residents

May 2, 2024admin

Medicaid renewed for over 140K Michigan residents

The renewals come as Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services works to maintain Medicaid coverage for those in the state who are eligible

NEWS RELEASE

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) renewed Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan coverage for an additional 141,471 people whose eligibility was up for redetermination in March, bringing the total to more than 1.5 million.

This announcement comes during Medicaid Awareness Month, which recognizes Medicaid as the largest insurance program in the United States.

The department is continuing its efforts to maintain Medicaid coverage for eligible Michiganders. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people continued to receive Medicaid coverage without having to renew annually under the Families First Coronavirus Act. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 ended the pause on annual redeterminations. Michigan reinstated the renewal process beginning in May 2023.

“As part of Medicaid Awareness Month, we are encouraging Michigan residents to submit their renewal paperwork to continue their access to quality, affordable health care,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. “Maintaining health care coverage for as many residents as possible continues to be our goal, whether it’s for routine check-ups or health care challenges. I’m pleased we’ve been able to renew Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan coverage for more than 1.5 million people so far.”

In addition to Governor’s proclamation, Meghan Groen, Michigan’s Medicaid director, was featured in a video that provided an overview of Medicaid benefits and reminded Michiganders to watch for their renewal packet and submit needed information to ensure they keep their health care coverage.

Over the past several months, MDHHS has used numerous strategies approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help make the renewal process easier and to reduce the number of

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Department Health

April 20, 2024admin

California Dept. of Public Health urges Golden State residents to avoid Vietnamese hemorrhoid ointment

The California Department of Public Health has issued a warning to consumers advising them not to purchase or use a hemorrhoid ointment from Vietnam that was found to contain dangerous levels of lead and was linked to a death in Northern California.

A public health advisory declared that California consumers should not use Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu, an ointment for hemorrhoids that is produced in Vietnam and available for purchase on social media and by private vendors at public events like swap meets.

According to CDPH, the product was found to contain 4% lead, which was described by health officials as “an incredibly high and dangerous level,” who added that the ointment was linked to a lead poisoning death in Sacramento County.

Reports from KTLA sister station KTXL indicate that the victim allegedly bought Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu on Facebook and had it shipped to her by a relative in Vietnam.

“Consumers should be extremely cautious using unregulated health products available online or through social media,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, Dr. Tomás J. Aragón. “Many of these products overpromise to cure or relieve ailments and are not tested for safety. Putting these products on or in your body can have serious consequences.”

State health officials are working with county health departments to raise awareness within their Vietnamese communities. Federal health officials have also been notified, CDPH said.

Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu, a Vietnamese hemorrhoid ointment, as seen in a photo provided by the California Department of Public Health

Anyone who is using or has used Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu is urged to stop immediately, see a healthcare provider

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Health Information

March 30, 2024admin

Sask. residents can now access surgical procedure information online – 620 CKRM

Saskatchewan residents now have expanded access to their personal health information, as the new Surgical Procedures feature has been introduced on MySaskHealthRecord accounts.

This feature, the first of its kind in Canada, allows individuals with an account to view details about upcoming surgeries, including the scheduled procedure date, specialist or surgeon’s name, procedure name(s), location, and status.

Minister Tim McLeod of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health highlighted the significance of MySaskHealthRecord in conveniently providing patients with vital health information.

“MySaskHealthRecord puts important personal health information literally in the palm of a patient’s hand,” McLeod said. “Saskatchewan continues to lead in allowing patients to access their own personal health information in an easy-to-use format.”

Accessible both online and via the MySaskHealthRecord app, the Surgical Procedures feature allows patients awaiting surgery to stay informed about their upcoming procedures. Patients can also opt for push notifications to receive timely alerts regarding their surgical information.

Provincial Department Head of Surgery for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Dr. Michael Kelly, emphasized the advantages of well-informed patients.

“Well-informed patients are better prepared for appointments with their health care providers and can be more directly involved in decisions impacting their surgical procedures,” he said. “When patients can easily access information ahead of time, it allows us to make good use of the time we have together. We spend less time on scheduling details and can focus on discussing their individual journey toward timely surgical care.”

MySaskHealthRecord, launched in October 2019, initially provided access to online lab test results and other health records. The subsequent introduction of the MySaskHealthRecord app in May 2023 further streamlined access to personal health information, with the app averaging 10,000 downloads monthly since its release.

Residents aged 14 and above with a valid SGI driver’s license or photo ID,

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Health Care

March 16, 2024admin

Winnipeg residents living with disabilities left struggling amid health-care support worker strike – Winnipeg

On Wednesday, 160 health-care support workers walked off the job at Ten Ten Sinclair, a housing development company in the city for people with various physical disabilities.

The job action has left tenants at the company’s Forkus properties feeling like they have fallen through the cracks.

“I have received one shower assistance since Wednesday, and otherwise, I’ve just been trying to do sponge baths myself. It’s been very difficult,” said Kristianna Huege, Fokus tenant.

