Tax Relief for Canadian Seniors: "Tax Relief for Canadian Seniors
Canada’s New Government recently proposed a Tax Fairness Plan that would deliver over one billion dollars of new tax relief annually for Canadians. The Plan, which increases the Age Credit Amount and allows income splitting for pensioners, builds on the $20 billion of tax reductions provided for individuals in Budget 2006 and will significantly enhance the incentives to save and invest for family retirement security."
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
A smile is good medicine
A smile is good for your soul and laughter is very good medicine 6
Quick facts about us :
The e-mail address for inquires on "Back to Eden" wellness communities is. Backtoeden@dependmail.com. The Ridgetown location address is 23 Richard Street. Phone 519-674-3434
“New Beginnings” is a Care facility that is over 8000 square feet in size, fully client appointed with a qualified staff and a strong reputation as a quality service provider in the Chatham/Kent region. Our present resident mix is 10 with the potential for a further 8. We market our care facilities under the "Back to Eden" umbrella brand name. The location name is "New Beginnings."
Humor New words in your work space or place contributed by S.Holle
1. BLAMESTORMING
Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
2.SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
3.ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard
4.SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
5. CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles.
6.PRAIRIE DOGGING : When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
7. MOUSE POTATO : The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
8.SITCOMs: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.
9.STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny. WOOFS: Well-Off Older Folks. POOFS Poor-off older folks.
10.SWIPEOUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.
11.XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.
12.IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are Annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them.
13. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
14. ADMINISPHERE : The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
15.404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested site could not be located.
16. GENERICA : Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.
17.OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send on an email by mistake).
18. CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously passing gas while passing through a Cube Farm.
Lessons or the Moral of the story as we see it:
You are in charge of your health, vitality and life
o Be proactive and eventually you will succeed
o We have all experienced the new words in action.
This is particularly true if you need services or work in a government environment
o Have some fun- use the new words to make others accountable to you -point out 404 errors. Make the Adminisphere accountable and get rid of the seagulls through cropdusting. Reduce or avoid blamestorming before it gets started
Back to Eden-New Beginnings (Ridgetown) 23 Richards Street 519-674-3434
We are a community of like minded peers, with an environment that is cozy, caring and comfortable. We are not GENERICA. We are special designed community just for you . We are not institutional.
Community Updates:
1. We endorse the Carp position on No More waiting on Health Care. Be heard join the better health crusade.
2. We have expanded the products in the food member outreach program to include sweet potatoes, hams and fish
3. We have a E-bay account for members who wish to play. ( Our Food for the mind outreach program- a work in progress)
4. We need hands on volunteers!,
Quick facts about us :
The e-mail address for inquires on "Back to Eden" wellness communities is. Backtoeden@dependmail.com. The Ridgetown location address is 23 Richard Street. Phone 519-674-3434
“New Beginnings” is a Care facility that is over 8000 square feet in size, fully client appointed with a qualified staff and a strong reputation as a quality service provider in the Chatham/Kent region. Our present resident mix is 10 with the potential for a further 8. We market our care facilities under the "Back to Eden" umbrella brand name. The location name is "New Beginnings."
Humor New words in your work space or place contributed by S.Holle
1. BLAMESTORMING
Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
2.SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
3.ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard
4.SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
5. CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles.
6.PRAIRIE DOGGING : When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
7. MOUSE POTATO : The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
8.SITCOMs: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.
9.STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny. WOOFS: Well-Off Older Folks. POOFS Poor-off older folks.
10.SWIPEOUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.
11.XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.
12.IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are Annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them.
13. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
14. ADMINISPHERE : The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
15.404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested site could not be located.
16. GENERICA : Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.
17.OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send on an email by mistake).
18. CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously passing gas while passing through a Cube Farm.
Lessons or the Moral of the story as we see it:
You are in charge of your health, vitality and life
o Be proactive and eventually you will succeed
o We have all experienced the new words in action.
