Health

Health workers screen people for tuberculosis and leprosy in Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest slums, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Tuberculosis deaths rise for 1st time in years, due to COVID-19

U.N. health agency said 1.5 million people worldwide died of the bacterial disease last year

 

Polio survivor Beverley Gill. Contributed photo

‘It makes me feel angry, disappointed, and sad,’ B.C. polio survivor says of vaccine refusal

Campbell River resident wishes she could talk to anti-vaxxers about her struggles

 

A chunk of asbestos is displayed in Asbestos, Que., in an August 10, 2016, file photo. A group of doctors and environment advocates say the Liberals need to close a loophole that is allowing the resale of second-hand products containing asbestos. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Doctors alarmed by loophole allowing sale of used asbestos products

Canada banned the cancer-causing mineral and products that contain it in 2018

 

This Friday, Oct. 15, 2021 photo shows a bottle of aspirin in the Brooklyn borough of New York. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s preliminary updated advice released on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, older adults without heart disease shouldn’t take daily aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. (AP Photo/Emma H. Tobin)

Advice shifting on aspirin use for preventing heart attacks

Daily low-dose aspirin advice for many who already have had a heart attack or stroke has not changed

This Friday, Oct. 15, 2021 photo shows a bottle of aspirin in the Brooklyn borough of New York. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s preliminary updated advice released on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, older adults without heart disease shouldn’t take daily aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. (AP Photo/Emma H. Tobin)
A sign is displayed in front of Health Canada headquarters in Ottawa. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Incorrect allowed dosage on acetaminophen label could lead to overdose or death

Health Canada: 500 mg tablets sold in packages containing 1,000 and 100 caplets

A sign is displayed in front of Health Canada headquarters in Ottawa. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie describes the findings of her survey of long-term care and assisted living residents under pandemic restrictions, B.C. legislature, Nov. 3, 2020. (B.C. government)

Seniors advocate to release review of COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. care facilities

368 COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. care facilities from January 2020 to September 2021 and 1,092 deaths

B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie describes the findings of her survey of long-term care and assisted living residents under pandemic restrictions, B.C. legislature, Nov. 3, 2020. (B.C. government)
Carol Dubé, husband of Joyce Echaquan, reads a statement next to his daughter Wassihna during a memorial marking the first anniversary of the death of his wife in front of the hospital where she died in Joliette, Que., on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Systemic racism that led to death of Joyce Echaquan ‘well-documented’: Quebec coroner

Géhane Kamel’s report into Echaquan’s death found that her demise was accidental, but avoidable

Carol Dubé, husband of Joyce Echaquan, reads a statement next to his daughter Wassihna during a memorial marking the first anniversary of the death of his wife in front of the hospital where she died in Joliette, Que., on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Chantel Chapman, a financial trauma researcher and educator, poses for a handout photo in Vancouver in August. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Financial stress is taking a physical toll on young Canadians, survey finds

FP Canada: 39 per cent of Canadians polled under 35 say financial stress has led to health issues

Chantel Chapman, a financial trauma researcher and educator, poses for a handout photo in Vancouver in August. THE CANADIAN PRESS
Krystal Graham poses in this April 7, 2019 handout photo. Krystal Graham is a Saskatchewan nurse who is on a transplant list waiting for a liver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Krystal Graham

‘Removing the gift of life’: COVID-19 wave pushing back organ transplants

Staff being redeployed in Saskatchewan to care for fourth wave of COVID-19 patients

Krystal Graham poses in this April 7, 2019 handout photo. Krystal Graham is a Saskatchewan nurse who is on a transplant list waiting for a liver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Krystal Graham
Hospital staff at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary wait to screen essential visitors as part of COVID-19 precautions on Thursday, April 9, 2020. The Alberta Medical Association says the province’s high COVID-19 numbers are behind a desperate shortage of specialized staff to care for critical care patients. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta doctors raise alarm on specialist staff shortages in intensive care wards

