Apple Magazine - Winter 2015 - Alberta Innovates: Health Solutions

Transcription

Winter 2014 | Issue 16
be healthy | be well | be informed
applemag.ca
WHAT MOM
TAUGHT ME
Health advice daughters
learned from their mothers
page 40
REMOVING THE
HURDLES TO CARE
How researchers are helping
page 34
OODLES OF NOODLES
Original Apple recipes
Page 28
LIFE
AS IT’S MEANT TO BE SEEN
The Gimbel Eye Centre
now offers treatments for
dry eyes and presbyopia.
CALGARY: 403-286-3022 | Toll-free 1-800-661-1138
EDMONTON: 780-452-4111 | Toll-free 1-888-211-4822
gimbel.com
applemag.ca 3
Table of contents
COVER STORY:
Andrea Hanki and daughter Lila Hanki were
photographed in Edmonton’s Heritage Valley
for Apple by Kelsy Nielson.
40
What Mom taught me
Health wisdom is often passed down through the
generations. We look at how it travelled between
five mothers and five daughters
BY VALERIE BERENYI
Departments
9
AHS MESSAGE
Gender does make a difference
BITES
10 The gift of time
Tame winter frizz
11 Holiday drinking
Food safety
12 Simple meditation
15
20
One doctor, an entire network
Trusted health websites
13 Improving recovery after stroke
14 Exercise and dialysis
15 BUILDING BRAINS
Blackpool looks to Alberta for
social solutions
English city tackles poverty by supporting
early childhood development
18 GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Delaying parenthood
Would-be moms and dads need to
understand the risks
20 THE EARLY YEARS
Dipping into online knowledge
The Internet and social media can be good
sources—when you know where to go
4 Apple Winter 2014
32
Helping kids beat
the bug
33
Regulating the
beat of the heart
34
Removing the
hurdles to care
46
Women’s health
notes
Study looks at a common
children’s virus
Researchers hope to develop
a drug to steady an irregular
heartbeat
Researchers are making it
easier for patients to get the
care they need
A collection of health statistics
and notes about women’s
health
BY Janet Harvey
BY CAITLIN CRAWSHAW
BY TERRY BULLICK &
AMY SAWCHENKO
BY Omar Mouallem
38
Cellular connections
Dr. Lynn Postovit’s research on ovarian cancer
BY OMAR MOUALLAM
22 YOUTHFUL
Nobody wins at “pre-gaming”
Drinking layered on drinking has a cost
26 BODY TALK
Healthy mom, healthy kids
A mother’s well-being is directly linked to
her children’s
52 PRAISING PASSION
Serving by understanding
spiritual beliefs
George Epp helps Mennonite families
connect to schools and health care
54 MY HEALTH OUTLOOK
Sidonia Arob
Proud to be Canadian
28 THE MEAL DEAL
Oodles of noodles
24
Original Apple recipes
30 KEEP IN MIND
Getting men to open up
Talking is often the first step in dealing
with mental health problems
28
+50 Manopause not the
end of male fertility
But a drop in testosterone can lower energy,
muscle mass and sex drive
BY Colleen Seto
applemag.ca 5
If you or someone you know is
experiencing problems with alcohol,
tobacco, other drugs or gambling,
we can help.
Contact your local AHS Addiction and
Mental Health office or call the 24-hour,
toll-free addiction helpline.
Change is possible.
1-866-332-2322
albertahealthservices.ca
6 Apple Winter 2015
applemag.ca 7
applemag.ca | [email protected]
PUBLISHED BY
Alberta Health Services
CEO
Vickie Kaminski
VP, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
& COMMUNICATIONS
Carmel Turpin
SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER, COMMUNICATIONS
Colleen Turner
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Terry Bullick
[email protected]
403-943-2892
ASSOCIATE EDITOR & DISTRIBUTION
Amy Sawchenko
[email protected]
FEATURES EDITOR
Wanda Vivequin
ADVERTISING
Denice Hansen
[email protected]
DESIGNER
Jimi Scherer
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Sherry Mumford
WEBSITE SUPPORT
Charity Sokolan, Marnie Bartell, GTxcel
EDITORIAL DIRECTION & REVIEW
Marlis Atkins, Farah Bandali, Leslie Barker, Kathy Bartlett,
Connie Bolding, Cheryl Bourassa, Shiela Bradley, Dr. Laura
Calhoun, Karen Cooke, Cindy Connell, Sue Cumming,
Jessie De Castro, Maureen Devolin, Alun Edwards, Rosmin
Esmail, Marissa Etmanski, Shannon Evans, Karen Gilchrist,
Tara Grindle, Diane Jager, Sara Jordan, Angel Mercier,
Judy Meintzer, Sandra Montoya-Logan, Dr. Richard Musto,
Jo Anne Nelson, Petra O’Connell, Linda Ostergard,
Dr. Gerry Predy, Leah Prestayko, Cathy Pryce, Shelley Rattray,
Kerri Robbins, Janine Sakatch, Monica Schwann,
Karolina Sekulic, Dwayne Sheehan, Helen Stokes,
Kathleen Thurber, Colleen Turner, Katherine Younker
CONTRIBUTORS
Jennifer Allford, Lindsey Balbirez, Valerie Berenyi,
Shannon Bos, Michael Byers, Alanna Cavanagh,
Dr. Radha Chari, Jeff Collins, Caitlin Crawshaw,
Shallon Cunningham, Ken Dalton, Anne Georg, Janet Harvey,
Kat Gills, David Guenther, Greg Harris, Yasmin Jaswal,
Jacqueline Louie, Kyle Metcalf, Jaimie Moon, Omar Mouallem,
Kelsy Nielson, Mamzelle Poppy, Colleen Seto, Jessica Surgenor,
Sarah Vaughn, Julie Van Rosendaal, Dr. Doug Wilson
Inquiries & Subscriptions
10101 Southport Road SW, Calgary, Alberta T2W 3N2
Phone: 403-943-1993
The information contained in this magazine is not intended
to be a substitute for professional/medical advice.
Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health
professional before starting any new treatment or
changing or stopping current treatment.
Statements, opinions and viewpoints expressed by the
writers of this publication do not necessarily represent the
views of Alberta Health Services. Furthermore, AHS
does not endorse any of the third-party advertisers.
Copyright 2014 by Alberta Health Services.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without
express written consent from AHS.
Canada Post Publication Agreement Number: 42468524
ISSN 1927-0305
facebook.com/applemagca
8 Apple Winter 2015
AHS message
Photo: Ken Dalton
Gender does make a
difference
Everyone’s health is precious. In families, a
mother’s health is often a reflection of everyone else’s
health. When a woman is healthy in pregnancy, her baby is
more likely to be born healthy. A woman’s health is often
mirrored in the healthy development of her child through
infancy to adulthood.
Men also have the same influence and many fathers
are taking an expanded role in parenting. Women
still, however, tend to have a greater influence on their
children’s health.
Women have some unique health needs and concerns,
as gender does make a difference. Their reproductive
systems are designed for pregnancy and birth during their
reproductive years. Whether or not they have children,
they may face various health challenges such as menstrual
cycle problems, urinary incontinence or cancers of the
breasts, uterus, cervix or ovaries.
In this issue of Apple magazine, several of our stories
look at women’s health. One of them is What Mom Taught
Me by Valerie Berenyi (page 40), in which five Alberta
women talk about the influence their mothers had on their
health and their character.
Men’s health is important too and our issue features
two stories directly tied to men’s health. In her 50+
column Manopause Not the End of Male Fertility,
Colleen Seto writes about how a change in testosterone
may be more than a function of illness or aging (hint:
sleep, activity and healthy eating can help). Our Keep in
Mind column, Getting Men to Open Up by Greg Harris,
considers men’s reluctance to talk about mental health
problems. You’ll also find a number of research-related
stories from our partners, Alberta Innovates –
Health Solutions.
As always, we hope to shed a little more light and a
little more understanding on health and wellness in your
family, in your neighbourhood and in our province.
— Dr. Radha Chari
Dr. Radha Chari the department chair of Obstetrics
and Gynecology at the University of Alberta and
the zone clinical department head of Women’s
Health in Edmonton for Alberta Health Services.
Sponsors
Apple magazine is pleased to acknowledge its partners:
Founding Partner
For more information on where to find
Apple magazine, or to have it delivered
to your door, visit applemag.ca.
applemag.ca 9
Bites
The gift of time
The holidays can be expensive,
Illustration: Alanna Cavanagh
especially when it comes to giving
gifts. If you’re trying to spend less
on presents this year, giving the gift
of time can be a solution. Shovelling
snow for a neighbour, volunteering
at a soup kitchen, spending an
entire day with family or running
errands for someone who has a hard
time getting around. These are all
gifts that cost you nothing and are
treasured by those you give them
to. Plus, research shows giving your
time reduces stress and depression
and improves self-esteem.
Tame winter frizz
Fighting frizz may be one of the lesser challenges of Alberta’s dry, frigid
winters. It’s still good to know how to conquer the problem. Here are four
simple ways to keep your locks lustrous this winter:
• It’s cold out, so that extra-hot shower or a few extra minutes under the
blow-dryer sound tempting, but they’ll dry out your cuticles and lead to
frizz and breakage. Try warm showers and your blow dryer’s cool setting
to keep hair under control.
• Try running a dryer sheet over your hair to eliminate static.
• Moisture is as important to your hair as it is to your skin. Use moisturizing
shampoo, conditioner and styling products to keep frizz
levels low.
• Many stylists also recommend avoiding brushing or combing your hair
after it’s dry to keep fly-away manes at bay.
10 Apple Winter 2015
Holiday drinking
Alcohol is often a staple at
holiday gatherings. Enjoying it safely
and responsibly comes down to
knowing your limits.
The effects of alcohol consumption
vary from person to person and
depend on all kinds of things,
including age, gender, medications,
weight and how much you’ve eaten.
My Health Alberta recommends men
have no more than three standard
drinks at a time and women have no
more than two. A standard drink is
1.5 ounces (43 ml) of hard liquor,
5 ounces (142 ml) of wine and
12 ounces (341 ml) of beer.
To help limit how much you drink
at holiday gatherings, try opting for
water or sparkling water, pure fruit
juice and other festive alternatives.
For more information on
responsible drinking, visit
MyHealth.Alberta.ca and
search for drinking and your
health.
Food safety
Food is always around during the holidays. Keep it safe and lower your
Illustrations: Alanna Cavanagh
risk of food borne illness by safely storing your holiday ingredients, meals and
snacks.
Health Canada suggests:
• Keeping raw and cooked food separate at all times
• Leaving cold food out at room temperature for a maximum of two hours
• Storing cooked meat separately from other foods
• Using leftovers within three days if you won’t be freezing them; labelling
your food with the date it was cooked on can help you keep track.
For more tips on food storage, visit albertahealthservices.ca and search
for tips on food safety.
applemag.ca 11
Bites
One doctor,
an entire network
Photo: Drbimages
Alberta’s health-care system
Simple meditation
Feeling stressed? Research shows mindful meditation can decrease
stress, depression and anxiety and improve happiness and immune function,
among other things. Find a quiet place, get comfortable and focus on your
breathing. Take long, deep breaths from your diaphragm.
Try to clear your mind and focus on the present moment. If your mind
wanders, focus on a single positive thought and notice how it affects your body.