This is particularly true if you need services or work in a government environment
o Have some fun- use the new words to make others accountable to you -point out 404 errors. Make the Adminisphere accountable and get rid of the seagulls through cropdusting. Reduce or avoid blamestorming before it gets started
Back to Eden-New Beginnings (Ridgetown) 23 Richards Street 519-674-3434
We are a community of like minded peers, with an environment that is cozy, caring and comfortable. We are not GENERICA. We are special designed community just for you . We are not institutional.
Community Updates:
1. We endorse the Carp position on No More waiting on Health Care. Be heard join the better health crusade.
2. We have expanded the products in the food member outreach program to include sweet potatoes, hams and fish
3. We have a E-bay account for members who wish to play. ( Our Food for the mind outreach program- a work in progress)
4. We need hands on volunteers!,
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Skimaire High Tech
Skimaire High Tech: "Health Policy - Dr. Mike Magee provides education and insight into health policy and current healthcare issues.: 'And lastly, we know that in some circumstances, normal blood stem cells accelerate aging in response to chemotherapy and radiation while the cancer stem cells for some reason are immune.5,6 This means that with each successive treatment, the cancer stem cells may be gaining a competitive advantage. It’s imperative that we gain better understanding of the biologic and clinical consequences of our current therapies and continue to use this knowledge to design new ones.
If there’s anything in this information to ponder, it should be this. One, stem cell biology is critically related to the behavior of human cancers. Two, the eradication of cancer stem cells will be essential to improving survival rates for people with some cancers. Three, it is possible that current approaches to therapy in some cancers may be preferentially benefiting those cancers’ stem cells, which mean future therapies must take this into account. And finally, in the future, just wiping out the bulk of a tumor may not be an adequate measure of success. Rather, we will need to address the core of the problem, which is likely to reside where the cancer stem cells live and thrive.'"
If there’s anything in this information to ponder, it should be this. One, stem cell biology is critically related to the behavior of human cancers. Two, the eradication of cancer stem cells will be essential to improving survival rates for people with some cancers. Three, it is possible that current approaches to therapy in some cancers may be preferentially benefiting those cancers’ stem cells, which mean future therapies must take this into account. And finally, in the future, just wiping out the bulk of a tumor may not be an adequate measure of success. Rather, we will need to address the core of the problem, which is likely to reside where the cancer stem cells live and thrive.'"
Sunday, February 11, 2007
50Plus.com - Alzheimer's breakthrough?
50Plus.com - Alzheimer's breakthrough?: "Alzheimer's breakthrough?
Article By: Cynthia Ross Cravit
A Canadian-led research team has found a defective gene that could lead to tests to identify people at risk of Alzheimer's disease and drug therapies to protect them.
Discovery of a defective gene may help scientists develop tests to identify people at greatest risk of Alzheimer's disease and tailor-made drug therapies to help them.
'It's another clue to the way in which this disease comes about, another piece of the puzzle,' Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop, director of the centre for research in neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Toronto and co-leader of the study, told the National Post.
'Every time you get a piece of the puzzle and you can relate it to something else in the puzzle, you're that much closer to knowing what the picture on the puzzle is,' he added.
The gene, called SORL1, normally directs proteins away from the “forbidden” zones of the brain. It is here that molecular toxin can build up and eventually destroy brain cells in people with Alzheimer’s. Researchers believe that defective copies of the gene are found inside many people who will eventually develop the debilitating neurodegenerative disease.
Currently, about 435,000 Canadians have Alzheimer's and other related dementias. The disease, which has no cure, is expected to impact more people as the population ages. According to the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, an estimated 750,000 Canadians will have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia by 2031. "
Article By: Cynthia Ross Cravit
A Canadian-led research team has found a defective gene that could lead to tests to identify people at risk of Alzheimer's disease and drug therapies to protect them.
Discovery of a defective gene may help scientists develop tests to identify people at greatest risk of Alzheimer's disease and tailor-made drug therapies to help them.
'It's another clue to the way in which this disease comes about, another piece of the puzzle,' Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop, director of the centre for research in neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Toronto and co-leader of the study, told the National Post.
'Every time you get a piece of the puzzle and you can relate it to something else in the puzzle, you're that much closer to knowing what the picture on the puzzle is,' he added.
