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Thousands of kids are waiting years for mental health care in Ontario. A new Toronto-based online program aims to fix that

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Thousands of kids are waiting years for mental health care in Ontario. A new Toronto-based online program aims to fix that

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A new program based in Toronto aims to rectify the years-long wait times for thousands of youth seeking access to mental health care across Canada.

Through an eight-week, intensive, online therapy platform, the New Start Digital Youth Intensive Outpatient Program is hoping to provide mental health care hundreds of youth aged 14 to 18 who are struggling with stress, anxiety and risky behaviour. The first group enrolled in the program began receiving care on Monday.

The program — the first of its kind in Canada — draws on existing approaches to virtual mental health care while also offering an education component to parents or guardians. It also uses a mobile application to appeal to its young participants.

The program is mainly funded by private donors, but there are hopes it will expand and reshape the future of youth mental health care in Canada.

“We’re able to access clients in remote areas who previously had barriers to accessing mental health, be it geographic barriers, financial barriers, and even emotional barriers,” said Toronto psychotherapist and National Director of Outpatient Services at EHN Canada Lanie Schachter-Snipper.

“Personally, I am very enthusiastic about online care,” she added.

Schachter-Snipper and Kalandra Roach, the executive director of New Start Foundation for Addiction and Mental Health — the organization behind the virtual program — said they were inspired to start an online platform for youth due to the notoriously long wait times to access mental health care in Ontario.

A estimates there are 200,000 kids with serious mental health issues in the province who have had no contact with services. The longest wait time to access care in the province is 2.5 years for children in York Region. In Toronto, the wait is almost two years.

The average wait for counselling and therapy is 67 days, CMHO’s report said. For intensive treatment, it’s 92 days. , Roach said.

“It’s pretty unacceptable in our opinion,” Roach said of the wait times. “We need a better system. The system is not working and we need to get kids the right, effective treatment as soon as possible.”

Roach said the New Start Foundation has a few goals in mind to reduce the waits for youth mental health care: one is to fund 500 youth from across the country to enrol in the digital program by 2021. The other is to build a new youth mental health care facility in Toronto.

Twenty youth across Ontario are participating in the inaugural version of the intensive outpatient program through a subsidized fee of $50 to ensure they stick with it, though it can be waived if money is a severe barrier.

The youth were screened by a clinical psychologist to assess their suitability, and lower-income participants from historically underserved communities were prioritized, Roach said.

The youth will participate in two-and-a-half hours of individual and group therapy sessions a week for eight weeks, Schachter-Snipper said. Meanwhile, parents or guardians will receive 16 hours of caregiver support over the course of the program.

“When mental health issues arise, it’s easier to have conversations about what’s going on, because the families or the caregivers have been provided psycho-education on mental health,” Schachter-Snipper explained.

Youth also have access to a mobile application in addition to the face-to-face online counselling they receive, which helps them work on the skills they’ve learned through therapy, Schachter-Snipper said.

The program is designed for young people who struggle with stress, anxiety or sadness, or may be engaging in risky behaviours to cope with their emotions, Roach said.

It teaches a combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy — a standard in mental health focused on challenging negative thoughts that alter behaviour, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy — an approach that teaches people to accept their thoughts, encouraging mindfulness and discouraging guilt associated with negative emotions.

Another criteria for enrolment, Schachter-Snipper said, is that youth need to have access to technology to support the program’s online platform — a criteria she acknowledged is a barrier to many who need this type of treatment, despite the

“We’re really trying to reduce barriers,” she said, adding the foundation is working on building a tech library that can lend youth the hardware necessary to access this type of care.

“But at this point, [virtual care] is really the only barrier-free way to provide mental health services given the uncertain nature of the pandemic and everyone’s emphasis on being safe,” Schachter-Snipper said.

Both Roach and Schachter-Snipper said the nominal cost is key to ensuring more youth can access this type of mental health care — which is usually expensive since services by clinical psychologists and psychotherapists are not covered by OHIP.

The program has been mostly funded by private donors, said Roach, who has worked in Toronto’s health care fundraising sphere for the last seven years. The foundation hopes to secure funding from the province to continue programming and help fund its tech library.

Overall, Schachter-Snipper said the program is an example of how mental health care could live online even beyond the pandemic. It increases access for people who are otherwise physically far away from mental health professionals, or have other barriers to reaching mental health centres, she said.

