Our Voice Matters: Stories of Youth and Mental Health

Read the original article Nothing about us without us. This phrase, repeated often by the four individuals I interviewed for this project, sticks out in my mind as something the health care system can do better at. Youth mental health is no exception. Up to one in five Canadian youth have a mental health diagnosis. … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Mac

Read the original article   I had throat cancer. A few years after I finished treatment I got a very sore throat. My family doctor thought I had strep throat and put me on antibiotics for five days. Then somehow the cancer doctors got involved. The surgeon said I had cancer again and painted a … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Drew

Read the original article     Drew’s neck was broken during a swimming accident in Peru in 2011. He spent the first year and a half after the accident in an intensive care unit (ICU), and a few years after that in a rehabilitation hospital. He is unable to move his arms or legs and … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Matthew

Read the original article     Matthew coordinates cancer screening and prevention programs in southeastern Ontario. He talks about the importance of new communication strategies in health care. “I have a degree in sports management and was employed by the Canadian Cancer Society for 11 years running events like Relay for Life and Daffodils. I worked with … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Karen

Read the original article     Karen has been an emergency physician for over 20 years. She’s fed up with the impact of emergency department overcrowding on her and her patients. How has emergency medicine changed over the last 20 years? “The patients are more complex and elderly. Overcrowding is the biggest change. When I first … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Mary B

Read the original article     Mary is a nurse with a long history of caring for elderly patients. Ten years ago her husband, Lloyd, was diagnosed with dementia. He was 62.   “I am the oldest of six daughters. My experience with dementia started when I was eight years old. I shared a bedroom with … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Michael

Read the original article     “About four years ago I had open heart surgery. They replaced my aortic valve and did a double bypass. I recovered from that, but about two years ago I started feeling poorly and was getting progressively worse. I wasn’t sleeping. I was tired in the day and my wife … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Tracy & Max

Read the original article     Tracy talks about her job as a paramedic and Max, the therapy dog who works with her. “I’ve been a paramedic for 26 years and have had some pretty horrific calls, some of which have caused me distress. But I haven’t had PTSD so far. I think one of … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Frantzy

Read the original article     Frantzy is a personal support worker in an Ottawa homeless shelter caring for men recovering from an acute illness who need ongoing health care support. “I moved to Canada from Haiti in 2003. I used to come for vacation and I kind of fell in love with Canada. I … Read More

Faces of Health Care: Yoni

Read the original article     Yoni is a family physician, writer, educator and policy advocate who focuses on nutrition and obesity. “I remember actively skipping lectures on nutrition as a medical student. I didn’t have to go because we could literally get every single question on nutrition wrong on all of our examinations for … Read More