The gene, called SORL1, normally directs proteins away from the “forbidden” zones of the brain. It is here that molecular toxin can build up and eventually destroy brain cells in people with Alzheimer’s. Researchers believe that defective copies of the gene are found inside many people who will eventually develop the debilitating neurodegenerative disease.
Currently, about 435,000 Canadians have Alzheimer's and other related dementias. The disease, which has no cure, is expected to impact more people as the population ages. According to the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, an estimated 750,000 Canadians will have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia by 2031. "
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Many doctors stay mum on controversial care: study - Yahoo! News
Many doctors stay mum on controversial care: study - Yahoo! News: "Many doctors stay mum on controversial care: study By Gene Emery
Wed Feb 7, 5:05 PM ET
BOSTON (Reuters) - Do not always expect straight talk from your doctor about treatments he or she disapproves of -- 14 percent of physicians believe it is acceptable to withhold information about topics such as birth control, abortion and sedating dying patients, according to a study published on Wednesday.
In addition, 29 percent feel no obligation to tell patients where they can go to get that care.
Most of the 1,144 U.S. doctors who responded to the poll, accord to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, supported full disclosure and referral to another health care provider if they had moral objections to a treatment or procedure.
'If physicians' ideas translate into their practices, then 14 percent of patients -- more than 40 million Americans -- may be cared for by physicians who do not believe they are obligated to disclose information about medically available treatments they consider objectionable,' Dr. Farr Curlin of the University of Chicago and colleagues wrote.
'In addition, 29 percent of patients -- or nearly 100 million Americans -- may be cared for by physicians who do not believe they have an obligation to refer the patient to another provider for such treatments.'
Men, Christian doctors and physicians with the strongest religious beliefs were most likely to say it is permissible to withhold information and not help a patient find another source of controversial care.
The findings mean that 'if you anticipate wanting access to an area of medical treatment that may be controversial, you might want to have a frank conversation with your physician up front,' Curlin said in a telephone interview.
"
Wed Feb 7, 5:05 PM ET
BOSTON (Reuters) - Do not always expect straight talk from your doctor about treatments he or she disapproves of -- 14 percent of physicians believe it is acceptable to withhold information about topics such as birth control, abortion and sedating dying patients, according to a study published on Wednesday.
In addition, 29 percent feel no obligation to tell patients where they can go to get that care.
Most of the 1,144 U.S. doctors who responded to the poll, accord to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, supported full disclosure and referral to another health care provider if they had moral objections to a treatment or procedure.
'If physicians' ideas translate into their practices, then 14 percent of patients -- more than 40 million Americans -- may be cared for by physicians who do not believe they are obligated to disclose information about medically available treatments they consider objectionable,' Dr. Farr Curlin of the University of Chicago and colleagues wrote.
'In addition, 29 percent of patients -- or nearly 100 million Americans -- may be cared for by physicians who do not believe they have an obligation to refer the patient to another provider for such treatments.'
Men, Christian doctors and physicians with the strongest religious beliefs were most likely to say it is permissible to withhold information and not help a patient find another source of controversial care.
The findings mean that 'if you anticipate wanting access to an area of medical treatment that may be controversial, you might want to have a frank conversation with your physician up front,' Curlin said in a telephone interview.
"
Thursday, February 01, 2007
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Truth and lies on wait times
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Truth and lies on wait times: "Reducing wait times for five designated medical procedures used to be the biggest issue in Canada.
That was before global warming became the black hole down which all other issues have disappeared.
During last year's federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised patients a 'wait-times guarantee' if elected.
So far, he hasn't delivered.
In 2004, then-Liberal prime minister Paul Martin gave the provinces $41 billion over 10 years to 'fix health care for a generation,' including $4.5 billion over six years to reduce wait times for five procedures.
These are cancer treatment, cardiac care, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements and MRIs and CT scans.
Ever since, there's been controversy over how much wait times have come down. "
That was before global warming became the black hole down which all other issues have disappeared.
During last year's federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised patients a 'wait-times guarantee' if elected.
So far, he hasn't delivered.
In 2004, then-Liberal prime minister Paul Martin gave the provinces $41 billion over 10 years to 'fix health care for a generation,' including $4.5 billion over six years to reduce wait times for five procedures.