“There’s a high degree of excitement and enthusiasm,” Schachter-Snipper said. “We know that we can just provide services to so many more people, and it works.”

Correction – Oct. 21, 2020: This article has been corrected to reflect that Lanie Schachter-Snipper is the National Director of Outpatient Services at EHN Canada.

Nadine Yousif is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering mental health. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Follow her on Twitter:

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Overstreet Media photography and video opens shop in Midland

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Photographers Darryl and Rebekah Tremblay moved to Midland four years ago after they fell in love with the scenery and lifestyle.

In September, the couple opened Overstreet Media Productions, with an office, studio and editing shop at

“We are working with a number of realtors and we’d like to work with more. We are branching out and doing product photography and video work, which includes blogs,” said Rebekah.

Darryl, a licensed drone pilot, shoots aerial photography and video, while Rebekah does most of the editing. Both photographers shoot commercial work as well as interior design and architectural photography.

The couple were involved in a Georgian Bay General Hospital fundraiser by shooting COVID images inside the hospital as well as on the front steps.

OVERSTREET MEDIA

Type: Photography and video

Hours: Open by appointment only

Phone:

Website:


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Sarah Valiquette-Thompson has resigned from Severn council

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Severn councillor Sarah Valiquette-Thompson resigned from council Nov. 4. Valiquette-Thompson moved to Nova Scotia with her family earlier this year.

“On behalf of council, I extend sincere thanks to Sarah for her service to the community. It’s been a pleasure working alongside her these past couple of years. We wish the Valiquette-Thompson family all the best,” said Mayor Mike Burkett.

Severn Township has formally declared the Ward 5 seat vacant. When there’s a council vacancy, the municipality can hold a by-election or appoint a person who agrees to accept the position.

“Council considered the cost and timeline of both options and unanimously supported filling the position by appointment,” said township communications officer Lynn Racicot.

Interested individuals may apply by Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. Candidates must be eligible to vote in Severn to qualify for the position.

Council will interview candidates and select the new councillor Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. The successful candidate will be sworn in Dec. 16 at 9 a.m. Due to the pandemic, the meetings will be held electronically. The public can attend the meetings by phone or video.

Applications are available online at
 

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Canada’s top doctors say the science of COVID-19 is clear — but how to act on it is up to politicians

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

OTTAWA – Canada’s top public health officers say medical and public health experts agree on the science and how to stem the growing COVID-19 tide, but it’s up to “political masters” to act on that information.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam avoided directly criticizing the Ontario government after the Star reported Premier Doug Ford’s government ignored its own expert advice on when to impose new pandemic restrictions.

But she said all medical officers of health have reached a consensus on the course of action that’s needed, issued clear advice, and are warning that Canadians must further limit their contacts.

Modelling shows that Canada could hit 10,000 daily new cases by the beginning of December if nothing changes, she warned.

“Fires are burning in so many different areas” outside the Atlantic bubble, Tam told reporters.

Deputy public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo warned the epidemic’s second wave could swamp the health-care system, given the current rate of hospitalizations and deaths.

He went further than Tam regarding Ontario’s actions, laying responsibility clearly at the feet of the premier and his ministers.

“Speaking for myself personally, as a public health physician and expert, our job really is to look at the evidence, the science, and do the analysis, the interpretation and then give our best advice and recommendations to our political masters,” Njoo said.

“At the end of the day, I think we recognize the elected officials are the ones that make the final decisions.”

Two hours later, Ford changed course and imposed tougher benchmarks than announced just this week for when new restrictions would be imposed in Ontario.

The Star reported this week the chief health protection officer at the province’s public health agency had urged the Ford government to set the threshold for action in the fourth colour-coded stage — known as red or “control” (one short of a lockdown) — four times lower than the government announced last week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to express his view of the Ford government’s actions.

The federal government’s job is to support the provinces, he said, and Ottawa will do “whatever it takes” to support Canadians in the health crisis.

He said it is best if “we move quickly, firmly” to impose restrictions where warranted.

Tam’s warning that Canada might hit 10,000 daily cases within weeks “should be a wake-up call for everyone,” Trudeau said.

Ottawa has provided more than $21 billion directly to provinces since the spring for health, school and business measures to allow them to fight the pandemic.