As little as five to 10 minutes of mindful meditation can relax you, reduce stress
and increase happiness and gratitude.
has thousands of services and
resources. A primary care doctor
connects you to all of them plus an
array of health-care providers, such
as nurses, physiotherapists, mental
health consultants and pharmacists.
“Primary care doctors proactively
manage your care, and can now help
you access enhanced care through
specialists and teams. The result
is healthier outcomes,” says Bart
Goemans, senior communications
and member services manager with
the Calgary West Central Primary
Care Network.
Alberta has more than 40
primary care networks.
For more information, visit
albertapci.ca.
— Stories by Yasmin Jaswal
For more tips on managing stress, visit MyHealthAlberta.ca and search
for stress management.
Thanks to the Internet, it’s
easy to find more information about
health and wellness than ever before.
Knowing what information you can
rely on can be somewhat harder.
To help you, Apple will recommend
trustworthy sites each issue
beginning with these four:
• caringforkids.cps.ca—
information for parents from
Canada’s pediatricians
• s exgerms.ca—straight talk about
sexually transmitted infections
from Alberta Health Services
• albertapreventscancer.ca—
practical advice on how
Albertans can cut their risk of
cancer in half
• a lbertahealthservices.ca/
3880.asp—this page offers a
menu of information about
seniors’ health care.
Illustration: Hilch
Trusted health websites
Illustration: Chatchaisurakram, iStock
Improving recovery
after stroke
Does sensation play a role
in getting movement back after
a stroke? Occupational therapist
Sonja Findlater is answering that
question with a special robot, and her
discoveries could benefit the 25,000
Albertans recovering from stroke and
the 5,500 Albertans who will suffer a
stroke next year.
The robot measures a patient’s
ability to sense the position of their
arms and shoulders without looking.
Findlater uses magnetic resonance
images (MRI) and computerized
tomography (CT) scans to see if there
are connections between the areas of
the body that have difficulty sensing
and the parts of the brain damaged
by stroke. “We’re wondering if stroke
patients would improve even more if
we targeted these areas of the brain
in treatment,” explains Findlater.
Alberta Innovates – Health
Solutions supports Findlater’s clinical
work so she can use this specialized
equipment to gather valuable
information.
— Janet Harvey
applemag.ca 13
Exercise and dialysis
Exercising during dialysis,
a life-saving kidney treatment,
is known to benefit patients. The
University of Alberta’s pilot project
Dialy-size is looking at how more
exercise programs can be offered
in Alberta.
Improved circulation, blood
pressure and overall health are
just some of the positive outcomes
of these exercise programs, says
Stephanie Thompson, whose work
is supported by Alberta Innovates –
Health Solutions. Despite the known
benefits for dialysis patients, there
are few exercise programs available.
Thompson wants to change this.
Next time in Apple
Our second brain development
issue will include:
Serve and return frame-by-frame
Brain development and our justice system
New ways to treat addiction
Out March 1, 2015
The physical, emotional and
financial costs are high for those
on dialysis, “so if something like
exercise can help keep dialysis
patients functioning independently
and improve health outcomes, it’s
worth studying,” says Thompson.
— Janet Harvey
Dialy-size will start in northern
Alberta dialysis units in
January.
Building brains
After the seaside city of Blackpool received a British National Lottery grant to help young people, the local
council turned to Alberta for insight “to try to raise the community.”
Blackpool looks to Alberta
for social solutions
English city tackles poverty by supporting early
childhood development
Blackpool, England and
Alberta are more than 6,400
kilometres apart. For the past year,
people from the two places have
closed that distance by sharing ways
to tackle social problems.
The prairie province and the
seaside city may have some common
problems, but Blackpool’s tend to be
far more severe.
With 10 kilometres of sandy
beaches, Blackpool was once
one of Britons’ favourite holiday
resorts. Since the 1960s, it’s seen its
popularity wane and its affluence
dwindle. Cheap flights to the
European Union, a flailing economy
and a highly transient population
have all taken a toll on the city and its
142,000 residents.
Families once came here for beach
vacations; more recently, they come
because they have nowhere else to go.
Teenage pregnancies, unemployment,
under-employment, domestic abuse,
poverty, child neglect and addiction
are among the highest in England.
In 2013, the local newspaper, the
Blackpool Gazette, reported nearly
£10 million ($17.5 million) was
spent “shipping vulnerable children”
out of Blackpool in three years
because the city lacked suitable care
facilities.
By its own admission, Blackpool
has been a city in near-crisis for
applemag.ca 15
By helping young people early
in life, communities can offer a more
resilient future for their youth
years. And then it literally won the
lottery.
Blackpool was one of several
cities awarded multi-million dollar
grants from National Lottery’s Better
Start and HeadStart programs. The
programs aim to help young children
and youth facing “an increasing
range of pressures associated with
modern life.” Community leaders in Blackpool
want to show that by investing
in mental health promotion and
offering help to young people early
in life, communities can offer a more
resilient future for their youth and
reduce overall social services costs.
As they began to form plans to do
this, they connected to the Alberta
Family Wellness Initiative, which also
has a strong focus on early childhood
development as well as mental health
and addiction.
Over the past five years, the AFWI
has held a series of symposia to take
the science of these fields into the
community. The organization has
also worked closely with Apple to
give readers a greater understanding
of brain development and its link
to lifelong health, learning and
relationships.
This past summer, a team of
Albertans well-versed in brain
development travelled to Blackpool
to share their expertise. In the fall, a
similar team from Blackpool came to
Alberta to attend the AFWI’s seventh
symposium in Calgary.
Alberta’s work in brain
development is attracting worldwide attention. At the symposium,
Accelerating Innovation: Telling
the Brain Story to Inspire Action,
speakers from across North America
praised the AFWI and its partners for
creating a growing community that
supports brain development.
The AFWI’s approach has been
to “mobilize knowledge” about the
effects of addiction and toxic stress
on the developing brain especially
during the early years (from birth
to six)—and how they can be
passed from one generation to the
next. Ultimately, the goal is to help
children and families live healthier
lives.
Blackpool’s community leaders see
mobilizing knowledge, beginning
with sharing the core story of
the brain, as an important step
in tackling its many social and
economic problems.
“The condition of the local
economy is an important factor,
in that poverty drives all these
problems,” says Ivan Taylor, a Labour
Party Blackpool councillor and
a cabinet member for Children’s
Services. “On one hand, we have an
economic approach and then there’s
a much more focused approach, a
social approach, to try to raise the
community so that, at the end of the
day, a much greater percentage of our
children going to primary school are
‘fit’ (developmentally ready).” Merle Davies, the assistant director
of Early Support for Children and
Families for Blackpool Council, says
the city’s efforts are “really looking
at the regeneration of the town. We
know there’s an economic factor to
it but we also need to bring in the
social factor—if we can do prevention
earlier, we actually won’t spend as
much money later.
“If we don’t make a difference
at this stage, we won’t be able to
keep doing high-crisis, high-risk
intervention,” Davies continues. “We
know it’s better for the family and the
child to work earlier and we know
financially, it’s better to work earlier.”
Several communities in Alberta
are doing the same thing: by helping
children and families early, they are
reducing social and health costs
later.
— Terry Bullick
Great expectations
Delaying parenthood
Would-be moms and dads need to
understand the risks
Men and women who wait until after 32 to start families can face difficulties
getting pregnant and having a healthy baby.
Life can be complicated.
Especially when deciding to have
children. If the choice is made later
in life, that choice can come with
trade-offs—as many parents are
discovering.
In Canada, a third of first-time
mothers are 35 or older, reports
the Canadian Institute for Health
Information. The average age of
fathers also increased to 29.1 from
27.8 between 1995 and 2006.
Women’s fertility is highest and
the risks of complicated pregnancy
and childbirth are lowest from age
24 to 32 of their childbearing years.
The Society of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists of Canada advise that
men’s semen quality and fertility also
decrease with age.
Why delay?
Tania Sablatash had her daughter,
Grace, at 41, after trying diligently
for two years. For her, waiting to
have a baby was about maturity and
a secure relationship with a willing
partner.
“I had fears about being a mom,”
says the artist and educator. “But
I could hear my biological clock
ticking. I was in a situation that was
as perfect as it would ever be—and
I knew if I didn’t have a kid then, I’d
never have one.”
Sablatash is like many other older
first-time moms, says researcher
Suzanne Tough.
“We talked to 1,500 women and
500 men who made an individual
decision to have children later,” says
the University of Calgary professor
and scientific director at the Alberta
Centre for Child, Family and
Community Research on her study
into delayed child birth.
Most women said they did not
intentionally wait longer to have
children. Nor was waiting to have
children a career decision.
“The vast majority told us they
were waiting for the right partner,”
Tough says.
She adds that the study also found
few women understood the health
risks of delayed pregnancy.
Maternal fetal medicine specialist
Dr. Sue Chandra says for moms, those
risks include diabetes, high blood
pressure and a more complicated
delivery (such as Caesarian delivery).
For babies, the risks include a lower
birthweight, preterm delivery,
Down syndrome and stillbirth.
If reproductive technologies are
used, multiple births are an added
consideration.
Another risk is being unable to
conceive at all.
On the upside
When Chandra treats older pregnant
women, she takes the risks they and
their babies face seriously, but puts
them into perspective.
“Many of the increased risks
and complications can be managed
in pregnancy,” says Chandra, the
director of Maternal Fetal Medicine
at Alberta Health Services’ Royal
Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton
and an associate professor at the
University of Alberta.
“A woman who is fit and healthy
at 40 may have lower risks than a
younger patient who has medical