These are cancer treatment, cardiac care, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements and MRIs and CT scans.
Ever since, there's been controversy over how much wait times have come down. "
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
another broken health promise
Why not use old match ie total number is those hired , less those that have left nursing QJ Sadly we are becoming more immune to the Government Bovine Brazil or BS syndrome - more talk , more regulations and useless rules , using more money and of course yeilding less when measured against standards and normal expected results
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Less than meets the eye in hiring of nurses
James Wallace
Queens Park - Monday, January 29, 2007
Ontario's health care woes over the past few years have grown painfully,
nakedly obvious for everyone to see.
Our emergency rooms, as a Canadian Institute for Health Information
report confirmed this week, are overwhelmed and cope by subjecting
patients to long, even extraordinary wait times, often three to nine
hours.
Just half of all patients are treated within the four-hour standard the
Ontario Medical Association and Ontario Hospital Association would like
to see.
This hardly comes as a surprise.
Doctors in Brantford, St. Thomas, Guelph and Waterloo region created a
website a couple of years ago to record emergency room horror stories
because they knew patients were leaving crowded emergency rooms and
dying.
Among the litany of contributing problems are the doctor shortage, a bed
shortage and funding complaints but a key and often unaddressed
contributor to hospital and emergency room wait times is Ontario's
nursing shortage. "
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Less than meets the eye in hiring of nurses
James Wallace
Queens Park - Monday, January 29, 2007
Ontario's health care woes over the past few years have grown painfully,
nakedly obvious for everyone to see.
Our emergency rooms, as a Canadian Institute for Health Information
report confirmed this week, are overwhelmed and cope by subjecting
patients to long, even extraordinary wait times, often three to nine
hours.
Just half of all patients are treated within the four-hour standard the
Ontario Medical Association and Ontario Hospital Association would like
to see.
This hardly comes as a surprise.
Doctors in Brantford, St. Thomas, Guelph and Waterloo region created a
website a couple of years ago to record emergency room horror stories
because they knew patients were leaving crowded emergency rooms and
dying.
Among the litany of contributing problems are the doctor shortage, a bed
shortage and funding complaints but a key and often unaddressed
contributor to hospital and emergency room wait times is Ontario's
nursing shortage. "
Sunday, January 28, 2007
$110 per affordable unit for seniors
Love the affordability factor and with public money - was there a tender?
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Contract let for John Noble Home project
By Michael-Alan Marion
Local News - Saturday, January 27, 2007 Updated @ 10:41:37 PM
It’s full speed ahead for a $3-million affordable housing project at John Noble Home.
Meanwhile, the long-term care home’s administration is already gearing up for another $2-million project to upgrade a wing to new provincial standards.
Council has awarded a tender of nearly $2.4 million to Brouwer Construction (1981) Ltd. of St. Catharines to convert an old wing of the Mount Pleasant Street facility for 28 affordable apartment units for seniors.
The units would be rented by spouses of patients in long-term care in the home, so they can be close to their loved ones.
Included in the project are upgrades to certain associated rooms.
The total project cost is nearly $3.1 million, including renovations in associated areas of the building. The city's share is $2.2 million, Brant County’s is $862,000.
About $1.2 million in bequests and funding from government programs has been raised for the project.
The rest of the cost will be financed by a joint debenture of about $2 million to be taken out by the city and Brant County. The city’s share is $1.55 million, with the county backing the rest.
The debenture will be repaid by future rents in the operating budget.
“It’s great news that it’s through,” Coun. Jennifer Kinneman, chairwoman of John Noble’s board of management said Friday. “They’ll be able to move along now.”
Kinneman said she was heartened that council saw fit to approv"
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Contract let for John Noble Home project
By Michael-Alan Marion
Local News - Saturday, January 27, 2007 Updated @ 10:41:37 PM
It’s full speed ahead for a $3-million affordable housing project at John Noble Home.
Meanwhile, the long-term care home’s administration is already gearing up for another $2-million project to upgrade a wing to new provincial standards.
Council has awarded a tender of nearly $2.4 million to Brouwer Construction (1981) Ltd. of St. Catharines to convert an old wing of the Mount Pleasant Street facility for 28 affordable apartment units for seniors.