Trudeau, who has consistently rejected declaring a national emergency, said the “optimal thing” would be for everyone to work together, to take the right measures.

“I think it’s important to remember that we’re in a federation where the federal government is not higher than or more important than provincial governments,” he said.

”We work as partners together. The provinces expressed a need for these supports and we delivered these supports … and we will continue to.”

Trudeau said questions about whether the provinces are spending the federal money on the right things are “quite appropriately to be asked by citizens in the provinces and organizations in the provinces of their provincial leaders.”

But Trudeau said he warned premiers on a conference call Thursday night that the federal government’s resources are “not infinite.”

He later clarified he meant resources like the provisions of personal protective equipment, people to do contact tracing, and Canadian Red Cross and Canadian Armed Forces personnel.

Still, the dichotomy between political views and the views of medical experts was on full view in the prime minister’s own news conference when Trudeau left open the possibility for family gatherings during the holidays.

“We need to hang in there a number more months,” Trudeau told reporters, adding what Canadians do in the “days to come will determine what we get to do” at Christmas.

Tam offered a dimmer view.

“Right now it’s not looking good,” she said.

“Given the projection that we have now, which is we could get to 10,000 cases by the beginning of December if we didn’t cut down on our contact and drastically flatten this curve now, I think it’s very unlikely that by the holiday season – I don’t think anyone’s advocating parties.

“This is not going to be a normal Christmas, but you can have a safe and a fun Christmas that includes social connection if you do it safely.”

Thanksgiving and Halloween celebrations offer a “cautionary tale” because despite warnings against holding parties, private get-togethers “may have increased acceleration in a number of areas in Canada,” Tam said.

“That cannot be done. Right now, that is not recommended.”

Again, Njoo was clearer: “I don’t foresee gatherings of large families, perhaps only those in the same household,” he said. “We may need to limit even more, have only some members of the family for a visit.

“Every Canadian has to perhaps look in the mirror and ask, ‘What can I do today?’”

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Bruce Arthur: Crisis? Ontario’s COVID-19 response is just adequate enough to say that others are worse

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

“In fact, Ontario is not in a crisis right now. You want to speak about who is in crisis? Have you taken a look at Alberta, where they’re doubling up patients in intensive care units? We’re not doing that in Ontario.” — Christine Elliott, Ontario minister of health, this week.

You see, Ontario is not in a crisis, because Ontario is not jamming two people to a room in the ICU. Nor is Ontario rationing oxygen, unlike some provinces we could name. Yes, Alberta is currently being run by Jason Kenney’s pure, uncut conservatism: you have the personal freedom to infect yourself and others, and perhaps to get sick and die. Ontario has those instincts — the recent framework was the best example, — but for various reasons, this province plays closer to the middle. So Ontario, unlike Alberta is not in crisis.

By extension, York Region must not be in crisis. Friday to put York into lockdown, despite the fact that and test positivity than Toronto did when it was put into lockdown two weeks ago. York begged to avoid the province’s grey zone then, and again now: its local medical officer of health, Dr. Karim Kurji, signed the letter.

York still has hospital capacity, you see. Public health is not overwhelmed yet. Therefore, York is not in crisis. Maybe it gets locked down Monday, maybe not. Soon places like Waterloo, Hamilton, Windsor and Durham may not be in crisis, in a similar way.

What about schools? Schools are not in crisis. The minister of education, Stephen Lecce, keeps telling us that 99.9 per cent of children in school are COVID-free. Of course, then came asymptomatic testing at Thorncliffe Public School in East York, driven by Michael Garron Hospital and supported by the province. It found , which the province and even Toronto Public Health downplayed given the prevalence of in the neighbourhood.

Then three teachers said they were walking off the job, and now the school is closed. The City of Toronto for schools and daycares: runny noses will require a COVID test again to return to school; the siblings of sick kids will have to be kept home, too.

Those conditions had been changed at the beginning of October, when the province started trying to curb testing everywhere it could because the backlog was crippling the system, and schools were part of that. The province had back in the spring in time for September, as part of Ontario’s puzzling failure until the fall was already underway.

More schools will be tested, now: In East York, Scarborough, North York, York Region. We are about to find out whether we have been missing cases in schools for two months, and what that means. Maybe it means closing schools.

But for now, schools are not in crisis.