problems or poor health,” Chandra
says, adding, “But generally when
older women are pregnant, they
and their babies tend to be closely
watched by their doctors.”
— Anne Georg
If you’re waiting
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada says men and women waiting
to have a baby need to know that fertility decreases after the age of 32. Reproductive
technologies can’t guarantee you will have a healthy baby or completely make up the loss of
fertility caused by aging. The society also recommends all adults in their reproductive years
understand the risks of delayed child-bearing so they can make informed decisions about
when to have children.
applemag.ca 19
Illustrations: Lindsey Balbirez
The early years
Online connections and resources can help you navigate parenthood, changing relationships and your family’s health.
Dipping into online knowledge
The Internet and social media can be good sources—when you know where to go
If you’re a digital mom or dad,
you likely know the ins and outs
of selfies, status updates and viral
videos. Surfing online can actually be
good for you, helping you navigate
parenthood, changing relationships
and your family’s health.
Here are three benefits of
connecting online:
Find (reliable) knowledge
From your child’s developing brain
to his budding literacy and language
skills, you can learn all about his
growth, development and health
online. Tapping into such information
can help you understand what’s
normal and when to get professional
help.
When dipping into the fountain
of online knowledge—and 60 per
cent of new moms do—it’s important
to know what’s credible. “Take
many things you find online with a
grain of salt,” says Michelle Hagen,
AHS manager of social media. She
encourages advice-seeking parents to
consider the sources.
Look for sites from recognized
reliable sources, such as
government agencies, health
providers or educational and
non-profit organizations. Sites
such as healthcanada.gc.ca,
MyHealth.Alberta.ca and
healthyparentshealthychildren.ca
have carefully reviewed evidencebased information.
If you don’t know a site, look for
up-to-date information that cites the
researchers, the research funders
(for example, Alberta Innovates
– Health Solutions), the original
study and the publishing journal.
Regardless of where you find
it, online information is never a
substitute for speaking with a
health-care professional.
See Trusted Health Websites on
page 12 for a handful of credible
sources.
Find solutions
You can gain valuable insight from
parents who understand the joys and
challenges of raising a family. New
moms are using social media mainly
for support and help from other
parents, found a 2013 Baby Centre
study. Dads are also finding their
social media footing.
“We’re seeing a lot more sites for
and by dads, such as abdads.ca, for
them to share and relate to other dads
about what’s happening, to socialize
and get advice,” says
Patrick Dillon, the provincial
coordinator of the Alberta Father
Involvement Initiative. “Dads are
seeing examples of good dads and
positive parenting online and they’re
getting affirmation that they’re
doing OK.”
Moms and dads can connect with
other parents on Facebook groups
such as Apple, Healthy Canadians
(Government of Canada), or your
local Parent Link Centre.
You can also follow Alberta Health
Services on Twitter for information
about your community. Visit
albertahealthservices.ca/socialmedia
for links to AHS accounts.
Connect to communities
On or offline, social connections are
important to our health. A supportive
network of friends, family and
community helps build a foundation
for lifelong health.
When children have strong, stable
and supportive relationships in their
homes and communities, it lays the
groundwork for their positive mental
and emotional health and reduces
their parents’ depression, anxiety and
social isolation.
Many groups, such as Parent
Link, exist both online and in the
community. Their online presence
is often an introduction to the many
community programs they offer
families, such as parent playgroups
that focus on lifelong skills such as
singing, playing, reading and talking.
“Ultimately, it’s who we connect
with and how we choose to connect
that informs our lives as parents,”
says Dillon.
— Amy Sawchenko
applemag.ca 21
Photo: dwphotos
Youthful
Young adults can reduce their risk of exposure to dangerous situations by knowing and staying within their drinking limits.
Nobody wins at ‘pre-gaming’
Drinking layered on drinking has a cost
It’s a common practice with
different names—it’s called “pregaming” or “pre-partying” in
Canada, “pre-funking” in Europe
and “having prinks” in the U.K.
Regardless of moniker or location, it
means the same thing: young adults
loading up on drinks before they
head out to bars or parties.
“Bars are way too expensive,
especially for students,” explains
Liam Marshall, 19, a university
student in Calgary. “You can spend
a ridiculous amount of money on
drinks without even noticing.” So
instead, Marshall and a few friends
will split a 24 of beer before they
head to the bar for even more drinks.
Pretty much everyone they know
does the same thing.
Pre-gaming still has a cost,
says Naomi Parker, an addiction
prevention consultant with Alberta
Health Services. She points to a 2013
study at 30 Canadian universities and
colleges that found more than 70 per
cent of students had drunk alcohol in
recent weeks and nearly half of them
had consumed more than five drinks
on one occasion—enough to meet
Health Canada’s definition of binge
drinking.
Many of those binge drinkers did
something they later regretted, had
unplanned and unprotected sex, or
forgot where they were and what
they’d done. The study also noted
that more than half of the students
who drank said they experienced
a combination of these and other
negative consequences, including
sexual assault, violence and thoughts
of suicide. Parker says it’s noteworthy
to have so many students reporting
serious experiences.
It’s also dangerous. Pre-gaming
makes it hard for bartenders and
servers to know when to cut off
drinkers, especially because pregamers don’t always keep track
of how much they’ve consumed.
Marshall says he learned how much
was too much for him. “Once you
get to your turning point and you’re
having a really bad night because
you’re way too drunk, you know your
limits,” he says. “I’m always pretty
conscious about my consumption.”
Safe drinking begins with knowing
your limits and staying within them.
Parker recommends counting your
drinks and keeping consumption
to three or four drinks. “Go out
and have a good time, but do it in a
culture of moderation.” And maybe
sit out the pre-game.
Be safe if you drink
The safest thing is not to drink alcohol. The
next safest is to reduce the risks associated
with drinking with these tips:
• Get a ride. Plan to have someone else do
the driving: taxi, transit, friend, mom or
dad.
• Have a “buddy,” or a friend look out for
you. Arrive together. Stick together. Leave
together.
• K now where you’re going and where you
are.
• Leave word. Let friends or family know
where you’re going, how they can reach
you and when you’ll be back.
• Wear the gear. From seat belts to
helmets to condoms. Protect yourself.
• No thanks. Turn down drinks from people
you don’t know.
• Keep an eye out. Avoid having someone
slip another substance into your drink.
• K now, set and stick to your limits.
• Keep track of how many drinks you have.
• Avoid mixing. Alcohol and other drugs can
be a dangerous combination.
— The Apple Team
If you’re concerned about your or someone
else’s drinking, call 1-866-332-2322.
— Jennifer Allford
applemag.ca 23
50+
Manopause not the end of male fertility
Menopause is a well-known
change that happens to women. It’s
when a woman’s menstrual cycle
permanently stops, thereby marking
the end of her fertility. Average age
of onset is 51, and symptoms include
changes in periods, hot flashes and
mood swings.
“Manopause” or andropause, on
the other hand, is not such an obvious
shift for men, although manopause is
an increasingly popular term.
“There isn’t clear consensus in
the medical community whether
such a thing occurs,” says Dr. David
Keegan, associate professor in family
medicine at the University of Calgary.
“Menopause is a part of life that
women will invariably go through,
but is there the same kind of major
transition for men? No, I’ve never
seen any clear evidence the same
thing happens to men.”
Manopause generally refers to a
drop in testosterone levels as a man
ages. It’s linked to symptoms such as
lower levels of energy, muscle mass
and sex drive, as well as reduced
mental quickness.
While testosterone decline does
occur as men age, the degree to
which this happens and when is
unclear. “Over time, the average man
will decrease the amount of sperm he
produces, but nevertheless there are
80-year-old men who can still have
children,” says Keegan.
Middle-aged men who don’t feel
quite as strong, virile or sexually
Illustrations: Kyle Metcalf
But a drop in testosterone can lower energy, muscle mass and sex drive
A change in testosterone may be more than a function of illness or aging.
interested as they once were may
wonder if they’re going through
manopause. But daily lifestyle
decisions – how much you sleep and
exercise, how stressed you get—also
affect testosterone levels.
Symptoms of low testosterone, or
low T, can also be linked to health
issues that have nothing to do with
aging. Take erectile dysfunction. “It
could be the first indication of some
kind of disease,” Keegan says. “A
good chunk of men with this issue
have a significant underlying cause
such as diabetes or high cholesterol.”
That’s different from what the
burgeoning low T market suggests.
Heaps of low T products make it
seem as if popping a pill, taking an
injection or slathering on a gel are
easy remedies to conditions such as
muscle loss and decreased libido.
But “naturally managing the average
guy who’s feeling a little less frisky
than before is far superior to medical
methods,” affirms Keegan. “We look
at diet, the way someone is sleeping,
help them identify issues with their
partner, build an achievable model
of physical activity; basically show
them the holistic way to go. Or
there’s option b: switching to massive
supplementation of hormones that
we don’t have any long-term studies
on safety or efficacy.”
Low T is still a valid concern.
But the key is to rule out
other potential factors first,
and consider a natural
approach before jumping
to a hormone boost, which
requires continued treatment
to maintain desired results.
“The number one therapy
is really good exercise,” says
Keegan. “It has to be five to
seven days of exercise to
make cardiovascular gains,
build muscle and stamina,
and natural testosterone starts
building. What it comes down to is
that if it’s worth it, you have to work
for it. There is no quick fix.”
Bottom line: “Do an honest
appraisal of yourself,” recommends
Keegan. If you think you might
be experiencing
manopause, neither
the cause nor the treatment is
obvious. So talk to your doctor.
— Colleen Seto
talks
Talking health
Join us at an Apple Talk this winter to learn more about your and your family’s health.
We’ll be talking about how kids develop, men’s mental health and more.