The units would be rented by spouses of patients in long-term care in the home, so they can be close to their loved ones.
Included in the project are upgrades to certain associated rooms.
The total project cost is nearly $3.1 million, including renovations in associated areas of the building. The city's share is $2.2 million, Brant County’s is $862,000.
About $1.2 million in bequests and funding from government programs has been raised for the project.
The rest of the cost will be financed by a joint debenture of about $2 million to be taken out by the city and Brant County. The city’s share is $1.55 million, with the county backing the rest.
The debenture will be repaid by future rents in the operating budget.
“It’s great news that it’s through,” Coun. Jennifer Kinneman, chairwoman of John Noble’s board of management said Friday. “They’ll be able to move along now.”
Kinneman said she was heartened that council saw fit to approv"
Sunday, January 21, 2007
50Plus.com - Boost brainpower in the workplace
some interesting ideas to reuce the brain drain QJ
50Plus.com - Boost brainpower in the workplace: "Boost brainpower in the workplace
Article By: Cynthia Ross Cravit
Workers who try to balance phone calls, emails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana, says a British study.
Cell phones, BlackBerries, and PCs have us juggling phone calls, pages, emails and text messages in an era where multitasking is a given. But what about the quality of the actual work? Is the daily office balancing act making us less productive?"
50Plus.com - Boost brainpower in the workplace: "Boost brainpower in the workplace
Article By: Cynthia Ross Cravit
Workers who try to balance phone calls, emails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana, says a British study.
Cell phones, BlackBerries, and PCs have us juggling phone calls, pages, emails and text messages in an era where multitasking is a given. But what about the quality of the actual work? Is the daily office balancing act making us less productive?"
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Attention Cyber Seniors - Check Your Government Benefits Online
Attention Cyber Seniors - Check Your Government Benefits Online: "Attention Cyber Seniors - Check Your Government Benefits Online
Seniors who are switched on, hooked up and connected can hop on the Service Canada Web site these days and get an excellent snapshot of their benefits without ever having to leave the comforts of home. The federal government has information about most of its programs and services on-line, including the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). "
Seniors who are switched on, hooked up and connected can hop on the Service Canada Web site these days and get an excellent snapshot of their benefits without ever having to leave the comforts of home. The federal government has information about most of its programs and services on-line, including the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). "
Monday, January 15, 2007
HMO fitness program may lower health care costs - Yahoo! News
Elder fitness programs makes sense QJ
HMO fitness program may lower health care costs - Yahoo! News: "By Charnicia Huggins
Mon Jan 15, 4:45 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Offering seniors with diabetes the opportunity to participate in a subsidized community-based exercise program may help lower health care costs, if the seniors attend the fitness classes regularly, preliminary study findings suggest.
'These findings warrant additional investigations to determine whether policies to offer and promote a community-based physical activity benefit in older adults with diabetes can reduce health care costs,' conclude Dr. Huong Q. Nguyen, of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, and colleagues.
According to previous research, nearly one in five Medicare recipients have diabetes, and diabetes-related health care costs account for about a third of total Medicare expenditures.
The benefits of exercise, particularly important for diabetics, who are at risk of having more functional disability, include reduced health care costs and better physical functioning. Yet, few seniors report participating in regular, moderate-intensity physical activity.
Observational data suggest that health care costs can be greatly reduced among a previously sedentary older adult who engages in moderate physical activity three days a week or more. Nguyen and colleagues investigated whether a physical exercise program offered to seniors as part of their Medicare benefit would also reduce health care costs and utilization."
HMO fitness program may lower health care costs - Yahoo! News: "By Charnicia Huggins
Mon Jan 15, 4:45 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Offering seniors with diabetes the opportunity to participate in a subsidized community-based exercise program may help lower health care costs, if the seniors attend the fitness classes regularly, preliminary study findings suggest.
'These findings warrant additional investigations to determine whether policies to offer and promote a community-based physical activity benefit in older adults with diabetes can reduce health care costs,' conclude Dr. Huong Q. Nguyen, of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, and colleagues.
