June 14, 2013
‘Maintenance’ fee an insult
Coquitlam Now
The new fee for wheelchairs is yet another barrier for their users.
Elderly nickeled and dimed in BC facilities
Straight Goods News
Elderly people aren’t being treated fairly with the new fee for wheelchair use.
Fraser Health’s top salaries irk in light of wheelchair fee
Vancouver Sun – Letter
In response to an article on new fees for wheelchair use, a reader says the decision seems worse because of top salaries at Fraser Health totaling close to $3 million per year.
Government treats friends better than weakest citizens
The Province – Opinion
A reader feels that voters are responsible for a government that gives itself raises while allowing Fraser Health to charge seniors for wheelchair use.
“Raising the pay of our top staff”
Vancouver Sun (cartoon)
Comments on the recent wheelchair fee controversy.
‘Communities’ include people with addictions
Ottawa Citizen – Opinion
The federal government is on a “crusade” to get rid of harm-reduction initiatives. With mention of VCH’s Insite facility.
Nurse fund-‘races’ for Richmond Hospital
Richmond News
A Richmond Hospital nurse is running a half marathon to raise funds for the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
Tall orders, little wiggle room in premier’s mandates
Vancouver Sun — Column
The provincial government is developing a core review for cost containment and balanced budgets, including a hold on health care-spending increases to three per cent a year.
Doctors urged to adopt clinical approach to target smoking
CMAJ
Doctors should treat smoking like a disease and adopt a more clinical approach. With quotes from Dr. Milan Khara, clinical director of the Tobacco Dependence Clinic at VCH Addiction Services.
June 13, 2013
Birth control pill linked to deaths of 23 women
Global BC (video)
Health Canada has linked the deaths of at least 23 women to Yaz and Yazmin, a common birth control pill. With quotes from Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, a VGH doctor.
Helipad facing closure — again
Pique Magazine
VCH says that the failure to follow traffic laws puts the Whistler helipad at risk. With quotes from Clay Adams, VP of communications and public affairs at VCH.
Father refuses to give up on his son
Vancouver Sun
The family of a brain injury survivor believes Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy helped their son. With quotes from Dr. David Harrison, VGH’s director of hyperbaric medicine.
He started drinking in Grade 6, and adults helped him do it
The Province
VCH is helping launch a campaign to educate adults on the dangers of buying minors booze.
Anti-bootlegging campaign is launched
CBC Radio (audio)
VCH launched an anti-bootlegging campaign to educate parents and other adults about the negative consequences of providing teens with alcohol.
Bootlegging program aimed at high school grads
Global BC
VCH is working with West Vancouver police to focus public awareness on the consequences of giving alcohol to teenagers.
Dead teen’s sister wants you to think before bootlegging
News 1130
The sister of a 16-year-old who died at a house party wants adults to think twice about buying booze for teens. With mention of a VCH program focused on educating adults about the dangers of buying minors alcohol.
Vancouver’s Insite operator questions new federal legislation
Vancouver Courier
VCH’s is worried about impact of new federal legislation on the future of injection sites in Vancouver and the rest of the country.
Wheelchair fee taking it too far
Delta Optimist – Editorial
Charging seniors $25 for the use of wheelchairs is not an appropriate way for health authorities to come up with extra revenue.
MLA dismayed by wheelchair fee
Delta Optimist
Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington does not want VCH and Fraser Health to make basic mobility rights an elective service of the health care system.
PharmaCare fares poorly compared with other systems
Vancouver Sun – Opinion
The author, from the UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research,
says B.C. fares poorly within Canada, and that Canada fares poorly among comparable countries abroad.
June 12, 2013
North Shore teens in crisis
North Shore Outlook
The number of teens visiting VCH’s Lions Gate ER for mental health problems has doubled in three years. With quotes from Dr. Lance Patrick, head of psychiatry at Lions Gate Hospital and from Dr. Steve Mathias, regional youth medical leader at VCH.
Should alcohol carry warning labels?
CTV News (video)
Experts are saying that alcohol should come with warning labels for young females. With quotes from Dr. John Carsley, a medical health officer at VCH and from Kerrie Watt, a prevention educator at VCH.
Injection-site ruling callous
Times Colonist – Editorial
The federal government’s response to the Supreme Court ruling on Vancouver’s safe-injection site is cynical and callous. With mention of VCH’s Insite facility.
Vancouverites ‘might have to learn to live with rats’ as population scurries upwards: Expert
The Province
A local pest expert said that Vancouver’s rat problem is getting worse and is no longer limited to the downtown core.