Visit albertahealthservices.ca/passionforhealth for topics, times and places.
applemag.ca 25
Body talk
A mother’s well-being is
directly linked to her
children’s
Baby coos. Mom coos back.
Baby’s wet and cries. Mom changes
baby’s diaper. Such serve and return
exchanges are the foundation of early
childhood development.
But what happens when baby coos
or cries and Mom can’t respond?
“Any chronic stressor in the
family—violence, addiction,
depression or ill health—that
prevents serve and return
between a mother and a baby has
Photo: Kelsy Nielson
Healthy mom,
healthy kids
When moms take good care of their health, their children develop healthy brains and lifelong habits.
a tremendous effect on a child’s
healthy brain development,” says
Nicole Letourneau, Norlien/Alberta
Children’s Hospital Foundation
research chair in Parent-Infant
Mental Health and RESOLVE
Alberta director.
This is one of the major reasons a
woman’s health is so closely tied to
her family’s health. When mothers
thrive, their families thrive and
vice versa.
“A mother has the initial
biological attachment, but all of the
people around the mom make the
attachment happen,” Letourneau
adds. “An important concept is that
society helps parents raise their
children by putting in the supports to
do that.”
Beyond their close, immediate
family and friends, women in
Alberta have several supports,
including public health nurses,
women’s doctors and prenatal
programs. Community groups
offer play groups where mothers
can meet other mothers in their
neighbourhood.
Prenatal care
Several studies underline the
importance of community support
to the well-being of mothers—
and the long-term health of their
children. With 10 per cent of
mothers experiencing post-partum
depression, support is most effective
when it begins before birth.
Prenatal programs help mothers
understand the importance of good
physical and mental health during
pregnancy and after the birth of
their child.
In Calgary, Dr. Allison Chapman
heads the community-based
CenteringPregnancy program at
The Alex Centre. Chapman has seen
women benefit through the program’s
group prenatal care, social support
and education. She recalls one of the
program’s participants, who had been
severely depressed after the births
of her first two children. She came to
CenteringPregnancy pregnant with
her third.
“She told us the program helped
reduce her anxiety and depression
and improved her connections with
her (new) baby and family,” she says.
“This model of care could play a key
role in improving health outcomes for
families.”
Chapman says. And children with
stable, loving families grow up
healthier, better able to learn and
maintain stable, positive relationships
of their own.
Supportive fathers are active
participants in pregnancy and
post-partum, and also help ensure
mom is eating well. Nutrition
affects brains before birth and
throughout infancy, childhood and
adulthood.
“Growing evidence shows that
better post-partum nutrition helps
the mother’s body recover from
pregnancy and childbirth,” says
behavioural scientist Bonnie Kaplan
of Pediatrics and Community Health
Sciences at the University of Calgary
and the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Being a mom—breastfeeding,
maybe rushing to work, holding
two jobs—is so exhausting, that
moms need to be optimally healthy,”
she adds. Nutritious food helps
new moms through the stress of a
new baby and the changes in their
relationships.
A healthy mom in turn feeds her
child nutritious food, laying the
foundations for long-term good
health. The cycle is complete when
healthy parents pass on their
healthy habits and choices to their
children, the next generation of
parents.
— Anne Georg
Father’s role is critical
Supportive partners are also
important to maternal and baby
health.
“A supportive, mentally healthy
husband and father makes the whole
system stronger. It translates to
baby that she is in a loving family,”
applemag.ca 27
The Chinese are credited with making
rice noodles as early as 5000 B.C. By the 14th
century, dried pasta was popular for its long
shelf life. Today, Canadians enjoy noodles as
everyday staples.
Inexpensive and easy to store in the pantry,
they come in enough shapes and sizes to keep
things interesting, and combine well with any
number of ingredients. Made with durham
wheat, rice, corn, quinoa and even lentils,
noodles of all shapes and sizes are as wellsuited to lean meats as they are to veggies,
seafood and cheese, and can transform ends,
scraps and leftovers.
While there are classic pairings, such as
spaghetti and tomato sauce or macaroni
and cheese, you can dress your noodles in
unlimited ways and in no more time than it
takes to cook the noodles. This is real food—
you decide how fast.
1 cup (250 ml) fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups (500 ml) fresh spinach, torn
2 cups (500 ml) cauliflower florets, chopped and roasted
4. Add chickpeas, garlic, tomatoes and the remaining
ingredients; toss gently. Serves 4.
3. Drain the gnocchi; in a separate pan, saute it with
remaining olive oil and the curry powder.
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2. Saute chickpeas with the garlic and plum tomatoes in
half of the olive oil.
Preparation
1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
1 cup (250 ml) canned chickpeas, drained
1/4 tsp (1 ml) curry powder
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
Ingredients
2 cups (500 ml) gnocchi
Plump little dumplings traditionally made with mashed
potato, gnocchi can be boiled and sautéed with any number
of ingredients for a quick, comforting meal.
Gnocchi
Text and recipes by Julie Van Rosendaal
Photos by Shallon Cunningham, Salt Food Photography
Meal deal
applemag.ca 29
Rice noodles Per serving: 340 calories, 4.5 grams total fat (0.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat) 670 mg sodium, 56 g
carbohydrate, 17 g protein, 2 g fibre.
Gnocchi Per serving: 300 calories, 9 g total fat (1.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 100 mg sodium, 46 g
Gluten-free pasta Per serving: 340 calories, 15 g total fat (4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 230 mg sodium, 48 g
5. Toss gently and serve with peanuts and a few leaves of
torn fresh basil. Serves 4.
4. Add tomato sauce, snow peas, carrot, shrimp, green
onions and canola oil.
3. When noodles are cooked (or soaked), toss with grated
fresh ginger, garlic cloves, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar
and lime juice.
2. Sauté shrimp and green onions in canola oil until shrimp
are evenly pink.
Preparation
1. Prepare rice noodles by soaking or cooking according to
package directions.
1 Tbsp (15 ml) rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup (125 ml) tomato sauce
1/8 cup (30 ml) fresh basil
1/3 cup (85 ml) peanuts
2 cups (500 ml) shrimp
1 medium carrot, grated
1 cup (250 ml) snow peas
3 Tbsp (45 ml) lime juice
1 tsp (5 ml) fish sauce
1 Tbsp (15 ml) canola oil
2 green onions, chopped
Spaghetti Per serving: 310 calories, 12 g total fat (4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 440 mg sodium, 27 g
Choose sometimes
5. Top with grated parmesan cheese and serve. Serves 4.
4. Drain pasta and toss with chopped parsley, sautéed
garlic, onion, red pepper, zucchini, tomatoe sauce and
cooked and drained extra lean ground beef.
3. Sauté onion, red pepper and zucchini in remaining oil.
Add tomato sauce to warm.
2. Sauté garlic in half the oil and remove from pan.
Preparation
1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
3 Tbsp (15 ml) parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup (500 ml) tomato sauce
1/2 lb (225 g) extra lean ground beef (10%), cooked,
drained
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small (1/2 cup/125 ml) onion, chopped
1/3 cup (85 ml) fresh parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced, sautéed
Ingredients
8oz (250 g) spaghetti
2 tsp (10 ml) fresh ginger, grated
Choose whole wheat spaghetti for a more nutrient-dense
dish; thinner spaghettini will cook even more quickly.
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Ingredients
8 oz (250 g) rice noodles
Using the Alberta Nutritional Guidelines, these recipes are: Choose most-often
The lowdowns
4. Add roasted butternut squash, sautéed broccoli and
feta; toss gently. Serves 4.
3. Drain pasta and toss with olive oil, garlic, toasted
walnuts and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Lightly sauté chopped broccoli in half of the oil.
Preparation
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
1/2 cup (125 ml) feta cheese, crumbled
2 cups (500 ml) broccoli, chopped
2 cups (500 ml) butternut squash, cubed and roasted
1/3 cup (85 ml) walnuts, chopped and toasted
3 cloves garlic, minced and sautéed
Spaghetti
Rice noodles are easy to find in the Asian section of most
grocery stores. They come thick or thin, and require very
little cooking time—the thin varieties often need just to soak
in hot or boiling water.
Gluten-free pastas come in all shapes and sizes; try them
made with corn, rice, quinoa, even legumes.
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups (375 ml) corn pasta or macaroni
Rice noodles
Gluten-free pasta
Illustration: Mamzelle Poppy
Keep in mind
Men are less likely to experience depression, anxiety and mental illness when they talk about their mental
health.
Getting men to open up
Talking is often the first step in dealing with mental health problems
Too much of the “man’s man”
ideals of masculinity can act as a
barrier to one of the simplest and
most effective ways of dealing with
mental health problems: talking
about them.
“Society encourages men to
maintain this image of being tough
and independent, and being able
to solve problems on their own.
Therapy is the opposite; it asks you
to be vulnerable and expressive.
It’s in conflict with the concept of
masculinity,” says Thalia Anderen,
a therapist with the Calgary
Counselling Centre.
It’s common for men to voice
skepticism at their first counselling
session with a psychologist.
Anderen says that over the years
she’s heard men express the same
reluctance in several different ways.
“A friend said this might do me
some good, but I’m not so sure.”
“I don’t believe in therapy but I
thought I’d give this a try.”
“I don’t know what you’re going to
do for me, but here I am.”
Men who do take that first step
generally go on to open up about
their concerns and trust in the
process, Anderen says. Statistics
show, however, that women are more
than twice as likely as men to reach
out and talk to someone about what’s
bothering them.
And it’s not because women are
suffering more.
“Men may not even realize they’re
experiencing a mental health issue,”
Anderen says. “They may think
it’s just stress or a situation with
their job, but when you start to talk
to them you find out there are a
whole lot of other issues going
on. They might actually be
depressed.”
One in five Canadians will have
a form of mental illness in their
lifetime.
The signs of depression are often
different in men and women. Women
can be prone to sadness and tears,
whereas men can be irritable and
withdrawn.
“Sometimes it’s really beneficial
just to give people a sounding board,”
says Rachel Troughear, Alberta
Health Services community support
and day program coordinator for
Addictions and Mental Health in
