Windsor-Essex residents walk to support people living with Alzheimer's
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CBC
25 minutes ago
- CBC
Patient, advocates worry shuttered mental health program for Toronto's Chinese community will reduce access
Social Sharing A Toronto woman and health advocates are worried the Chinese community will lose access to culturally sensitive mental health care after a specialized program at Toronto Western Hospital was shuttered and subsumed into a larger outpatient mental health service for underrepresented communities. Ishrat Husain, University Health Network's department head and program director for mental health, says the Asian Initiative in Mental Health (AIM) program hasn't shut down but has been integrated into the larger program to provide care to many underrepresented communities. Joy Luk says the first time she heard AIM "had been closed" was in mid-July during an appointment with her psychiatrist, who warned her she might be switched to another physician. She said her doctor told her she could no longer access Cantonese-speaking psychotherapists, who were allegedly fired with the closure of program. While Husain confirmed there were some "staffing changes," he said patients will still have access to their psychiatrists. "I'm under great pressure, whether they'll stop my service [and] when?" Luk said. Luk says she saw more than 10 psychiatrists when she was admitted to Toronto Western in 2022 for struggles with depression. WATCH | UHN shutters mental health program that served Chinese community: Toronto hospital abruptly shutters mental health program for Chinese-Canadians 3 hours ago She says many doctors did not understand the context of her experiences as a blind woman in her home country of Hong Kong. That all changed, she says, when she gained access to a psychiatrist who could speak Cantonese and understood the cultural nuances of the Chinese community through the AIM program. "It's so difficult to explain in English the deepest part of my mind," said Luk, who moved to Canada in 2021. "It's very important for a psychiatrist to understand the background and the underlying situation of a patient, especially, we Chinese have specific family teachings." Luk says the "one stop shop" service gave her access to Cantonese-speaking doctors, group therapies and other mental health supports, but now she's unsure how her care will change. Change meant to 'modernize' access to care: doctor UHN is hoping the change will shorten wait times for initial assessments from six months to a few weeks, said Husain. The outpatient program will have four Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking doctors, while AIM only had two, he said. "The change was to actually modernize and make our mental health program more responsive to the population that we're serving," he said. Once the program shift was announced, Husain says patients were individually contacted to answer questions and address any concerns. "Change can be difficult for a lot of folks," he said. "We've been doing outreach to patient groups, community partners, referring physicians as well to be able to, to quell some of that anxiety." Only hospital-based program for minorities in Toronto: psychiatrist But despite what Husain said about the program integration, psychiatrist Ted Lo says he considers AIM to be closed as it no longer has the same name, allegedly lost half of its staff and has left patients confused in the aftermath. Lo is with the RE-AIM coalition, a group that aims to consult with UHN to restore the program. For Lo, UHN's response to AIM's closure is "all words." "The program that has run for 23 years has served a lot of Chinese patients, but not just serving them, but serving in a way that is culturally safe and effective," he said. AIM was the only hospital-based mental health program that served a specific minority population in Toronto, and likely all of Canada, said Lo. Josephine Wong, another member of the RE-AIM coalition, says the hospital should've consulted patients, staff and community partners prior to the change. "This kind of providing services to all is a sugar coated way to say that let's just get rid of those who cannot really voice for themselves and we just do whatever we want," she told CBC Radio's Metro Morning. Husain says UHN is happy to meet with RE-AIM to talk about their concerns, but asserts the program has "not gone away." Consultations were not held before the change as UHN felt the change would have "minimal impact on patient care," he said.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
WRH highlighting ‘critical need' to fill diagnostic imaging jobs and get more students into the field
Officials at Windsor Regional Hospital are working to highlight the critical need for students to consider diagnostic imaging as a future career while actively recruiting to fill those positions within the hospital. External Recruitment Coordinator Erin Hodgson said X-ray technicians, CT scan technicians, and nuclear medicine technologists are the positions the hospital has the most difficult time finding top talent for. As part of a recruitment effort, the hospital is offering a $25,000 signing bonus for those in-demand positions, while there is also help available with relocation costs for anyone moving from outside the region. One reason cited for the difficulty in filling those positions is that anyone locally pursuing these fields needs to leave the area to receive their two to three years of college education, with only a handful of schools offering programs in those fields. Hodgson said the nuclear medicine technologist position is challenging to fill because there are only five schools in Canada, with just one in Ontario, that offer that program. 'The need goes up because you have a workforce that's retiring out of these careers, but the number of students graduating out of these education streams, specifically for nuclear medicine tech, is not enough to meet the demand for the number of people who are leaving this role,' she said. The salary for an X-ray, CT or nuclear medicine technologist starts at $36 to $37 per hour. Hodgson said one of the big problems they're trying to address is a lack of knowledge that these career paths exist. 'I've been working really closely with the Greater Essex County District School Board to develop programs with the Experiential Learning Team and their SHSM [Specialist High Skills Major] Team to get into the high schools and talk to students about careers exactly like this that are in healthcare, outside the scope of nursing and medicine that everybody knows about,' she said. Hodgson said the demand for nuclear medicine is critical in Windsor-Essex, Ontario, and across Canada. 'We need the bodies; we need the people going into these education streams that they may not even be aware of. I think the initiative, especially put forth by Windsor Regional Hospital for recruitment and also education in the community, is working very hard every day,' she said. The hospital is also launching a new job shadow program for anyone 16 years and older, and the diagnostic imaging department is an active part of the program. Click here to find a link to register for the program. - Written by Rusty Thomson/AM800 News.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
York Region officials advise of possible measles exposure at 4 sites, including Costco Richmond Hill
Public health officials in York Region are advising the public of a possible measles exposure at four locations, including a Costco in Richmond Hill. York Region Public Health identified the four sites on Friday after confirming a case of measles. Officials are advising those who were in the following locations to watch for symptoms: Costco Richmond Hill, 35 John Birchall Road, July 27 from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Grand Genesis Pharmasave, 9080 Yonge Street, Unit 6A, July 28 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital – Emergency Room, Waiting Room, 10 Trench Street, July 30 between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital – Emergency Department, Pharmacy and Tim Hortons, 3200 Major Mackenzie Drive West, July 31 between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Those who were at the two hospital sites are urged to immediately confirm that they have two doses of the measles vaccine. They may also be eligible for a post-exposure vaccine clinic. Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air. Symptoms include high fever, runny nose, red watery eyes, and red rash. Officials said there have been three confirmed cases of measles in York Region. A total of 2,354 cases of measles have been reported in Ontario as of July 29, most of which were linked to an outbreak in the province's southwest region.