According to previous research, nearly one in five Medicare recipients have diabetes, and diabetes-related health care costs account for about a third of total Medicare expenditures.
The benefits of exercise, particularly important for diabetics, who are at risk of having more functional disability, include reduced health care costs and better physical functioning. Yet, few seniors report participating in regular, moderate-intensity physical activity.
Observational data suggest that health care costs can be greatly reduced among a previously sedentary older adult who engages in moderate physical activity three days a week or more. Nguyen and colleagues investigated whether a physical exercise program offered to seniors as part of their Medicare benefit would also reduce health care costs and utilization."
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
wonderful- more money to receive less services . maybe there will be less wanking and some client action-it certainly feels like an election is in the air -a new election piggy is born QJ
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Health agency gets $4.5M; Local office will co-ordinate services for broad area
Gamble, Susan
Local News - Friday, January 12, 2007 Updated @ 9:54:37 AM
Substantial new money to help the local Community Care Access Centre was announced Thursday as the agency also celebrated a new role in the health system.
MPP Dave Levac said the province is providing $4.5 million for baseline services and to help the agency which has just become the headquarters for all the CCACs in this area develop a consistent service. "
Saturday, January 13, 2007
50Plus.com - Is bottled water better than tap?
50Plus.com - Is bottled water better than tap?: "Health
Is bottled water better than tap?
Article By: Jennifer Gruden
Bottled water is a multi-billion dollar business – but is it really better for you?
Tap water in Canada is a bargain – across the country, the average price is $1.14 per 1000 litres of water. Yet bottled water, which often costs more than $1.14 for a single litre, is a multi-billion dollar business in North America. Companies like Coca-Cola (Dasani) and Pepsi (Aquafina) are counting on consumers to choose their product at the store. Is bottled water really better for you? "
Is bottled water better than tap?
Article By: Jennifer Gruden
Bottled water is a multi-billion dollar business – but is it really better for you?
Tap water in Canada is a bargain – across the country, the average price is $1.14 per 1000 litres of water. Yet bottled water, which often costs more than $1.14 for a single litre, is a multi-billion dollar business in North America. Companies like Coca-Cola (Dasani) and Pepsi (Aquafina) are counting on consumers to choose their product at the store. Is bottled water really better for you? "
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Stress-free strategies for your home office
Stress-free strategies for your home office: "Stress-free strategies for your home office
Create a balance between work and play
By Cheryl Embrett
E-mail this to a friend Printer-friendly version
While working from home has its benefits — flexible hours and an escape from office politics for starters — it's no guarantee against stress. In fact, it can be more stressful to work at home than to work in a structured environment because you have so many competing demands and responsibilities, says Jane Bal, a stress management counselor at Don Mills Counselling and Consulting Centre in Don Mills, Ont.
While a certain amount of stress can make you more productive, too much can have a negative effect on your work — and your health. 'You want to create that balance in your home office of productivity and calm,' says Estelle Gee, the owner of Orderly Lives, a professional organizing service for the home and office, based in Toronto.
Microsoft Home Magazine asked design, organizational and stress experts, as well as women who work at home, for their best stress-free strategies."
Create a balance between work and play
By Cheryl Embrett
E-mail this to a friend Printer-friendly version
While working from home has its benefits — flexible hours and an escape from office politics for starters — it's no guarantee against stress. In fact, it can be more stressful to work at home than to work in a structured environment because you have so many competing demands and responsibilities, says Jane Bal, a stress management counselor at Don Mills Counselling and Consulting Centre in Don Mills, Ont.
While a certain amount of stress can make you more productive, too much can have a negative effect on your work — and your health. 'You want to create that balance in your home office of productivity and calm,' says Estelle Gee, the owner of Orderly Lives, a professional organizing service for the home and office, based in Toronto.
Microsoft Home Magazine asked design, organizational and stress experts, as well as women who work at home, for their best stress-free strategies."
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
50Plus.com - The REIT stuff
50Plus.com - The REIT stuff: "The REIT stuff
Article By: Gordon Pape
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been exempted from the proposed new income trust tax. Gordon Pape has found a mutual fund that specializes in them.