Athabasca. Troughear helps her
clients tackle day-to-day concerns
ranging from relationships to
financial planning.
“I don’t very often give advice.
I just let them talk it out. I might
provide a few ideas, but a lot of
the time they know the answer
themselves. It’s just easier to work
some of these things out with
someone listening.”
The consequences of keeping
problems inside (or internalizing)
can be serious. Ongoing anxiety and
stress can become toxic, leading to
more mental health problems and
illnesses such as insomnia, diabetes,
obesity, heart disease and some
cancers. Toxic stress also affects
performance at work and family
relationships.
Experts agree that the more that
can be done to eliminate the stigma
associated with mental health
problems, the easier it will be for
people to seek help—particularly
men.
“Reaching out isn’t a sign of
weakness,” Anderen says. “Everyone
has problems from time to time and
it takes a lot of courage to make
that phone call or first appointment.
That’s what we’re here for.”
— Greg Harris
applemag.ca 31
Helping kids
beat the bug
Study looks at a common
children’s virus
from childcare with a common virus
that caused vomiting and diarrhea.
Soon her older sister Gwenyth had it
too. Alberta’s emergency departments
see about 30,000 children with these
symptoms every year.
Alexandra and Gwenyth’s mother,
Rose Marie Farrell has enrolled
her daughters in a five-year,
$5-million study that looks at
infectious gastrointestinal diseases
in children.
University of Calgary pediatric
specialist Dr. Stephen Freedman
leads the study. He is funded by
an Alberta Innovates – Health
Solutions Collaborative Research
and Innovation Opportunities
(CRIO) Team award. He says
nothing brings children to Canadian
emergency departments more than
viral illnesses. “The typical cough,
vomiting, diarrhea and fever,” he
explains, “are part of being a child,
but just because you’re a child doesn’t
mean you need to suffer.”
Stomach bugs are rarely serious in
North America and many people—
parents, health professionals and
government officials—accept
rotavirus, norovirus and other causes
of vomiting and diarrhea as part of
life. The study will make testing and
Photo: OJO Images
Last February, one-yearold Alexandra Snow came home
A new study will help doctors better test and identify the causes of vomiting and diarrhea.
identifying the cause of symptoms
easier and more efficient. The results
will also help decide whether to
make publicly funded vaccines to
prevent these viruses available in
Alberta.
The study may also change the way
doctors find the cause of children’s
stomach bugs.
Freedman’s team wants to use
samples collected from rectal swabs
in the emergency room and conduct
tests with new molecular diagnostic
technology that searches 15
pathogens at the same time. Within a
few hours, parents could know how
long their child’s symptoms will last
and how severe they will be.
“My dream,” says Freedman, “is to
say, ‘Let me do a quick test on your
child and I can tell you what specific
treatment, if any, your child needs,
and approximately how long they
will be sick and you’re going to be
gone from work sick.’“
— Omar Mouallem
To learn more, or to
participate in this study, visit
GotGastro.ca.
Regulating the
beat of the heart
Researchers hope to develop a drug
to steady an irregular heartbeat
Most of us seldom think about
how our heart beats. The steady “lub
dub” sends blood to where it needs to
go while we go about daily life. But if
you have atrial fibrillation (Afib), it’s
not so simple.
Afib is a disruption in the heart’s
electrical system causing the two
upper parts of the heart, the atria,
to quiver. This disrupts the normal
rhythm between the atria and
the lower parts of the heart, the
ventricles, which may beat fast and
without regular rhythm. The danger
is blood can pool in the atria and
form clots, causing a stroke.
The condition is the most common
type of irregular heartbeat, and
affects about 350,000 Canadians.
The chance of developing Afib
increases with age and conditions
such as diabetes, high blood pressure
and heart disease. By 2050, some
30 million North Americans and
Europeans will have this condition.
The drugs available to treat Afib only
work in about 50 per cent
of patients and can have severe
side effects.
To improve Afib treatment,
University of Alberta researchers
Dr. Jason Dyck and Dr. Peter Light
are working on a new drug. Alberta
Innovates – Health Solutions, through
the Alberta/Pfizer Translational
Research Fund Opportunity,
supports their work.
About 350,000
Canadians are
affected by Afib
A natural substance called
resveratrol—found in the skin
of red grapes as well as in other
plants—forms the basis of the drug.
By making changes to resveratrol,
Dyck and Light hope to block one of
the channels that controls electrical
signals in the heart. This could help
the heart get back to its regular
rhythm. Their drug has already
shown exciting results in the lab and
they now want to move it to the next
stage of development.
Researchers like Dyck and Light
have been working on resveratrol
for years, since it first showed
promising results. Dyck looks at how
it affects the heart and Light focuses
on its effects on the electrical signals
that control the heart.
“The fact that the two of us have
come together on this project is really
a great example of how this funding
program fosters collaborations and
helps advance drug discovery,”
says Dyck.
— Janet Harvey
Visit MyHealth.Alberta.ca for
more information on atrial
fibrillation.
applemag.ca 33
Illustrations: Michael Byers
hurdles
Removing the
to care
Researchers are making it easier for patients to get
the care they need. Caitlin Crawshaw looks at how
When it comes to our health,
it takes more than an apple a day to
keep the doctor away. Even those
mindful of their health and wellness
need more than just a regular
checkup to stay well. From blood
tests to emergency rooms, we all rely
on a wide range of interconnected
health services to stay well.
Our health depends upon the system
working efficiently and effectively, but
patients can face barriers to treatment
Our health depends upon the
system working efficiently and
effectively, but there are parts of
the system where patients face
barriers to treatment. That’s why
Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions
(AIHS) and Alberta Health Services
(AHS) have partnered to create
a new research fund to examine
and improve the health system:
Partnerships for Research and
Innovation in the Health System
(PRIHS). The funding is awarded
to research projects within AHS’s
Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs).
These SCNs are made up of healthcare professionals, researchers,
and government and community
members who specialize in different
areas of health.
Here are three 2015 projects, each
focused on finding solutions that
remove hurdles for patients and make
the most of our health-care system’s
resources.
A joint effort
A few years ago, Jean Miller realized
there was something very wrong
with her knee. The pain worsened at
night and only improved when she
stood up, which wasn’t going to help
if she wanted to sleep. A diagnosis
confirmed her worry: it was
osteoarthritis, a condition causing the
cartilage in a joint to break down. It’s
the most common form of arthritis,
affecting one in 10 Canadian adults.
“I went to my doctor and started
taking Aleve, but I knew this
wouldn’t be the end of it because this
is a chronic condition,” says Miller, a
retired nursing instructor in Calgary.
She was left wondering, ‘Now
what?’ Like many patients with the
condition, she wasn’t sure when to
see her doctor again (Before or after
the pain worsened?) and what could
be done to avoid knee replacement
surgery (Get a brace or a cortisone
injection?).
“As patients, we kind of flounder
around out there. Family physicians
do their best to address these things,
but the breadth of knowledge they
have doesn’t make them experts in
osteoarthritis; they can’t be experts in
everything,” Miller says.
A research project led by the
University of Calgary’s Dr. Deborah
Marshall and Dr. Linda Woodhouse,
the scientific director of the Bone and
Joint Health SCN, could help those
with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
arthritis—another relatively common
condition—navigate the system more
easily. During the next three years,
Marshall, Woodhouse and their team
will work with patients, health-care
providers, service planners and
researchers to create a one-stop shop
for patients with osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis, speeding up
diagnosis and treatment, and making
it easier to find the information they
need to make decisions.
Working
to create a
one-stop shop
for osteoarthritis
and rheumatoid
arthritis patients
Early diagnosis is especially
important for rheumatoid arthritis,
a chronic and degenerative type
of arthritis recognizable by
inflammation within the joints
of the hands and feet. Unlike
osteoarthritis, which develops
slowly and is typically diagnosed in
seniors, rheumatoid arthritis appears
suddenly and affects younger adults
as well. When rheumatoid arthritis
applemag.ca 35
One project is meant
to improve colorectal care in all
four corners of the province
patients are treated within 12 weeks
of onset, they have a much higher
chance of remission.
The disease is tricky to diagnose.
“It’s not like there’s a quick test you
can do,” says Marshall. “You need to
be examined by someone who’s an
expert—typically a rheumatologist—
who checks your joints for swelling
and tenderness.” With only two
dozen such specialists in Alberta,
patients can face a long wait, making
a diagnosis unlikely within the
critical period.
This PRIHS research program
began in 2013 with a study to find
gaps in the system. While the study
is focused on making it easier for
patients to access good care, Marshall
says efficiencies will likely be found
in the process.
Elder-friendly surgical care
After arriving at the hospital by
ambulance, 66-year-old William
Schell was told he had to have his
appendix removed—it was inflamed
and twice its normal size. Everything
went well on the operating table, but
Schell took a turn during recovery.
“I could hear people talking about
me,” he says. “I was hearing voices
and they were planning to kill me.”
Schell remembers hiding from the
nurses in the bathroom and watching
TV in the patient lounge all night to
stay awake: “I didn’t want to sleep
because I didn’t think I’d wake up in
the morning.” At one point, he even
tried to escape the hospital, pulling
fire alarms as he ran.
Schell learned later that he had
delirium—extreme confusion—a
condition that can be caused by
many different things, including
pain medication, sleep deprivation,
dehydration and hunger. Seniors are
especially at risk for the condition.
Delirium is one of many health
issues elderly patients can experience
after emergency surgery, explains
Dr. Rachel Khadaroo, a surgeon,
critical care specialist and assistant
professor in the University of
Alberta’s Department of Surgery.
Others can include falls, bed ulcers,
bleeding around wounds, blood clots
in legs and infections. Some seniors
can also experience functional
decline, a loss of physical strength
and coordination due to being
bedridden and losing muscle mass.