Tenants have said the lack of support has been causing major anxiety as they navigate difficult tasks such as getting out of bed and emptying foley bags.

Click to play video: 'Manitoba unions, employers wrestling over whether replacement workers during strikes are OK'

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Manitoba unions, employers wrestling over whether replacement workers during strikes are OK

“I’m scared I’m going to be put into bed and left there for how many hours or how many days, not having any help, any communication,” said Tenant, Lisa Quiring.

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As a temporary measure, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) brought in more workers to help fill the gaps left by the strike but the tenants say staffing is still limited and many of them are not aware of their specific needs, resulting in tenants having to assist the workers.

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“They came to me and said, ‘Ok, what needs to be done, who are we looking at?’ Now, all of that should have been taken care of, all of that should have been handled, but obviously, it fell through,” said resident Lori Ross.

Ross says a lot of people who

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Department Health

January 4, 2024admin

Residents in rural and northern Manitoba concerned, scared amid ongoing ER staffing challenges

Residents, a municipal leader and a union president are speaking out about health-care staffing shortages in two communities in rural and northern Manitoba that they worry are impacting life-saving services in emergency departments.

Cole Nickell, a resident of Roblin, Man., about 180 kilometres northwest of Brandon, wrote to Premier Wab Kinew and MLAs on Sunday after he saw Prairie Mountain Health post the scheduled hours of service for emergency departments in western Manitoba on its website for the next month.

It shows the ER at the Roblin District Health Centre will be closed some days or only open for limited hours on others, meaning residents may have to travel to nearby communities for care.

Nickell said he’s concerned about what would happen if the ER is closed and someone has to make a 30- to 40-minute trip, either on their own or by ambulance.

“It just scares me … the potential of what could happen if me or some of my friends or family can’t get to the ER immediately,” he said in a Tuesday interview.

A man with black-rimmed glasses, wearing a green shirt with white lines running through smiles for a photo. — Cole Nickell is a resident of Roblin, Man., who wrote a letter to Premier Wab Kinew and MLAs about upcoming planned closures and reduced hours in the emergency department at the community’s hospital. (Submitted by Cole Nickell)

Other communities in the health region are also dealing with ER closures or reduced hours. In northern Manitoba, the head of the Manitoba Nurses Union said she’s heard from members in Thompson who say they’re seeing an increase in highly acute and critical patients in a hospital with a shortage of ER nurses.

“It’s getting busier all the time,” Darlene Jackson said. “There’s facilities in the north that really don’t have a functioning ER right now, so those facilities automatically send their patients into Thompson.”

“Thompson and

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Health Care

November 28, 2023admin

Mallorytown, Ont. residents struggling since walk-in clinic closure

Frustration is building in Mallorytown.

When the town’s only walk-in clinic closed in February, there was talk about getting new health professionals to fill the gap.

But, the village is still waiting.

Angie Cowan has been fighting for health care in Front of Younge Township since late last year, when she learned provincial budget cuts would lead to Mallorytown, the township’s hub, losing its only free walk-in clinic.

She says that since the clinic closed in February, things have only continued to get harder for people living in the rural area.

“We now have to go to a private clinic, where we don’t even have a nurse, or we have to go to emergency,” she said.

Cowan isn’t in this battle alone. Numerous people who used to use the clinic’s services, along with Front of Yonge Township council are pushing the province.

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Front of Yonge Township mayor Roger Haley says they were elated in February when MPP Steve Clark said that Mallorytown would be first on the list for funding for a new clinic staffed by a nurse practitioner, but almost 10 months later, the fully ready clinic remains empty, and the people of Mallorytown unserved.

“If the announcement was made today that we had the funding, we still have to hire somebody, so this could be months down the road before we find someone,” said Haley.

Now, between waiting and the lack of action from the province, Haley, Cowan and the hundreds of people who Haley says used the clinic, frustration is mounting.

“We’re just being told ‘Oh, we’re reviewing the applications, we’re reviewing the applications,’ and … nothing,” he

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Health Advice

August 2, 2023admin

New website connects Sarnia-area residents with mental health help

The website was developed by Lambton Public Health in consultation with other local agencies.

Published Jul 31, 2023 • 3 minute read

The Lambton Public Health office in Point Edward. Photo by File photo /The Observer

Minds Connected, a new online resource in Lambton County, has been launched to help individuals and organizations take action to improve mental health, something local surveys indicate was negatively impacted during the pandemic.

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The website, mindsconnected.ca, was developed by Lambton Public Health in consultation with other local agencies.

“Minds Connected is basically an online resource for people in Lambton County to connect them to mental health services and supports,” said Anita Trusler, supervisor of health promotion with Lambton Public Health.

“It’s also a tool that workplace organizations and schools can use to find evidence-based interventions that they can apply to support mental health in their settings,” she said.

A “thorough literature search” and “evidence review” was carried out by Lambton Public Health to find “best practices and evidence-based interventions in those settings,” Trusler said.

Lambton Public Health worked with more than 10 partners, including Bluewater Health, Canadian Mental Health Association, St. Clair Child and Youth Services and local school boards, she said.