The premier was not available to weigh in Friday because the province has also struck a vaccine distribution task force, which includes nobody from public health, or geriatric medicine — is long-term care, where 124 people have died in the last two weeks and 310 since Halloween, in crisis? — or family medicine, or nursing, but does include former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders, for some reason. Still, a task force is important.

“I’m going to work my hardest to ensure we have a data-driven and equitable approach to vaccination,” says Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Toronto, who is on the task force. “We need to hear voices from disproportionately impacted communities, including Indigenous, South Asian, Black and impoverished communities. Ultimately, for any vaccine program to be a success we need meaningful community engagement, and stellar communication that is transparent and honest.”

All that, at an Ontario-wide level, would be a commendable first. Meanwhile, as reported by the Star’s Jennifer Yang and Kate Allen, Ontario’s poorest, most vulnerable, most racialized people are , just as they .

And still, the province declines to extend paid sick leave or reintroduce an eviction ban. Ontario’s eviction ban , as the second wave was already underway. Is that a crisis?

And then there are the hospitals. This is a hyperlocalized disease, but the system is straining as patients are shuttled like it’s a shell game, and staff are verging on burnout and shortages.

“(The hospital system is) transferring ICU patients every day for a bed, but now we’re also transferring ward patients, and this is new,” says Dr. Michael Warner, the head of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital. “I think public health and political decisions to some degree have been made based on the presumption that the health-care system would be there at the end of the day as the ultimate safety net. And that we could accept some mistakes or some reactive responses because the health-care system would be there, as it has been.

“But as we’ve been told all along, hospitalizations are lagging indicators, and those lagging indicators are trying to scream that things are not OK. And unless we provide support for people, paid sick days, surveillance testing in schools, which should be mandatory in high-risk areas, and (isolation), a vaccine will not be here in time to bridge that gap.”

Ontario was at 153 people in the ICU a week ago, and it was 207 Thursday. Surgeries are being cancelled, here and there. The modelling table pegged 400 in the ICU as the number at which point hospital services start to stop functioning. We’re not there yet, thankfully.

So maybe Ontario is not in crisis, if you define crisis as beds jammed together in the ICU, hallway ventilation, not enough oxygen to go around. It’s a hell of a way to define a crisis, but that’s apparently where we’re at.

Bruce Arthur is a Toronto-based columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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A flock divided by COVID-19: As some snowbirds brace for first Canadian winter in years, others sit poolside in Florida

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Normally at this time of year, Jeff Read and his wife, Dollie, would be at their vacation home in a gated community on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

The from Cornwall, Ont., typically spend their days at the pool or the beach. Read enjoys riding his Harley with a motorcycle club.

“It’s easy living,” says the 68-year-old retiree.

But when the Star caught up with Read this week, he was still in Ontario, staring out at a snow-covered driveway and seemingly resigned to the fact that the couple would be staying put this winter.

It is, after all, the year of .

In the same way Canadians coast to coast are having to wrestle with to see loved ones in other parts of the country this holiday season, snowbirds who escape to warmer destinations every winter are having to make tough choices: Do they visit the winter homes they’ve poured their retirement savings into or stay put and brave a Canadian winter?

The Canadian Snowbird Association estimates that 70 per cent of its 110,000 members will hunker down. The federal government has urged Canadians to avoid non-essential travel.

Read cited the ongoing closure of the land border as a big factor in their decision. He and Dollie usually like to drive down with their two dogs. Plus, he was worried about the pandemic.

According to U.S. media reports, the number of coronavirus cases per week in the state has tripled since Gov. Ron DeSantis reopened Florida in late September, lifting all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses and banning local fines against people who refuse to wear masks.

Florida now has the third-highest number of confirmed cases in the U.S. after Texas and California.

“There’s a lot of people that don’t like to be told what to do mask-wise,” Read said. “I don’t really feel like getting sick because somebody doesn’t want to wear a mask down there.”

So, he’d just purchased a whole assortment of winter essentials: a snowblower, snowbrush, boots, crampons, gloves and antifreeze windshield-washer.

Scroll through recent posts on a snowbirds Facebook group and it doesn’t take long to see the contrast in choices. While some members have been posting pictures of themselves on sun-drenched beaches and patios — “I am sitting in my lanai in Florida drinking my favourite wine for $10 at 10 p.m. in my shorts,” one snowbird posted recently — others have shared pictures of their snow-covered yards.