When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his new income trust tax, he allowed for one exception: real estate investment trusts, better known as REITs. He did not offer any rationale for giving REITs a pass, but it appears he was following the U.S. precedent where the sector was also given an exemption when that country cracked down on the trust phenomenon in the 1980s.
Assuming Mr. Flaherty doesn't change his mind later (which is unlikely) this means that income-seeking investors should seriously consider adding a REIT fund to their portfolio. The problem is that the choice is extremely limited, at least right now. That could change in the future, of course."
Article By: Gordon Pape
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been exempted from the proposed new income trust tax. Gordon Pape has found a mutual fund that specializes in them.
When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his new income trust tax, he allowed for one exception: real estate investment trusts, better known as REITs. He did not offer any rationale for giving REITs a pass, but it appears he was following the U.S. precedent where the sector was also given an exemption when that country cracked down on the trust phenomenon in the 1980s.
Assuming Mr. Flaherty doesn't change his mind later (which is unlikely) this means that income-seeking investors should seriously consider adding a REIT fund to their portfolio. The problem is that the choice is extremely limited, at least right now. That could change in the future, of course."
Friday, December 22, 2006
Macleans.ca | Top Stories | Health | A nasty battle at the old age home
Elder Institutionalism at its worst. Loving care sounds good but how do you deliver it? QJ
Macleans.ca Top Stories Health A nasty battle at the old age home: "A nasty battle at the old age home
How did a small dispute at a respectable seniors' home escalate into this?
JONATHON GATEHOUSE
If pictures tell the story, Gerald Bargman's had a horrible ending. Photos from his final weeks show him propped up in a hospital bed, his arms covered with painful-looking sores, and body so shockingly wizened that you can see each rib, tendon and bone. By the time he died at the age of 63 on July 23, 2005, Bargman's six-foot-two frame had shrunk from 170 to well under 90 lb. He was essentially a skeleton with skin.
The list of ailments that landed him in intensive care at a Toronto hospital is long -- pneumonia, respiratory failure, Crohn's disease, sepsis, an antibiotic-resistant infection -- although it catalogues only a fraction of his medical problems. But it is diagnosis number seven on his final medical report -- malnutrition -- that his loved ones have seized upon. Proof, they say, of their allegation that one of Canada's most respected centres for geriatric care, Baycrest, let a patient starve to death in order to get back at a family that complained too loud, and too often. 'It was due to negligence. It was due to neglect. It was cruel,' says Carol Bargman, Gerald's sister. Depressed and isolated because administrators had restricted his son Allen's visiting privileges following a series of altercations with staff, Gerald Bargman wasted away. And Baycrest, the family alleges, did little to stop it. 'At the end, he looked like he'd just come out of the concentration camps,' says Carol. 'He was like a poster boy for Auschwitz.' "
Macleans.ca Top Stories Health A nasty battle at the old age home: "A nasty battle at the old age home
How did a small dispute at a respectable seniors' home escalate into this?
JONATHON GATEHOUSE
If pictures tell the story, Gerald Bargman's had a horrible ending. Photos from his final weeks show him propped up in a hospital bed, his arms covered with painful-looking sores, and body so shockingly wizened that you can see each rib, tendon and bone. By the time he died at the age of 63 on July 23, 2005, Bargman's six-foot-two frame had shrunk from 170 to well under 90 lb. He was essentially a skeleton with skin.
The list of ailments that landed him in intensive care at a Toronto hospital is long -- pneumonia, respiratory failure, Crohn's disease, sepsis, an antibiotic-resistant infection -- although it catalogues only a fraction of his medical problems. But it is diagnosis number seven on his final medical report -- malnutrition -- that his loved ones have seized upon. Proof, they say, of their allegation that one of Canada's most respected centres for geriatric care, Baycrest, let a patient starve to death in order to get back at a family that complained too loud, and too often. 'It was due to negligence. It was due to neglect. It was cruel,' says Carol Bargman, Gerald's sister. Depressed and isolated because administrators had restricted his son Allen's visiting privileges following a series of altercations with staff, Gerald Bargman wasted away. And Baycrest, the family alleges, did little to stop it. 'At the end, he looked like he'd just come out of the concentration camps,' says Carol. 'He was like a poster boy for Auschwitz.' "
The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor by Andy Kessler
Ecellent preview of the future of medicine
The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor by Andy Kessler: "
The End of Medicine
How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor By Andy Kessler
You get sick; you go to your doctor. Too bad. Because medicine isn't an industry, it's practically witchcraft. Despite the growth of big pharma, HMOs, and hospital chains, medicine remains the isolated work of individual doctors—and the system is going broke fast.