“With traditional hospital care,
we are geared towards dealing with
a single acute illness quickly and
efficiently,” Khadaroo says. “With
our aging population, patients are
often frail and come in with multiple
medical problems.” As a result, the
risks associated with surgery and
the subsequent recovery are much
higher.
Khadaroo, who is with the Seniors’
Health SCN, is heading a PRIHS
study to improve surgery for seniors,
who make up half of all surgical
patients each year. Her project, ElderFriendly Approaches to the Surgical
Environment (EASE), will create an
“elder-friendly” emergency surgical
unit at the University of Alberta
Hospital.
Here, patients will be treated
by an interdisciplinary team
(including a geriatrician, nursing and
rehabilitation specialists and a social
worker) well-versed in seniors’ needs
before, during and after surgery.
Khadaroo and her colleagues will
study the unit and compare patients
to those at Calgary’s Foothills
Medical Centre.
Khadaroo is confident this
approach will help patients like
Schell avoid preventable surgical
complications, leave the hospital
sooner and reduce the chance of
being readmitted. “Our goal is to
use low-tech and innovative ways to
redesign the system to have better
outcomes.”
Delivering quality care to everyone
This year, about 2,080 Albertans will
be diagnosed with colorectal cancer;
720 will die from the disease. While
it is the third most common cancer in
Canada, it’s the second most common
cause of cancer death, after lung
cancer. This is why it’s critical for
patients to be diagnosed early and
treated as effectively as possible.
With so many different health-care
providers working in different parts
of the province, patient care varies,
says Dr. Todd McMullen, a surgical
oncologist at Edmonton’s Cross
Cancer Institute working with the
province’s Cancer SCN. He is leading
a PRIHS project meant to improve the
care colorectal patients receive in all
four corners of the province. “We’re
removing barriers so everyone gets
the same care,” he says.
Part of the project involves
creating a clinical pathway that
determines how and when patients
are diagnosed, which specialists they
see and what treatments will follow.
“We need to come up with a map and
say, ‘This is the journey patients will
take,’ ” he explains.
The second part of the project
is creating a travelling colorectal
cancer “school.” McMullen and his
colleague in Calgary, Dr. Don Buie,
will develop a curriculum to teach
clinicians (including radiologists,
oncologists, pathologists, family
physicians and others) in Alberta
about the pathway and the most upto-date approaches to care. In other
parts of the world, similar travelling
schools have significantly improved
patients’ chances of surviving a
serious disease.
Over the next three years,
McMullen and his team will look at
medical literature on the topic and
poll up to 500 specialists to decide the
specific approaches to follow. It’s a
huge undertaking and the benefits to
patients could be enormous.
For more on PRIHS, visit
aihealthsolutions.ca.
applemag.ca 37
Cellular
Connections
Dr. Lynn Postovit’s prowess as a researcher, teacher
and mentor helped make her a Translational Health chair
in Cancer. Omar Mouallem looks at her research on ovarian cancer
Dr. Lynne Postovit made her
first splash in graduate school when,
at 22, she discovered that an angina
medicine could prevent the spread
of prostate cancer. This discovery
is now in clinical trials and led to
the first of four patents in her name.
Fast forward 15 years to July 2014:
Postovit’s prowess as a researcher,
teacher and mentor, and her
commitment to acting on her research
findings led to her recruitment as an
Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions
Translational Health chair in Cancer.
Postovit’s focus is ovarian cancers
and their micro-environments (the
area around the tumour rather
than inside it, which is what most
researchers study), research that
could help detect this disease sooner.
The AIHS appointment gives Postovit
and her team seven years of funding
to develop and implement better
ways to detect and treat ovarian and
other cancers.
New advances are badly needed;
ovarian cancer is usually discovered
when it’s too late to treat. Of the
175 Alberta women diagnosed with
ovarian cancer in 2014, fewer than
half will live past 2019. The disease
can be hereditary, which worries
patients such as Verna Beaulac. Her
mother, maternal grandmother and
great-grandmother all died of a type
of breast cancer closely related to
ovarian cancer. Now she fears for her
daughter.
Postivit’s work may ease her
worries. Barely a year after joining
the University of Alberta, Postovit’s
research team has made huge
inroads. Postovit and prostate
cancer researcher John Lewis are
closer to finding two ovarian cancer
biomarkers—cellular red flags that
can be detected in blood for early
screening. After seeing Postovit
Dr. Lynne Postovit
New advances are badly needed;
ovarian cancer is usually discovered
when it’s too late to treat
present at Ovarian Cancer Canada’s
annual conference last fall, Beaulac
says, “I have a lot more hope.”
Postovit’s team is also searching
for connections between advanced
breast cancer and advanced ovarian
cancer. “If we can find those common
factors,” she explains, “then we could
probably treat a lot of advanced
cancers.”
Eight of Postovit’s 11-member
research team joined her from
Western University where they
worked on breast cancer research.
“Lynne created a working
environment like a home,” says
Guahai Zhang, a veteran researcher
who was quick to join her new lab.
“You feel confident to develop your
credentials and learn something
new.”
“Everyone in the lab wants to see
their work make a big difference,”
says Postovit. “We are able to do
more creative and important research
here.” And take more risks, which she
says is central to advancing medicine.
Postovit remembers the day
her father, an automotive factory
engineer, dropped her off for her first
day at Queen’s University. He shook
her hand and simply advised her:
“Just pass.”
Fifteen years later, in 2009, she won
Canada’s Premier Young Researcher,
which the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research awards to one
promising scientist at the beginning
of their career. By then she had
published several papers in stem cell
and cancer journals, some of which
are framed and hung around her new
office like signposts of progress.
“It’s very promising,” says Beaulac
of Postovit’s work. “The quicker
she can get her research done and
financed, the better it is for all women
in Canada.”
applemag.ca 39
What
Mom
Taught
Me
Health wisdom is often passed down through the
generations. Writer Valerie Berenyi looks at how it
travelled between five mothers and five daughters
Along with her first breath
and first steps, a daughter most often
takes her earliest health lessons from
her mother: what to eat, when to
sleep, how to react to the world.
Like eye colour or a genetic
predisposition to breast cancer, some
of a woman’s health inheritance is
hard-wired. But much of what any
child learns about being healthy is
taught, either with explicit directions
(“Brush your teeth after every
meal”) or by example (“Mom
always did her morning stretches”).
Experience plays a big role, too
(“We grew up vegetarian so I don’t
eat meat”).
Of course, “health” means many
things. We asked five women from
around the province to tell us about
the health wisdom they gleaned from
their mothers or grandmothers. They
shared some vital lessons: eat healthy
food, be active, get an education,
cultivate a positive outlook and never
give up.
My mother
instilled in me
the importance
of eating good
food and of
growing a
garden
—Sara Renner
Those interested in how to raise an
Olympian may want to follow Barb
Renner’s lead. She brought up her
daughter at a remote backcountry
lodge perched high in the Canadian
Rocky Mountains, put her on crosscountry skis as soon as she started
walking and fed her oodles of
healthy, home-grown food.
“My mother instilled in me the
importance of eating good food and
of growing a garden,” says Sara
Renner, who won a silver medal in
cross-country skiing with Beckie
Scott at the 2006 Winter Olympics
in Turin.
Renner’s parents, Barb and Sepp,
ran legendary Mount Assiniboine
Lodge, located southwest of Banff,
for about 30 years.
Photo: Sarah Vaughn
Grow a garden; preserve
the bounty
“When my mom came out [from
the lodge] on her time off, she was
constantly squirrelling away food,”
says Renner, explaining that the
family also had a house in Invermere,
B.C., where her mother still tends a
huge garden with fruit trees. “When
I was a kid, about seven, I remember
my mom canning and preserving all
the fruits and vegetables she grew or
bought. I do that now.”
Thirty-eight-year-old Renner lives
in Canmore where she is co-owner
of Paintbox Lodge with her husband,
retired World Cup champion alpine
ski racer Thomas Grandi. Like her
mom, Renner grows a garden—
potatoes, carrots, peas, rhubarb—and
has a root cellar that she stocks with
her home-canned tomatoes and
“huge bulk orders of things like oats
from Alberta organic farmers. I put a
lot of effort into sourcing our food.”
And, just like her mom, Renner, the
mother of three children ages one,
three and seven, places top priority
on healthy meals and eating together
as a family. “It’s important to involve
the kids in the preparation of our
meals,” she says, “and it’s important
to say that we’re thankful before we
eat.”
applemag.ca 41
Photo: David Guenther Photography
Cultivate a positive outlook
The daughter of a psychologist
who counselled families and
children, Maya Ichikawa says
she feels almost guilty about her
childhood in Lethbridge.
“Everything was so accepted.
It was smooth sailing, even in my
teens. I felt no desire to rebel against
anything. It was part of [my mother’s]
training, I think,” Ichikawa says.
“Mom was very open to
conversation and very positive.
She really encouraged me to take
different perspectives and to take
care of myself. She was my major
confidante,” says Ichikawa, adding
that her teenaged pals also loved to
talk with her mom. “Our house was
a central meeting place. My friends
felt comfortable and safe.”
Always encouraged to express
herself, Ichikawa, 41, first did a
degree in fine art, majoring in
illustration. Recently, she followed in
her mother’s footsteps and completed
a master’s of education in counselling
psychology and now works with
the Lethbridge School District
supporting marginalized families
through a program called Making
Connections. She’s also studying art
therapy online, and hopes to work in
that field.
Ichikawa’s mother continues to be
her guiding light. The 74-year-old
survived breast cancer nine years
ago and now does aquafit every
day. “She’s very inspirational to me
because she’s healthier than me now,”
says Ichikawa, the busy mom of three
kids ages five, eight and 11. “I don’t
have time to exercise.”
She also admires her mother’s
community-mindedness. Thirty
years ago her parents hosted
families who were part of a wave
of Vietnamese immigrants to
Canada. Today they “give back”
through the Buddhist Temple of
Southern Alberta, where her
mom teaches mindfulness and
journalling classes. “And now that
I’ve had kids, I’ve gone back to the