Movember movement
Global BC (video)
VCH’s Vancouver Prostate Centre was given $5 million from the Movember Campaign.
Local researcher to receive $5 million Movember grant
News 1130
A local researcher has received $5 million in grants from Prostate Cancer Canada, made up solely of funds raised during last year’s Movember campaign.
June 11, 2013
Movember gives $5 million to Vancouver prostate cancer research team
Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver Prostate Centre has been given $5 million from the Movember Foundation’s first team grants. The Vancouver Prostate Centre is part of VCH and UBC.
IHA says wheelchair fee could be coming
Kamloops Daily News
Interior Health Authority officials are looking at whether they’ll follow Fraser Health and VCH in charging a maintenance fee for wheelchairs.
Wheelchair fees added
Langley Advance
VCH and the Fraser Health Authority plan to charge $25 per month to fix and maintain wheelchairs, starting September 1.
Syphilis rates at ‘epidemic proportions’ among Vancouver gay/bisexual men
LifeSiteNews.com
VCH and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control have issued a warning that syphilis infections in homosexual and bisexual men have soared to their highest levels in more than 30 years in the Vancouver area.
BC Liberals’ Wheelchair Tax: What’s Next?
The Tyee – Opinion
VCH and Fraser Health will be charging seniors a monthly fee to use wheelchairs in public extended care facilities.
June 10, 2013
Totem poles start to take shape
Coast Reporter
One of three totem poles planned for St. Mary’s Hospital in Sechelt is now being carved. With quotes from Lauren Tindall, Sunshine Coast director of clinical services for VCH.
Hospital wait times on News 1130
News 1130
News 1130 will be broadcasting the average wait times at five hospitals in the Vancouver area. With quotes from Dr. Eric Grafstein, head of ED services at VCH.
Computerized walkway keeps seniors on their feet
Global BC (video)
Falls are the number one fatal injury for seniors and researchers at St. Paul’s hospital are using a new high-tech device to help keep aging patients on their feet. With quotes from Julie Cheng, a physiotherapist at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Discovering the source of dizziness frees elderly
Vancouver Sun
Clinics at Mount Saint Joseph and St. Paul’s hospitals are helping seniors stay on their feet, helping prevent injuries. With quotes from Julie Cheng, a physiotherapist at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Medical isotopes: A made in B.C. solution
Vancouver Sun
Scientists in Vancouver have discovered a way to create a medical isotope in significant quantities without using a nuclear reactor. With quotes from VCH physicians Dr. Francois Benard, Dr. Daniel Worsley and Dr. John Powe.
New Fraser Health fee charging wheelchair users ‘a major indignity:’ MLA
Global News (video)
Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington is asking Fraser Health to reconsider a new monthly fee that charges wheelchair-bound residents at a long-term care facility. With quotes from Gavin Wilson, spokesperson for VCH.
Co-chair of BC Health Coalition says wheelchair fees ill-advised
CKNW
The co-chair of the BC Health Coalition is speaking out again wheelchair fees proposed by Fraser Health and VCH.
$25 wheelchair fee for seniors in care home sparks MLA’s outrage
The Province
Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington is ‘outraged’ over a new user fee being imposed on long-term care residents who use wheelchairs. With mention of VCH introducing a similar fee.
Nurses condemn Fraser Health plan to charge for wheelchairs at seniors’ homes
The Record
The Fraser Health Authority is facing criticism from the B.C. Nurses Union for its plan to charge residential care home residents a fee for wheelchair use. With mention of VCH introducing a similar fee on September 1.
Wheelchair billing policy for seniors to be BC wide
630 CHED
VCH will also be implementing a new policy that will charge seniors for the use of wheelchairs. With quotes from Gavin Wilson, spokesperson for VCH.
B.C. Nurses union blasts wheelchair fee
The Chronicle Journal (Source: CP. Also appeared in the Westman Journal)
B.C. nurses are unhappy with a decision to charge nursing-home residents $25 for using a wheelchair. With mention of VCH introducing a similar fee.
Second chance for health care
Times Colonist – Editorial
The government has an opportunity to revive healthcare in B.C.
Local advocates tackle issue of elder abuse
North Shore News – Column
Last month, West Vancouver Seniors Action Table held an event to talk about what we can do to stop elder abuse. With quotes from Melanie Parkinson, a member of VCH’s Community Response Network.
Exhibition highlights lives of people with mental illness and addictions
Richmond Review
A photography exhibition in Richmond is looking at the lives of VCH clients who have dealt with mental illness and addictions.