“I just bought a snow shovel … after 12 years,” Jarmila Pitterman, 76, of Kitchener, Ont., wrote, followed by two sad-faced, teary-eyed emojis.

Bob Slack also counts himself among those getting re-acquainted with snow gear.

Slack, past president of the Canadian Snowbird Association, and his wife normally spend their winters in Winter Haven, Fla., where they own a property on a golf course.

This will be their first winter in Canada in 23 years.

Slack, 78, of Athens, Ont., said he recently got snow tires and boots. His wife bought a new winter coat.

“We went to Canadian Tire today and bought a new shovel,” he said.

Like Read, Slack cited the land border closure and pandemic as key reasons for their decision.

“We get a report everyday from Florida with the number of cases in the state and in our county. Not looking great at all. If you get sick and the hospitals are full, what do you do?” he said.

While they’ll miss Euchre nights and Friday night fish fries at the clubhouse, Slack said he has regained an appreciation of the beauty of freshly fallen snow.

“The big thing we’re worried about is getting used to the driving again. When you haven’t driven on snow and ice in many years, you’re timid to go out.”

That’s exactly the reason Bruce Murray believes he and his wife, Heather Dodge, made the right call to flee Halifax for Largo, Fla., earlier this month.

“If you’re down here enjoying the sunshine, it’s healthier for you than shovelling snow or driving in winter … or depression or loneliness,” he said.

Murray, 57, said he and his wife never had any doubts about going south for the winter.

Before booking their flights, the couple, who purchased a mobile home in Largo last year, contacted friends in the area whom they trust and were satisfied it was safe to come down.

“We decided that we’d be healthier and just as well here as we would be in Nova Scotia,” he said, noting that, in recent days, COVID-19 numbers have climbed in the Atlantic region, as they have in other parts of Canada. (On Wednesday, Pinellas County, where Largo is located, topped 300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the second consecutive day. By comparison, Nova Scotia reported 16 new cases.)

Murray said they mostly cook at home but will occasionally do takeout from restaurants. Anytime they’ve ventured into a public space, such as Home Depot, people are masked, he said. Even people attending outdoor yard sales are masked, for the most part.

There is little congestion at the beaches or parks where they like to roller blade, bike and bird watch, he said. And when he had to go to the DMV to pick up licence plates for the used car he had purchased, it was by appointment only and the place was virtually empty.

Murray said the riskiest activity he and his wife engage in is probably pickleball, but they are careful about not touching their faces after handling the balls.

“We haven’t seen anything that’s scared us yet,” he said.

“Every morning we get up, the sun is shining, the birds are singing. If you don’t watch the news, we wouldn’t know COVID existed here, except for the masks.”

Brian Hoffman, 50 and newly retired, said he and his wife, Lesley, similarly have no regrets after coming down to their vacation home in Punta Gorda about a week ago.

“Cheap gas, cheap alcohol. Lots of sun,” he said.

The couple, of Lake Temagami, Ont., started coming to Florida four or five years ago. At first, they weren’t sure whether they’d make it down this year, but when they heard way to get themselves — and their car — across the border, they jumped.

They hired a company to ship their car across the border to Detroit and then hopped on a short charter flight from London, Ont., to Detroit where they reunited with their car.

During their runs to Costco or Wal-Mart for supplies, most people are masked and there’s plenty of social distancing, he said. Even though the state is pretty much “wide open,” most restaurants in their area seem have chosen to limit seating or do takeout only.

For the most part, they stick to their home.

“Usually we keep the pool at 85 and we’re floating and watching birds.”

Asked what advice he has for those sitting on the fence, Hoffman noted there are some parts of Florida, such as Miami-Dade County, that have far higher rates of infection than others. (On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County reported 2,120 new confirmed cases of COVID-19).

That said, “If they’re healthy and able to get insurance and able to come down responsibly and isolate appropriately and take the same precautions as they are taking at home, we haven’t seen a big difference. I would invite them to come down,” he said.

“You should live your life, as long as you’re responsible doing it.”

If snowbirds do decide to travel, they need to protect themselves, said Evan Rachkovsky, the snowbird association spokesperson.

“This includes purchasing sufficient travel medical insurance, with COVID-19 coverage, prior to their departure,” he said.