temple,” says Ichikawa, who leads
art groups there.
Of her mom, she says: “She’s found
her space in her older years. It’s really
inspiring as I discover how I want
to develop and approach life: wisely,
mindfully, aging gracefully and
actively.”
It’s really inspiring as I discover how I want to
develop and approach life: wisely, mindfully,
aging gracefully and actively
−Maya Ichikawa
Get an education
Both my boys are excellent cooks
who know how to sew on buttons
−Evelyn Ellerman
Photo: Katch Studios
Evelyn Ellerman, associate professor
of communication studies at
Athabasca University, holds a
bachelor of arts degree in linguistics
and French literature, and a master’s
and doctorate in comparative
literature.
Ellerman credits her mother for
instilling in her the importance
of getting an education, although
she wishes her mother—a stern,
repressed woman born in 1916 to
Victorian-era parents—had also
taught her more about reproductive
and emotional health, and passed
down some domestic skills.
“I learned very early not to talk to
her about emotions or anything to
do with the body,” says Ellerman,
65. The Edmontonian explains that,
when she began to menstruate, she
thought she had a stomachache and
bled all over her bed.
“My mother was furious that I
had stained the mattress. She had
no words to talk about the body,”
Ellerman recalls. Her mother cleaned
things up, handed over some sanitary
napkins and told her daughter:
“Don’t ever do that again.”
Ellerman says her mother was a
whiz in the kitchen, and proficient at
gardening, preserving food, knitting
and crocheting. “What I know
about the womanly arts, I got from
watching her, but I got no instruction
from her. She wanted me to go to
school, get an education and not do
these ‘women things.’ She thought
that I could hire a cook or a gardener.
“Later in life I asked her to show
me how to bake bread. She did so
grudgingly but didn’t think it was
very modern of me.”
In raising her sons, Ellerman made
sure they had lots of information,
cuddles, affection and hands-on
instruction. “You correct what your
parents did to you. . . . Both my boys
are excellent cooks who know how to
sew on buttons.”
Photo: Moonlit Photography
heading
Never give up
Tricia Janvier figures her parents gave
her a loving and perfectly balanced
upbringing.
Her father, pioneering artist
Alex Janvier, gave her a fun-loving,
positive outlook on life. “He’s my
biggest cheerleader,” says Janvier,
education director for Cold Lake First
Nations and a member of the board
of governors for Blue Quills First
Nations College.
But it’s her mom, “the rule-maker”
and a kindergarten teacher who
worked full-time while raising six
children, who taught her her most
valuable lesson.
Janvier grew up on the Cold Lake
First Nations reserve and was an
outgoing kid who joined “everything
that was available”: figure skating,
badminton, volleyball, basketball,
students’ union, yearbook and more.
She enrolled in Girl Guides, didn’t
much like it and decided to quit.
She understood that we need to
rise above the discrimination
−Tricia Janvier
Her mother refused to let her drop
out of the group. “I was so mad at
her because I thought that was my
right!” recalls Janvier. “My mom,
who is non-native, told me, ‘You’re
going to go through life and people
will expect you to quit because you’re
native.’
“She understood that we need to
rise above the discrimination, that we
are so much more than what people
expect from us.”
As a young girl, Janvier wasn’t
quite able to grasp this, “but as I grew
older I began to see the importance
of that teaching. It carried over with
me into my teen years, as an adult
and in raising four kids of my own.”
Janvier, 43, went on to earn two
degrees—a bachelor of arts and
a bachelor of education at the
University of Lethbridge—and
become a teacher herself. In 2001
she moved back home to teach in
her community where, as a single
mom, she’s raising her children,
ages 11, 13, 15 and 17, to be
independent and to never give up.
“I don’t let them quit things,”
she says.
Seize life (and get lots of sleep)
bicycles 50 or 60 kilometres a week
and “skis like crazy.”
“The thing I remembered the most
about growing up is that my mom
always read all these . . . magazines,
like Alive,” says Devaney. “She made
her own yogurt and created shakes
with flaxseed oil and avocados. At the
[We] need a lot
of sleep, eight
or nine hours
−Carole Anne
Devaney
Photo: Katch Studios
Carole Anne Devaney comes from
a line of fit, feisty French-Canadian
women who might be compared
to the Energizer Bunny. They’ll go
and go until their batteries need
recharging.
“[We] need a lot of sleep, eight or
nine hours,” says Devaney, co-anchor
of the primetime news show on
Global TV Edmonton. “I remember
my mom and grandma going for naps
if we had a late night playing cards.
My mom can fall asleep anywhere
for a five-minute nap and wake up
feeling completely refreshed.”
Devaney, 32, grew up francophone
in Ottawa and spent every summer
with her grandmother at the family
cottage 40 minutes away in Quebec.
Grand-maman’s lifestyle was and is
a big influence on the transplanted
Edmontonian.
“My grandma was very active,
planting flowers, cutting the lawn,
cutting tree branches at the cottage.
Recently, she re-grouted the tile in
her bathroom,” says Devaney.
She adds with a laugh that her
grandmother, 90, who skied until 10
years ago, is a voracious reader and
a card shark who relishes a game of
bridge along with a bottle of Labatt
Bleue.
Devaney’s 58-year-old mom, “a
tiny little thing,” according to her
daughter, has a similar zest for
life. Depending on the season, she
time I thought she was so annoying.
Now I’m just like her.”
A hearty eater, she starts every
morning with steel-cut oats, yogurt,
berries, almonds and maple syrup or
honey. It’s a healthy tradition that she
might pass on to her own daughter,
expected in November.
Women’s
health notes
Everyone’s health is different, shaped by a combination
of factors. In this collection of health statistics and notes,
we look at how women’s health can be affected by those
influences. By Terry Bullick and Amy Sawchenko
Illustrations: Jimi Scherer
Healthy pregnancy
Both women and their babies benefit
from a healthy pregnancy.
Before, during and after pregnancy,
moms can help their babies (and
themselves) stay healthy by:
• Eating well
• Staying active
• Avoiding drugs, alcohol
and tobacco
• Having regular prenatal care
• Finding ways to cope with stress
• Getting enough rest.
Alberta has many resources, programs
and services. Find a Parent Link Centre
near you (humanservices.ca) and Healthy
Parents Healthy Children resources online
(applemag.ca).
More alike than different
Girls and boys are more similar than
different at this age, although gender
identity begins early and goes well
beyond male and female to include gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit,
queer, questioning and fluid. Gender and
people’s perception of it shape boys’ and
girls’ actions, values and beliefs.
Depressing statistic
One in four boys and girls experience
depression in Grade 6. By Grade 10, girls
are three times more likely than boys to
be depressed.
Learning self-esteem
How girls see themselves and how others
treat them shapes their self-esteem.
One way young girls develop positive selfesteem is when the people around them
are positive, healthy and non-biased role
models. Plus, when girls are recognized
for making their own decisions, it sends a
positive message.
Listening, remaining open and nonjudgmental, providing opportunities
for problem-solving and praising good
decisions helps create connections and
send positive messages to girls. When
girls are constantly criticized or hear
those around them wishing they were
thinner, better or smarter, they’re getting
negative messages and examples.
Education
To learn more, see tips for parents of
teens at MyHealth.Alberta.ca.
In Canada and around the world,
education makes a huge difference to
women. Learning makes women more
employable: in Canada, 74.7 per cent of
women with university degrees have jobs,
compared to 56 per cent of women with
high school diplomas. In 2008, 62 per
cent of Canadian university graduates
were women.
High self-esteem
Girls with high self-esteem are
more likely to have a positive outlook,
confidence and pride.
Low self-esteem
Girls with low self-esteem are more likely
to have a negative outlook and experience
anxiety, toxic stress, depression and
addiction. They are also more likely to
engage in harmful behaviours such as
self-harm, bullying, smoking or drinking.
And they have a higher risk of developing
an eating disorder and depression.
Negative messages
Girls, especially, face a barrage of fashion
and media images and messages with
an unrealistic and negative focus: for
example, tall underweight sex objects
with perfect skin, hair and teeth.
When society considers these images
normal, girls’ self-esteem can be
undermined, and they can become selfconscious and more prone to harmful
dieting and eating disorders. When
girls are more comfortable with their
looks, they’re better able to learn and
be active.
A woman’s
ability to earn
money increases
15 to 25 per cent
with every year of
secondary school
applemag.ca 47
Divorce and separation
Alberta and B.C. have the highest divorce
rates in Canada. Divorce and separation
can affect women and their children in a
number of ways.
Motherhood or otherhood
More Canadian women aren’t having
children at all for a variety of reasons,
from personal choice to declining fertility.
When a woman waits past age 32 to
have her first child, she and her baby
can face more health risks (see story on
page 18).
• Moms living without partners are
four times more likely to have trouble
putting food on the table than women
living with partners.
• When a divorce or separation has
ongoing conflict, it can cause toxic
stress, affecting the health of the
parents and children. When children
are not supported by an adult when
exposed to toxic stress, their brain
architecture can be weaker.
• Women tend to see their incomes
fall by 20 per cent in the three to five
years after a breakup. Men’s incomes
also drops, but not as much.
• Moms become the main parent 70 per
cent of the time after a separation or
divorce.
Moms are getting older
The average age of a first-time mom in
Canada (28.5) is five years older than a
first-time mom in the mid-1960s (23.6).
¼
of caregivers are
“sandwiched” between
caring for aging parents
and young children.
Three to four
Hours a week men and women spend
caring for others. When someone needs
20 or more hours of care a week, women
are more likely to do it.
Bust the stress
More women say they experience
stressful days than men. Learning to cope
with stress is invaluable to your health,
as toxic stress can lead to depression
and anxiety, addiction and other mental
illnesses, obesity, diabetes, heart disease
and several types of cancer.
As well as looking after someone else,
caregivers need to look after themselves.
See MyHealth.Alberta.ca for tips on
taking care of yourself while looking after
someone else.
1.81
The number of children
the average Alberta woman
had in 2011, compared to
1.91 in 2007
150 minutes
40 mm
The amount of exercise a week women
can do to maintain their cardiovascular,
muscle and bone health. Activity
