Latest news with #emergencyRoom
Globe and Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Canada's emergency room crisis is worse than we thought
Ever since the pandemic, emergency-room closures have become more common in Canada, especially in rural communities. This can leave people in dangerous situations that can require them to drive an hour or more to access emergency medical care. When time is of the essence, emergency-room closures can be deadly. Because there's no centralized data on how common closures are across Canada, it's challenging to parse out how bad the problem is. As part of The Globe's Secret Canada series, health reporter Kelly Grant, investigative reporter Tu Thanh Ha and data editor Yang Sun analyzed data on emergency room closures across Canada. Kelly and Ha are on the show to talk about how widespread these closures really are, what it means for people living in those communities and what kinds of solutions are possible. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@
Washington Post
04-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions
St. Louis — The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making.
Washington Post
04-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Rural hospitals brace for financial hits or even closure under Republicans' $1 trillion Medicaid cut
OMAHA, Neb. — Tyler Sherman, a nurse at a rural Nebraska hospital, is used to the area's aging farmers delaying care until they end up in his emergency room. Now, with Congress planning around $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years, he fears those farmers and the more than 3,000 residents of Webster County could lose not just the ER, but also the clinic and nursing home tied to the hospital.
RNZ News
24-06-2025
- RNZ News
Woman recalls 'numb' feeling after syringe attack at French music festival
By Lisa Klaassen and Saskya Vandoorne , CNN Music enthusiasts gather in the streets during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique, in Paris, France, on June 21, 2025. Photo: AFP/JEROME GILLES It was around 1:30am, after the crowds had thinned from the streets of Bordeaux, when Manon felt the prick of a hypodermic needle going into her arm. "Someone tapped my left forearm. I started to feel numb in the muscle, like you do when you get a vaccine. After about 30 minutes, the injection mark appeared," she recalled to CNN. Despite not knowing what she had been injected with - or who had done it - she said she "didn't want to panic". Manon, 22, was one of nearly 150 people in France who reported being pricked with syringes during a nation-wide street music festival at the weekend. According to the interior ministry, it remained unclear if date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB were used in the "needle spiking" attacks, which took place across the country and appeared to have involved multiple perpetrators. Ahead of the festival, which drew crowds of millions of people to the streets, a feminist influencer had warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. After spending 4am to 7am on Sunday in the emergency room, Manon shared a video of her experience on TikTok. "It was important for me to raise awareness, because I hadn't seen any testimonies from people who had been injected," Manon said, who declined to give her last name for safety reasons. "We had been told on social media to be careful, but I think people want to know more - how it happens, the symptoms, how it unfolds. It reassured me to talk about it, because at the time, I was completely alone." After she got home from the hospital, Manon filed a police report. "It's important because if we're too lax, if we say, 'oh, others will file complaints', nothing ever changes. I told myself maybe it can have an impact." Since Saturday (US Time), French police have detained 14 men - aged between 19 and 44, including both French citizens and foreign nationals, police spokeswoman Agathe Foucault told Radio France. No arrests have been made in connection with the needle spikings. "The police have not identified any perpetrators behind the injections, but the incidents are confirmed," Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Tuesday (US Time). The minister said authorities would also pursue those who had called for the attacks online. "We are implementing a criminal policy to prosecute those responsible on social media for these very unhealthy injection games targeting women," Darmanin said. The feminist influencer Abrège Soeur, who before the festival had warned men on social media were planning such attacks, told CNN the perpetrators' "objective isn't only to drug women. It's to instil fear in them." "When people start saying that there will be needle attacks, it spreads in the form of rumour - some people mention it in group chats, others pick it up, it just gets amplified," she said, adding, "We need to help women feel safer." Manon, who faces a wait of three weeks for her toxicology results, said she had "barely slept the last few days" - but she refused to be cowed by her experience. "The Fête de la Musique is meant to be a time of good vibes, music, dancing, having fun. Someone wanted to ruin that moment, to kill that spirit. I told myself I wasn't going to let it defeat me. I don't want to be sad or angry. I don't want to let them win." - CNN
WebMD
19-06-2025
- Health
- WebMD
Too Warm or Too Cold With MS
Must I choose between uncomfortably cold and dysfunctionally warm? Before I had multiple sclerosis (MS), I didn't worry much about temperature. If it was cold out, I put on a coat. If it was hot, I could take off a sweater, but if I didn't, nothing bad would happen. After 40 years of MS, I have to think about temperature constantly. If I let myself get too warm, my body stops working. If I wait too long to take off that sweater, I won't be physically able to do it. Two of the three times MS has landed me in the emergency room, it was because of getting too warm and not being able to sit up. One time, the day started off cold, so I dressed in a few layers and went to see some art shows. When it got warm, I was too engrossed in the art to notice. When I noticed, I tried to take off a pullover I was wearing, but I could not lift my arms well enough to do it. I should have asked a stranger to help me take off some layers, but I didn't want to bother them or to be embarrassed. I tried to tough it out. I wound up on the floor and got an unwanted ambulance ride to the hospital. That was five years ago. Since then, my temperature sensitivity has gotten worse. Now, I'm also quite uncomfortable when I get too cold. My body hunches in on itself to keep warm, I start sneezing and coughing, and I can't wait to get home and warm up. But if I get too warm, it's worse. Then I need to get into bed, or everything falls apart. I wish it were a question of finding a 'sweet spot' – not too hot and not too cold. But for me, there is no sweet spot. I can actually be too warm (weak) and too cold (uncomfortable) at the same time. It's taken me a few years to realize just how important it is to take off layers when I start to get warm. Like right now, writing this, I had to take off a sweatshirt and just wear a T-shirt, because the day is warming up. How does this work out in the world? Memorial Day weekend, I spent a delightful two days at San Francisco's Carnival celebration. So much dance, music, art, costumes, and food, all in one place. I love it and almost never miss it, but it's in the Mission District, on the warm side of town. It is difficult for me to spend hours there without getting into a temperature crisis. This year, I was smart. I packed four layers: two T-shirts, a sweatshirt, and a sweater. I paid attention to the weather and how I was feeling and frequently changed between outfits so that I felt cool but not uncomfortably cold. It wasn't finding one right outfit; it was frequently changing to fit my body's needs at the moment. I missed some moments of the parade, because I was busy putting on or taking off a sweater. It was a lot of hassle, and I'm sure a few people were wondering, 'What's up with him?' but it enabled me to enjoy the event and not collapse. Temperature balance is important at home, too. My apartment, especially my work area, tends to get warm. If I'm busy writing, I might not notice until my fingers stop working and I can't type anymore. Right now, I'm still warm, so I have turned on an electric fan that sits by my desk. I love that fan; at its low setting, it really does seem to put me in a sweet spot of not being too hot or too cold. Fans are great; they use way less energy than air conditioning, so they're better for the environment, and they work right away. They cool you without unnecessarily cooling the whole house. So, there are a lot of tricks. To avoid heat, stay in the shade; if you're cold, get into the sun. Some people with MS wear cooling vests or neck wraps if they can't avoid being out in the heat, but San Francisco rarely gets that hot. Drinking lots of fluids, iced or not, helps control our temperature. Like with a lot of other MS symptoms, there are many things we can try. For me, doing the right things means taking our time, paying close attention to our bodies, learning and trying new things, finding balance, and then doing what works. That process applies to mobility issues, doing tasks, enjoying life, and a long list of MS challenges, including heat sensitivity like mine.
