The digital health network in Nova Scotia is at serious risk of cyber attacks due to a lack of efficient cybersecurity. That point was made clear by NS Auditor General Kim Adair as she presented her report to the House of Assembly on Oct. 22, undertaken to analyze the security of a system which […]
Health
Posted inNews + Opinion
Let’s Talk about action
Today is the day. The day I mute every thinkable combination of words and hashtags across all social media platforms. The day I turn off the television and radio and anything that could have advertisements. The day I wonder if I can detach my retinas by rolling my eyes too hard. Today is Bell Let’s […]
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Gambling with Nova Scotia’s future
1 A WHOLE NEW WORLD “Icome from a family of people that gamble,” John says. “I learned how to play poker from my grandfather when I was like three. I’ve always been kind of attracted to money.” This explains his Bachelor degree in business, his “early” Bitcoin investment and his steady, if unexciting, day job […]
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New ministers talk health care priorities
Premier Tim Houston and his novice cabinet met for the first time Thursday. The three ministers in charge of the newly divided health portfolios spoke about plans for race-based health data, universal mental health care, and the difficulty of trying to hire 2,000 new nurses and continuing care assistants for long-term care. Barbara Adams, minister […]
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Houston’s quick health care shake-up
On the day after his swearing in, premier Tim Houston immediately disrupted Nova Scotia’s health care system by firing the health authority CEO and getting rid of the provincial health board. “I’ve said all along that transformational change was needed to improve health care and it starts today,” Houston said in a statement Wednesday. He […]
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NS adds 264 beds for long-term care, needs 1,300
Nova Scotia will build 264 new long-term care beds and replace nearly 1,300 existing beds across the province, premier Iain Rankin announced Friday. Nova Scotia NDP and PC leaders say this plan falls short of what’s needed to support the public long-term care program—which has nearly 1,300 people waiting for a bed. In a […]
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Vaccine clinics “for us, by us” in ANS communities have given over 600 doses
On a sunny Thursday in early April, the Emmanuel Baptist Church held the first African Nova Scotian community vaccine clinic. The large space was set up with a registration area, 10 vaccination stations and a post-vaccine waiting area. “It happened to be a really nice day, so we had some chairs outside,” says Gina Jones-Wilson, […]
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What happened at Northwood?
A year ago this Saturday, April 17, three residents of Northwood, the long-term care centre in the heart of Halifax, died of COVID-19. Fifty more would die in the course of the next six, frantic weeks. While COVID raged inside the facility, the north end complex was sealed off from the surrounding community. The virus […]
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Nova Scotians who have been travelling should keep an eye on how they feel
The NSHA and Nova Scotia’s department of health announced on March 11 that anyone who has travelled outside of Canada—therefore at risk of coming in contact with COVID-19—should pay close attention to their health for 14 days after returning home. There are still no reported cases in Nova Scotia, but the NSHA is setting […]
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What you need to know about getting an abortion in Nova Scotia
There are many misunderstandings about the female reproductive system and the various forms of birth control available to people with uteruses. Here’s what you need to know right now if you’re living in Nova Scotia, and helpful information about the process and who gets it for women living across Canada. Getting an abortion in Nova […]
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Considering abortion as birth control for those who can’t access it
T he pill, an IUD, condoms, plan B, nuvarings, abortion, pulling-out, tracking your cycle–these are all equally valid choices of birth control. And they should all be equally available and offered to those who want birth control. Abortion isn’t always just the last-ditch effort if other forms of birth control failed or if you’re a […]
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A moving target: What abortion access looks like in Nova Scotia
One of the biggest misconceptions about abortion, says Lianne Yoshida, a Nova Scotia physician and medical co-director of the Women’s Choice Clinic in Halifax, is that people think it’s a rare or unusual procedure. “It’s very common,” she says. In 2018, there were 1,690 reported abortions at the four Nova Scotia Health Authority sites offering […]