“There are several insurance providers placing $200,000 caps on COVID-19-related claims. This level of coverage, particularly when travelling to the United States, is inadequate. Snowbirds who choose to travel also need to follow quarantine requirements as well as health and safety protocols at the federal, state and local levels.”

Late Wednesday, Read notified the Star that he and his wife had had a change of heart.

They decided to book a flight for Florida for next month, after all.

The “cold” and “dampness” from spending part of the day shovelling and snowblowing may have been a contributing factor, he said.

The trip won’t be entirely for pleasure. They plan to put their home in Port St. Lucie up for sale. While they would like to have gotten another five years out of it, it was “costing me a small bundle to keep that place empty,” he said.

Read said he and his wife are now thinking of spending future winters down in Mexico, Cuba or Jamaica.

Asked about the worsening COVID-19 situation in Florida, Read said they have every intention of following the same precautions they’ve been following in Canada down in Florida.

“Grab the groceries and get out.”

With files from The Associated Press

Douglas Quan is a Vancouver-based reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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‘Because ultimately, it’s all of us:’ Orillia medical esthetician joins clean air research team

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Looking for solutions to keep his anti-aging clinic safe from COVID-19, an Orillia medical esthetician and his partner have become ambassadors in a Canadian-made portable air filtration system and they are working to bring the technology to other companies within their industry.

“We actually had clients who were a little scared to come in because of COVID and this is putting them at ease,” Ben Tiessen said. 

Blade (a medical esthetician) and Ben Tiessen’s business, The Anti-Aging Clinic — at 43 Colborne St. W., in Orillia — is the first of its kind to use the Airborne Infection Isolation and Removal (AIIR) device by Care Health Meditech.

Care Health Meditech — based in Kelowna — has teamed up with researchers from the University of British Columbia to develop the AIIR device. Stephen Munro, managing partner of operations with Care Health Meditech, said AIIR isolates and eliminates airborne droplets and particles, like the COVID-19 virus. AIIR was originally designed for dental offices, Munro said. 

The company has plans to expand AIIR. They are working with Interior Health Authority in British Columbia, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia on a device for operating and emergency rooms, Munro said. Care Health Meditech has received federal grants for the AIIR project, he added.

Munro said Care Health Meditech is doing this “out of a passion for public health.”

“Because of that, we made decisions that were good not just for public health, but good for the local economy,” he said, adding the research and development, manufacturing, workers and components are Canadian. 

The Anti-Aging Clinic in Orillia paid about $4,000 for an original model. 

Blade and Ben are on AIIR’s advisory board and have provided input on how the device could be altered to better serve their industry. A less expensive, more user-friendly model is coming out soon.

Asked why they are interested in getting involved in introducing the product to their market, Blade said: “Because ultimately, it’s all of us. It has to be everyone protecting everybody, or it’s not going to work.” 

AIIR is just one of a series of COVID-19 safety protocols at The Anti-Aging Clinic. 

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Georgian Bay General Hospital reporting 19 cases of COVID-19

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The COVID-19 outbreak at Midland’s Georgian Bay General Hospital now includes 19 positive cases.

On Dec. 8, hospital officials announced an additional three staff members and one patient had tested positive for the virus, bringing the total at GBGH to 16 staff members and three patients.

Hospital staff, in consultation with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, have been conducting extensive contact tracing. If someone received care at GBGH between Nov. 23 and Dec. 4 and were in contact with a patient or staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19, their names have been identified through contact tracing and they’ve been contacted.

GBGH continues to test staff to identify any positive cases. All inpatients have been tested and all new patient admissions to the hospital are being tested.

“Over the past four days, the hospital has tested more than 520 credentialed staff,” said Dr. Dan Lee, COVID medical lead and chief of Emergency Medicine at GBGH. “As more testing tends to net more positive results, we do expect the potential to see an increase in positives, similar to when testing increases in the community and more positive cases are detected.”

The Midland COVID-19 Assessment Centre has also seen an increase in positive cases, with four new confirmed community cases reported on Dec. 7 and another four reported on Dec. 8. These eight cases are not related to the outbreak at GBGH. 

Anyone in the community experiencing symptoms should seek COVID-19 testing at the Midland COVID-19 Assessment Centre, located in the GBGH parking lot, by or by calling .

