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Quebec
MONTREAL —
Scans outside
the system Amid great controversy, a private
PET/CT scan clinic is up and running in Montreal and
it provides scans for about $2,500 a shot. Yet entrepreneur
Robert Hecht's Ville Marie PET and CT Centre operates
legally, because of a federal government loophole that
doesn't stipulate that scans be performed by the public
sector. The government is circumspect, and some feel
expensive clinics will steal doctors away from the public
system to read their scans. Nonetheless, the project
is drawing favourable reviews and cooperation from many
of Quebec's doctors. DB
MONTREAL
— Fighting
over a CHUM After spending millions of dollars
on studies, Jean Charest's government is again postponing
its decision on where to build the proposed CHUM superhospital
until February. Two sites are contending for the hospital
— the eastern part of downtown Montreal and an
old rail yard in the affluent enclave of Outremont.
Those who argue for the downtown location (including
many patient's-rights groups) cite their choice's cost-effectiveness
and population density while the Outremont cheerleaders
(including many business interests) dream of a world
class healthcare facility that would be synergized with
the nearby University of Montreal. DB
New
Brunswick
ST ANNE DE KENT
— Remember
Little Louis One of the giants of Canadian history,
the Honourable Louis J Robichaud died recently of cancer
near his birthplace of St Antoine at the age of 79.
Premier Robichaud governed New Brunswick from 1960 to
1970, and among many other achievements is credited
with modernizing a staggering number of antiquated and
inept provincial institutions, as well as radically
improving the healthcare standards and other social
conditions for his fellow Acadians, and other New Brunswickers
who weren't being served by the province's old oligarchs.
BW
Nova
Scotia
ANNAPOLIS ROYAL
— Young
local scientist killed by tsunami Events a world
away have affected Nova Scotia. Rebecca Clark, 32, of
Annapolis Royal was one of those swept away by tsunami
waves following the December 26 earthquake. "The worst
part now is knowing she died running for her life,"
said her cousin, Shelly Tyler. "We had hoped she had
been asleep in her hut when the disaster struck now
we know she died in fear." Clark was in Thailand on
a sea turtle conservation project. BH
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Prince
Edward Island
CHARLOTTETOWN
— Business
was (happily) slow While Island shoppers kept
merchants hopping during the holidays, staff at the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital got a much deserved reprieve.
This is in stark contrast to last year when vast hordes
of patients descended upon the facility. Pat Lee, the
hospital's executive director, said 600 fewer people
showed up at the ER during the 2004 holiday season.
The flu hit PEI just before Christmas in 2003, throwing
a wrench in the works of the Island's emergency room
network while taxing medical staffs to the hilt. SB
Newfoundland
ST JOHN'S —
Province
bans tobacco sales at pharmacies As of the new
year, cigarettes and tobacco products are no longer
being sold in Newfoundland and Labrador drug stores.
This plan was part of a series of phased-in restrictions
on the sale of tobacco products, approved some two years
ago by members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmaceutical
Association. DSS
ST
JOHN'S — New
health board system set to begin The Newfoundland
and Labrador Health Boards Association wants the provincial
government to allow a transition period of about three
months before replacing 14 health and community service
boards provincewide with four new regional authorities.
Association executive director John Peddle says allowing
current board members and chief executive officers to
work with new appointed trustees and managers until
spring would make sense for a more orderly transition.
DSS
The
Territories
KIVALLIQ, NU —
RSV strikes Nunavut
children Public health officials in Nunavut's
Kivalliq region, located along the western Hudson Bay,
say they've already seen a rise in cases of respirator
syncytial virus (RSV) this winter. RSV causes mild cold-like
symptoms in adults but can develop into a serious or
even life-threating illness in infants and children
under age three. Those in the Kivalliq region are at
high risk of infection because of the area's young population
and overcrowded living conditions. Last April, during
one week alone, 13 babies from Arviat and nine from
Baker Lake had to be flown to hospital in Winnipeg.
JG
Contributors:
Hector Andrews, Simon Biggar, Donna Byers, Lance Davies,
Geoff Everett, Jane George, Brian Hoyle, Thane Jenkins,
Julie J. Mercier, Deana Stokes Sullivan
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