of web-based and social media, the North West LHIN gathered stories and ideas, and reached out to more than 800 participants over a huge geographic region in Ontario, Canada.

The Core Values Awards honour projects and organizations that represent the best practice internationally in the field of public participation in decision-making. The awards are evaluated against IAP2’s seven Core Values for public participation practice.”

Share Your Story, Shape Your Care demonstrated the effective use of web-based technologies and social media in a public participation process that aimed to involve and include patients, families, health providers, and the public. The information gathered through this initiative informed the North West LHIN’s 2010-2013 health services plan.

“Share your Story, Shape your Care” was not afraid to experiment with social media tools and new technologies for online dialogue—and it paid off. The project is now a model and source of inspiration for engaging people across a large geographical area creatively and effectively” said Sandy Heierbacher, Core Values Award judge and Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD).

Core Values Awards competition are reviewed and evaluated by a judging panel composed of past Core Values Award winners, experienced public participation practitioners and academics in the field of public participation.

IAP2 is an international association of members who seek to promote and improve the practice of public participation in relation to individuals, governments, institutions, and other entities that affect the public interest in nations throughout the world. Currently, IAP2 has over 1,500 active members in 26 countries. The annual Core Values Awards competition coincides with IAP2’s international conference. More information about the International Association for Public Participation and the Core Values is available from the IAP2 website:  www.iap2.org.