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Overnight on-street parking restrictions take effect in Barrie on Tuesday

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Although winter weather is often random and unpredictable, City snow removal efforts are not. The City is once again prepared and committed to providing a high level of snow removal service throughout the winter season.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for much of southern Ontario, including Barrie, due to a potential winter storm. The latest forecast is showing the possibility of snowfall amounts of up to 30 cm from Monday evening through to Wednesday morning. The City has winter maintenance crews on standby to address road conditions accordingly. Staff monitor the weather closely and plows, salters and sanders are dispatched as needed.

If required, the City of Barrie will post City service information related to the storm on Twitter (), Facebook () and . Service requests should be sent to Service Barrie by calling Monday–Friday, 8am–5pm (if the concern needs to be addressed after-hours, press zero for assistance), by emailing , or by using the Pingstreet mobile app.

A reminder that on-street parking is not permitted on City streets from 12:01–7 a.m. and 3–6am within the Downtown Business Improvement Area, from December 1 through to March 31. This ensures that the streets can be completely cleared and that emergency vehicles can get down the street.

Plowing of City roads

The priority is the main roads—those with the most traffic in the city. These roads are serviced when at least five cm of snow has fallen. The secondary (residential) routes are plowed when there is at least eight cm of snow. The goal is to have most routes plowed 12–24 hours after the end of a snow event. With Barrie’s Plow Tracker, you can track the progress of the road plows and see when your street was last serviced. Remember, plows can’t avoid leaving snow at the bottom of driveways because they can’t lift the blades in between driveways. If you need help with snow removal, Snow Angels Canada is an online platform where residents who require assistance with snow shoveling can post a request for service and volunteers can reach out to help. Visit to sign up for help or to be a volunteer in your neighbourhood.

Sidewalk plowing

Sidewalk plowing is done on main sidewalks when five cm of snow falls and on residential sidewalks when there’s eight cm of snow.

Waste collection

Shovel out a small area at the bottom of your driveway for your garbage, recycling boxes and your green bin, as far from the road as possible without blocking the sidewalk. Do not place them on top of or behind the snowbank.

For more information and updates about winter maintenance, visit

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Millennials, Gen Z most concerned about finances amid COVID-19: survey

Sep 1, 2021 , , , , by shlf

For millennial Devanshi Vijay, managing finances during the pandemic has been quite the roller-coaster ride.

After her work contract ended in March, the Toronto resident, who held a government position in environmental science, found herself in limbo for a couple of months waiting for her contract to be renewed. 

During that time, she relied on CERB and tried to be vigilant in saving up what she refers to as “cushion money.”

“I realized the importance of saving some money so that if I didn’t get paid for the next few months, I (would) still have that money to be able to survive and not lose my home,” she said.

This meant going back to the basics, just buying what she needed and cutting out any extra frills.

“You have to make do with super little money,” she said. “I live in downtown Toronto, so expenses are generally very, very high and moving during pandemic was not even an option because of the health risks.”

According to a recent survey by Interac, which included responses from just under 1,000 Canadians, 53 per cent of Gen Z adults and millennials are “more concerned about managing their finances than ever before.”

When compared to generations before them, these two cohorts expressed most financial concern amid the pandemic, with 50 per cent of millennials and 47 per cent of Gen Z adults citing concerns about overspending.

As well, the survey reported that 50 per cent of individuals in these two groups have turned to digital payments as a means of tracking their spending.

Vijay said she is one of those people.

“I have not used cash payments (in) the past six months even once,” she said, adding that digital modes of payment make her feel more in control, especially when buying online. “Before actually paying, I rethink again on whether I really need the item (or) service or not. I get more control on my accounts too, as I can review the payments every month. With cash, there is no real accountability on the expenditures.”

“The adoption of digital payments has accelerated over the course of the pandemic for reasons beyond convenience alone,” William Keliehor, chief commercial officer of Interac Corp., said. “We hope Canadians understand ways they can take ownership over everyday activities, like spending.”

Ariana Zeppieri-Makhan, who recently opened her own private psychotherapy practice, said while she has been fortunate enough to continue to work throughout the pandemic, business has been slower as a result, with more people having less money to spend on therapy.

She said keeping track of her finances digitally has been very helpful, especially during this time.

“I have an app that tracks my income and my outgoing finances and it does all my invoicing and stuff for me,” said, adding that she uses it in conjunction with her banking app.

“Those have been fantastic for tracking finances,” she said.