So why is Andy Kessler—the man who told you outrageous stories of Wall Street analysts gone bad in Wall Street Meat and tales from inside a hedge fund in Running Money—poking around medicine for the next big wave of technology?
It's because he smells change coming. Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer are a huge chunk of medical spending, yet there's surprisingly little effort to detect disease before it's life threatening. How lame is that—especially since the technology exists today to create computer-generated maps of your heart and colon?
Because it's too expensive—for now. But Silicon Valley has turned computing, telecom, finance, music, and media upside down by taking expensive new technologies and making them ridiculously cheap. So why not the $1.8 trillion health care business, where the easiest way to save money is to stop folks from getting sick in the first place?
Join Kessler's bizarre search for the next big breakthrough as he tries to keep from passing out while following cardiologists around, cracks jokes while reading mammograms, and watches twitching mice get injected with radioactive probes. Looking for a breakthrough, Kessler even selflessly "
The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor by Andy Kessler: "
The End of Medicine
How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor By Andy Kessler
You get sick; you go to your doctor. Too bad. Because medicine isn't an industry, it's practically witchcraft. Despite the growth of big pharma, HMOs, and hospital chains, medicine remains the isolated work of individual doctors—and the system is going broke fast.
So why is Andy Kessler—the man who told you outrageous stories of Wall Street analysts gone bad in Wall Street Meat and tales from inside a hedge fund in Running Money—poking around medicine for the next big wave of technology?
It's because he smells change coming. Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer are a huge chunk of medical spending, yet there's surprisingly little effort to detect disease before it's life threatening. How lame is that—especially since the technology exists today to create computer-generated maps of your heart and colon?
Because it's too expensive—for now. But Silicon Valley has turned computing, telecom, finance, music, and media upside down by taking expensive new technologies and making them ridiculously cheap. So why not the $1.8 trillion health care business, where the easiest way to save money is to stop folks from getting sick in the first place?
Join Kessler's bizarre search for the next big breakthrough as he tries to keep from passing out while following cardiologists around, cracks jokes while reading mammograms, and watches twitching mice get injected with radioactive probes. Looking for a breakthrough, Kessler even selflessly "
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - NDP stifles choice
The "If you can't beat them in service -buy them out strategy" is bad for freedom of choice. Sad -and with unlimited public funds -a double negative .
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - NDP stifles choice: "Just when Manitobans were beginning to gain some choice in health care, along comes government's health-care monopoly to gobble up the competition.
The Maples Surgical Centre, a private clinic that had been providing MRIs and pediatric dental surgery to the public for a fee, inked a deal with the Doer government yesterday that will end private access to those services.
Under the $2.3-million deal, Manitobans will no longer be able to purchase MRI scans or pediatric dental surgeries from the clinic. That choice has been bought out by government.
Maples was charging patients $695 per MRI scan but they were delivering the service within 48 hours.
By contrast, hospitals -- under the government monopoly system -- force patients to wait as long as 10 weeks for elective MRIs"
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - NDP stifles choice: "Just when Manitobans were beginning to gain some choice in health care, along comes government's health-care monopoly to gobble up the competition.
The Maples Surgical Centre, a private clinic that had been providing MRIs and pediatric dental surgery to the public for a fee, inked a deal with the Doer government yesterday that will end private access to those services.
Under the $2.3-million deal, Manitobans will no longer be able to purchase MRI scans or pediatric dental surgeries from the clinic. That choice has been bought out by government.
Maples was charging patients $695 per MRI scan but they were delivering the service within 48 hours.
By contrast, hospitals -- under the government monopoly system -- force patients to wait as long as 10 weeks for elective MRIs"
Sunday, December 17, 2006
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