also boosts mental health and social
interaction.
(1-1/2 inches)
THE HEIGHT of heels you
can wear to prevent
heel-related injury
Positive steps
Alternating flat supportive shoes with
your heels and stretching your calves and
feet daily can help prevent the shortened
tendons, osteoarthritis in the knees,
chronic low back pain, nerve damage,
bunions and hammertoes that can result
from wearing heels, recommends the
American Osteopathic Association.
Obesity
It influences men and women differently.
Women under 60 have a much lower
rate of obesity than men: 31 per cent
compared to 52 per cent.
Keep on moving
When women are active 300 minutes a
week, they can help reduce their risk of
breast, colon and endometrial cancers.
Being active also benefits men: Albertabased research shows that when they
continue to exercise after their colon
cancer treatment has ended, they have a
better chance of surviving the disease.
A decade ago, women with a low
personal income were more likely to be
obese than high-income earners. The
opposite is true for men: those aged 35
to 54 with lower personal income levels
are less likely to be obese than men with
high income.
applemag.ca 49
Keep giving
Volunteer Canada says between the
ages of 45 and 75, women volunteer
more than men. After the age of 75,
more men volunteer than women.
When you volunteer, you are likely to be
more satisfied, have better mental and
emotional health and have stronger ties
to friends, family and community.
Living with help
Women over the age of
65 are twice as likely to
be single as men
After age 85, one-third of women and
one-fifth of men will live with physical or
medical assistance.
Happy, with a twinge
Working longer
Fewer women are retiring from the
workforce at the age of 65. If you are a
woman 65 and older, then you are twice
as likely to have a paid job as women a
decade ago.
Most women over the age of 65 are
happy with their social life, but a third
miss having people around them. Friends
and family are a foundation of health:
people with strong social connections are
happier and live longer than people with
fewer social ties.
Bones
When women are over 70, they need
1,200 mg of calcium a day to prevent
brittle bones. Calcium-rich foods include
milk, cheese, broccoli, kale, figs, almonds
and oranges.
Health wanted
F er t i li t y &
P r en a t a l C are
Acupuncture • Massage
Yoga • Chiropractic
Is your child using or abusing drugs or alcohol? PEP Society
helps families deal with their children’s substance abuse.
780.293.0737 | pepsociety.ca
403.455.8029
#143, 14919 Deer Ridge Dr SE
www.fertilecalgary.com
Learn about glaucoma
We like visitors
and friends!
Like us: Facebook.com/applemagca
If you have or are at risk of glaucoma, our free
information sessions at the Royal Alexandra
Hospital in Edmonton will help you better
understand the disease and its treatment.
For details, dates and bookings, call
780-735-4200.
Give
Healthy, strong, vibrant communities bring us together.
Learn more about supporting healthy communities where you live.
Your Foundation | Your Community | Your Health | Your Gift Matters
Please visit AHS’s Foundations & Trusts web pages
at www.albertahealthservices.ca/give
To book an ad in Health Wanted, call 403.943.2892 or email [email protected]
applemag.ca 51
Praising passion
Serving by understanding spiritual beliefs
George Epp helps Mennonite families connect to schools and health care
20,000 Low German Mennonites have
moved to southern Alberta, mostly
from Mexico and Bolivia. George Epp
has met, befriended and helped many
of them.
Epp is the Low German Mennonite
liaison officer with the Horizon
School Division and coordinator of
the Mennonite Central Committee’s
Services for Newcomers in Taber,
east of Lethbridge. As the former,
he encourages Mennonite families
to send their children to school. As
the latter, he connects those same
families to health care.
Both jobs have their challenges.
Many Mennonites are opposed to
sending their children to school.
Others have strong objections to
immunization.
Epp, a Manitoba-raised Mennonite,
can be persuasive. “I just know, when
there’s a measles outbreak and people
say that (immunization) is ‘against
our rules . . . we don’t do that’, I
say: ‘do you really know what that
means?’ ” He is persuasive because
he is passionate. “I think children
have a right to a basic education.
They also have a right to basic and
reasonable health care.”
When Epp started his school
division job, 80 Mennonite children
were in school. Today 1,300
Mennonite children are students.
Epp estimates he’s helped at least a
thousand families find health and
medical care.
Photo: Shannon Bos
In the past 20 years, as many as
Epp is an tireless advocate for the Low German Mennonite community, helping families access education,
health care, housing and more.
“If I need assistance with
communications, or an outbreak, or
I need something translated, I go to
George,” says Vivien Suttorp, the lead
medical health officer for the South
Zone of Alberta Health Services.
Epp, she adds, is the person she
asks for advice on being culturally
sensitive and working with other
groups. “He’s connected not only
to individual families but to the
churches and the ministers and
he’s respected.”
Cathy Woolfrey, the manager
of population health promotion
services in AHS’s South Zone says
Epp “is a tireless advocate for the
Low German Mennonite community
in southern Alberta and beyond. His efforts cover the full range of
the social determinants of health,
including education, housing,
social supports, access to care, and
physical environments. He supports
individuals and families to achieve
success.”
— Jeff Collins
Praising Passion
Our Praising Passion column celebrates inspiring Albertans who improve the health and well-being of people in their
communities.
Nominate someone in your community or vote for the person you’d like to see featured in the next issue of Apple by
emailing [email protected] or calling 403-943-1993. Comments are welcome and voting is open
until Feb. 10, 2015.
The Spring 2015 nominees are:
Agnes Joyce
Agnes has helped nearly 1,000 Albertans who have suffered strokes in 19
rural communities across the province. The manager of the Cardiovascular
Health and Stroke Strategic Clinical Network with Alberta Health Services,
she is highly respected for being a leader who serves her patients, inspires her
colleagues and works to improve stroke care in Alberta.
Danielle McIntyre
Nominated for the second time, Danielle fills people’s stomachs and hearts as
the executive director of the Lethbridge Interfaith Food Bank. She continues
to expand the food bank’s programs to feed and improve the lives of over
800 adults and 600 kids every month. She is also expanding the Learning
Garden—Young Chefs, Kids in the Kitchen, Outdoor Cooking and Garden
Project for Youth programs.
Denise Kokaram
When it comes to oral health, Denise is a visionary who takes action. She is
the creator and manager of The Alex Dental Health Bus, a mobile dental clinic
that serves Calgarians who are unable to access or afford dental care. She is a
passionate advocate of oral health in private practice and public health, and
serves as an international volunteer.
Patrick Dillon
Sparking a movement to celebrate dads is all in a day’s work for Patrick, the
provincial coordinator of the Alberta Father Involvement Initiative. He is a
passionate and dedicated advocate for healthy and resilient dads, families
and communities. Working with organizations and communities, Patrick
travels the province developing programs that support and encourage positive
fatherhood and parenting.
Mary Hede
A paramedic, Mary was named a public hero by the Intercultural Dialogue
Institute in 2014 for helping people living on the Eden Valley Reserve in a way
that respects their aboriginal culture. Specially trained in mental health and
addictions, she also worked with social agencies to reduce the frequency that
vulnerable people in downtown Calgary need EMS care.
My health outlook
Sidonia Arob
I think that Canada’s health-care system makes
Canada the greatest country in the world.
Where I come from, there was suffering from many
things, every day.
I was born in South Sudan. When I was 10 years old my
family left for Khartoum, in the north, because there was a
religious war in the south.
In Sudan, most things are not clean—the water we
drank, the food we ate. I had amoebic dysentery and I had
asthma all the time, because it was dusty and everybody
smoked. I saw children die from simple things, like
diarrhea and fever. My sister’s baby died in front of me,
from whooping cough.
When I was 23, I left Khartoum for Egypt, and in 1999,
my cousin sponsored me to come to Canada. My husband
(now ex-husband) and I moved to Brooks, where I worked
at Lakeside Packers. In 2003, I had a baby.
Now, I work with the SPEC Association for Children &
Families. I was hired as a home visitor for a new program
called HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool
Youngsters). I visit immigrant families and help parents
gain the skills they need to get their children ready for
school.
When I visit somebody who has a health complaint,
I say, “If you are complaining about any infection, it’s a
Photo: Jessica Surgenor
Proud to be Canadian
Sidonia Arob says she grateful health care is available to everyone in Canada.
good time to go to your doctor.”
In Canada’s health system, everybody has access to
the treatment they need, whether you are rich or poor,
whether you have a job or no job. I hope they will keep it
that way, and that it will keep getting better.
I am so grateful for Canada and so proud to be a
Canadian.
— As told to Jacqueline Louie
Celebrate the holidays with family,
friends and healthy choices.
Our Healthy Eating Starts Here tips can help you
enjoy the season and keep your eating habits healthy.
Visit healthyeatingstartshere.ca and find healthy
eating tips under Resources: Healthy Eating
More Albertans trust Alberta Blue Cross
for health and dental coverage than anyone else.
Because your health is our only focus.
Alberta Blue Cross serves over 1.6 million Albertans with coverage for
prescription drugs, dental and vision care, ambulance, preferred hospital accommodation,
extended health benefits and much more.
✓
for Albertans who are self-employed, working on contract, early
✓
serving Alberta-based businesses from two employees to thousands,
✓
unique plans for Alberta seniors ages 65 and over that complement existing government-sponsored programs
✓
emergency medical travel coverage to protect Albertans planning to travel outside the province or the country.
Call us today!
Toll-free 1-800-661-6995
connect on
ABC 82786 2014/11
facebook
follow us on
twitter
Edmonton 780-498-8000
Calgary 403-234-9666

Apple Magazine - Winter 2015 - Alberta Innovates: Health Solutions

Transcription

Similar documents

SILVERTIPAREASTRUCTUR EPLAN Canmore, Alberta October

RVDA of Alberta`s RV Learning Weekend

Environment Challenges of Building and Maintaining Transmission

Form D - Farm Implementation Act

Ribtor West

JOSOS project completed (PDF Document)

`Polar Bear`- Urecon Corporate Overview

Beyond the doors of the Stollery`s pediatric emergency department

Wet areas map for Beauvais Lake Provincial Park

Peace River - AEP - Government of Alberta