New Brunswick

FREDERICTON — Nursing province back to health Health Minister Elvy Robichaud announced that 74 nursing students will receive a total of $268,000 in bursaries to help defray the cost of their degrees. The recipients will sign agreements to work at either a nursing home or Regional Health Authority in the province. Mr Robichaud says these return-of-service agreements are proof of a commitment to rectifying the province's shortfall of nearly 900 nurses. JC

SAINT JOHN — Terminal solution The Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation has established a new program in Saint John to help healthcare professionals provide better palliative care — including allowing patients to choose to die at home. Dr Chris O'Brien, a local hospice director, says that the families of terminally ill patients need now just make one phone call to get the help they need. JC

Nova Scotia

HALIFAX — It'll have to do Doctors have voted for a four-year deal with the province that will raise their pay by 2% per year. The deal was grudgingly accepted by many of the province's family physicians. "I'm not going to turn down the raise, but I have to admit to a certain amount of disappointment," said Andrew Holmes, chairman of the medical society's general-practice section. For many FPs the new deal is basically a cost-of-living increase. BH

HALIFAX — Stay out of the water In an article in Epidemiology, Dalhousie's Dr Linda Dodds warns that women who drink or bathe in water containing high levels of chlorination by-products called trihalomethanes are twice as likely to have stillbirths. "The answer doesn't lie in either filtering or drinking bottled water," said Dr Dodds. "The ultimate answer has to come from improvement in the technology of water-treatment facilities." Trihalomethanes are produced when chlorine reacts with organic material. BH

Prince Edward Island

CHARLOTTETowN — ER upgrade Health Minster Chester Gillan is defending the province's plans to upgrade emergency services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, amid opposition charges that renovation work is being delayed because of financial troubles. Opposition Leader Robert Ghiz pointed out that at one point in early April, 18 emergency patients were on stretchers waiting to be admitted. Minister Gillan says they're working to improve the situation but warns that it could have a knock-on effect on other services. BM

Newfoundland

ST JOHN'S — Ambulance fees on the rise The Newfoundland government is expected to collect an additional $1.3 million this year from ambulance fees, which will rise from $75 to $115 in June. Health Minister Elizabeth Marshall stresses that the province will still have the lowest ambulance fees in the Atlantic region. Over the last 10 years, the cost of providing the service has tripled from about $5 million to $15 million. DSS

ST JOHN'S — Strike woes The civil servants' strike has created some major challenges for the Health Care Corporation of St John's which operates the province's main hospitals. Chief executive officer George Tilley says occupancy has remained high with a steady flow of patients in emergency rooms. Non-emergency appointments have been cancelled during the strike and only six to seven surgeries scheduled daily, compared to the usual 200 a week. DSS

Yukon

WHITEHORSE — Don't hold your breath The Whitehorse General Hospital is facing a crisis. The Yukon government won't be offering any more funding to the hospital, even though nurses and healthcare workers are threatening to strike if they don't get a salary hike of 10.6% wage increase over a three-year period, instead of the four-year plan the government's offering. CS

WHITEHORSE — Itching for prevention Gearing up for the dreaded mosquito season, the Yukon government isn't taking any chances when it comes to West Nile virus. Even though there has been only one confirmed case of the virus in the territory — last year when a Yukoner was infected while travelling in the Prairies — they're asking residents to keep their eyes open for dead birds a sign the virus is present. CS

Nunavut

IQALUIT — Baffin's gain Nunavut's department of Health and Social Services has taken over responsibility for Iqaluit's Akausisavrik mental health facility from the local elders' society in a move to streamline the delivery of services. The department's goal is to have the facility administered through the Baffin Regional Hospital. Akausisarvik is the first mental health facility in Nunavut. It houses up to 12 residents and has been already operating at capacity since it opened in December 2002. JG

Northwest Territories

INUVIK — Regional health facelift Modify and reform are on the menu for the soon-to-be self-governed regional health and social services board in the MacKenzie Delta. Although some changes, mostly to the administration, will have to be made, regional health authority CEO Dr Gerry Uswak is confident that most people won't recognize the difference after the changes. CS

Contributors: Paula Baker, Gail Helgason, Jacqui Clydesdale, Toss Taylor, Bill McGuire, Brian Hoyle, Deanna Stokes-Sullivan, John Hewson, Jane George, Carla Sparks