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Trusler said they also spoke to representatives of local workplaces to discover what they needed.

“They were very much a part of that process.”

Trusler said the project was a response to what Lambton Public Health learned from community mental health surveys in recent years, including looking at the impact of the pandemic.

A 2017 survey found 70 per cent

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Department Health

July 30, 2023admin

Residents of Kitimat, B.C. worried about safety after ER doctor sent to work in neighbouring community

The only hospital in Kitimat has experienced two instances of reduced emergency services in the past two weeks, leading local residents to worry about their safety in the industrial community that is home to a major aluminum smelter.

The Kitimat General Hospital had to close its emergency department overnight from 7 p.m. on July 20 until 8 a.m. the next day. The same situation occurred on July 13-14.

The Northern Health Authority said the disruptions were caused by their decision to transfer the emergency department physician from the Kitimat hospital to the Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace, about 51 kilometres away.

“Every effort is being made to prevent emergency department service interruptions in the north — whether they are the result of physician or nursing staffing challenges.

“Emergency departments are only ever on diversion as a last resort — when no other options are available,” Northern Health said in a written statement to CBC News on Wednesday.

British Columbian communities have seen the suspension of hospital emergency services caused by staff shortages in other parts of the province this year, including Saanich on Vancouver Island and Merritt in B.C.’s southern Interior.

A CBC News analysis of emergency room closures last year found that emergency departments in 13 hospitals in rural B.C. communities were closed for the equivalent of around four months in 2022, an issue that the province attributed to staff shortages driven by waves of sick leaves and more lasting staff retention issues.

Petition launched to keep Kitimat hospital open 24/7

The disruption in medical services prompted Kitimat resident Dylan Pollock to start an online petition on July 18, calling on Northern Health to recruit more health-care workers to keep the hospital’s emergency department open 24/7.

The petition has garnered more than 1,100 signatures as of Thursday from the

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Department Health

June 8, 2023admin

Residents vow to keep fighting as Minden, Ont., emergency department closes

Patrick Porzuczek watched in disbelief Thursday morning as the “emergency” and “H” signs were removed outside the hospital site in Minden, Ont., signifying the closure of its emergency department.

“It was extremely emotional for me because over the last six weeks this is what we’ve been fighting for — to keep that blue H and that ’emergency’ sign up,” said Porzuczek, one of the main organizers of public campaigns to save the ER. “Seeing those signs down, my heart breaks.”

READ MORE: Ontario renews summer ER staffing funding for 1 more year

June 1 marked the closure of the emergency department in Minden and with it a consolidation of services at the hospital in Haliburton, 30 kilometres north. In late April, Haliburton Highlands Health Services gave six weeks’ notice of the closure – citing ongoing severe staffing challenges as the main reason – to prevent further ER closures at one or both sites.

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She reported that in 2022 there were 20 reportable near-miss emergency department closures at the Haliburton site due to physician shortages — but none in Minden.

“The pressure on our staff is absolutely tremendous — it’s not something that was sustainable,” HHHS president and CEO Carolyn Plummer said at a Haliburton County council meeting on April 27.

Plummer on Thursday declined an interview with Global News Peterborough noting the “whole team is focused on making the transition to one ED site a success.” The board has stated no job losses will occur with the consolidation.

“The organization may have updates to share on the other side of the transition, and if so, such updates (will) be provided to media,” she stated.

Top: A sign outside the Minden hospital site on May 31, 2023. Bottom: A sign as of June 1, 2023.

The

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Department Health

May 22, 2023admin

Future closure of Minden hospital emergency department leaves residents furious

It was a tense environment at the Haliburton County Council meeting Tuesday morning as Haliburton Highlands Health Services CEO Carolyn Plummer presented the consolidation plan of the two emergency departments in the county.

Plummer says staffing shortages and the global healthcare crisis are the reason for the closure of the Minden emergency department.

“It just wasn’t sustainable anymore. We’ve fought long and hard to keep both sites open, but we’ve reached a point where we’re just not able to do that on a consistent basis anymore. I do feel confident that this is the right decision,” says Plummer.

However, members of the council disagree.

“I have no trust in the board, and I feel that they should resign,” says Minden Hills Mayor Bob Carter.

Carter says there was no discussion with council, emergency department staff or members of the community before the decision was made.

“To make this type of a decision and then for the board to agree to it without even asking ‘hey, where’s the plan? Have you consulted with people, have you talked to people?’ I mean, that’s totally irresponsible,” says Carter.

Dr. Bruno Helt, who’s been a doctor in the emergency department for 27 years and is the former emergency department chief, says this decision came as a jarring shock.

“This decision to close the Minden hospital at this time and in this way is wrong,” says Helt. “I think it could’ve been made after the summer with physician and community input. More than anything, it needed community input,” he added.

Helt says the hospital did have enough staff to stay open until at least September.

“The board really is going to be spending more money and they’re going to be getting less services, and

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Petition launched to keep Kitimat hospital open 24/7