Alberta Health Services briefing doctors on criteria to use should the health system collapse

Hospital staff at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary wait to screen essential visitors as part of COVID-19 precautions on Thursday, April 9, 2020. The Alberta Medical Association says the province’s high COVID-19 numbers are behind a desperate shortage of specialized staff to care for critical care patients. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Optometrists Dr. Anita Voisin and Dr. Trevor Miranda from Cowichan Eyecare. Don Denton photograph

Seeing is believing at Cowichan Eyecare

Providing vision education for the community

  • Sep 27, 2021
Optometrists Dr. Anita Voisin and Dr. Trevor Miranda from Cowichan Eyecare. Don Denton photograph
Chilliwack General Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Marc Greidanus (left) with a sign that says “We Need Nurses” on the front and “STAT” on the back, at a rally to support nurses in front of Chilliwack MLA Dan Coulter’s constituency office on Sept. 17, 2021. (Margaret Reid photo)

Chilliwack ER doctor says hospitals face a staffing crisis in nursing

‘A nurse showing up to work today is often expected to do the work of 2 people’

Chilliwack General Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Marc Greidanus (left) with a sign that says “We Need Nurses” on the front and “STAT” on the back, at a rally to support nurses in front of Chilliwack MLA Dan Coulter’s constituency office on Sept. 17, 2021. (Margaret Reid photo)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney takes questions after announcing new COVID-19 measures for Alberta in Calgary, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Sources say Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to replace health minister amid COVID crisis

Province has reached out to the federal government for help in dealing with COVID-19

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney takes questions after announcing new COVID-19 measures for Alberta in Calgary, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
British Columbia's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Friday July 3, 2020. A British Columbia health authority says it is facing a severe nursing shortage in a northern city as staff face criticism from COVID-19 protesters. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

B.C. health authority issues alarm over nurse shortage in Fort St. John

‘Exhausted, overworked, and facing brutal criticism from the public’

British Columbia's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Friday July 3, 2020. A British Columbia health authority says it is facing a severe nursing shortage in a northern city as staff face criticism from COVID-19 protesters. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
(pixabay)

Program bringing rural nurse training to B.C.’s rural north

University of Northern British Columbia launches first nursing degree program in Fort St. John

(pixabay)
A nurse attends to a patient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, B.C., Friday, June 4, 2021. The average cost of treating a COVID-19 patient who needs intensive care in Canada is estimated at over $50,000 compared with $8,400 for someone who’s had a heart attack, a new report says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Report: intensive care COVID treatment costs more than 5 times heart attack treatment

Canadian COVID patients in the ICU stay for a long time and require a lot of treatment

A nurse attends to a patient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, B.C., Friday, June 4, 2021. The average cost of treating a COVID-19 patient who needs intensive care in Canada is estimated at over $50,000 compared with $8,400 for someone who’s had a heart attack, a new report says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Alberta Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board Travis Toews delivers the 2021 budget in Edmonton on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Alberta backs off demand for nurse pay cuts in latest round of collective bargaining

Province had been demanding a three per cent rollback for the 30,000-plus members of UNA

Alberta Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board Travis Toews delivers the 2021 budget in Edmonton on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
(Photo by BLACK PRESS)

Hard-working Abbotsford pharmacy staff complete incredible feat to help wildfire evacuees

‘We couldn’t believe we really just did this in one night,’ says pharmacy owner

(Photo by BLACK PRESS)
Depressed woman in a train

Overdose Prevention Guide shares vital resources close to home

Black Press Media and community partners shine light on opioid epidemic and local response

  • Aug 23, 2021
Depressed woman in a train
COVID-19 has raised concerns in doctors over whether their patients are taking the appropriate dosage of their medication (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

COVID-19 may have led to incorrect doses of medications, B.C. doctor worries

Doctors are worried their patients may not be taking sufficient medication during COVID-19

COVID-19 has raised concerns in doctors over whether their patients are taking the appropriate dosage of their medication (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)