Evidence straight from those who know!
Would you wait 18 weeks to have a broken leg treated?
According to a national report released in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on March 30/09, by the Schizophrenia Societies across Canada, 60% of Canadians assume that people living with schizophrenia are likely to act violently toward others.
Schizophrenia in Canada: A National Report calls on Canadians, health care professionals and government to support a National Mental Health Strategy that addresses the disparities and inequities faced daily by those living with schizophrenia and their family members.
The report describes different factors affecting those with
schizophrenia, such as public perceptions and discrimination, quality of life, access to health care services, access to medications, wait times and government spending on mental health. These are key factors that illustrate the standard of schizophrenia care in Canada.
"While 92% of Canadians surveyed have heard of schizophrenia, most do not understand what it is or its symptoms. In fact, the majority confuse it with split personality disorder," said Chris Summerville, CEO, Schizophrenia Society of Canada. "Misconceptions such as these lead to negative stereotyping and stigma towards people living with schizophrenia."
The report examines how stigma negatively impacts the lives of people living with schizophrenia. Stigma causes gradual social isolation, making it harder for them to seek the help and treatment they need to manage their illness.
The report found that people with schizophrenia also experienced discrimination within the Canadian health care system. Schizophrenia in Canada calls highlights the findings of a 2008 report by the Fraser Institute on hospital waiting times, in which, physicians were asked to provide a reasonable wait time to receive various medical treatments. On average patients are waiting over six weeks longer for psychiatric treatment than is deemed reasonable. (Source: Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn: Hospital Waiting Lists in Canada, 2008 Report)
"It is simply unacceptable that people living with schizophrenia wait an average of 18.6 weeks from referral to receiving treatment for psychiatric care," said Mr. Summerville. "Mental health must be considered a top priority in the national and provincial wait time strategies."
The research for Schizophrenia in Canada: A National Report was conducted by Léger Marketing and supported through an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Canada Inc.
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The Schizophrenia Society of Canada began in 1979 and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those affected by schizophrenia and psychosis through education, support programs, public policy and research. The Society works with 10 provincial societies in a federation model to: raise awareness and educate the public in order to reduce stigma and discrimination; support families and individuals; advocate for legislative change; and support research through the SSC Foundation and other independent efforts. All the Societies are united through each organization's efforts and share a common goal to raise awareness and educate the public in order to reduce stigma and discrimination.
For further information: or to book an interview with Chris Summerville, CEO, Schizophrenia Society of Canada, please contact:
Jennifer Gordon, Thornley Fallis Communications,
(416) 515-7517 x 348, gordon@thornleyfallis.com;
or
Marissa Lukaitis, Thornley Fallis Communications,
(416) 515-7517 x 324, lukaitis@thornleyfallis.com
Monday, April 6, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Are You a Schizophrenic Christian?
If so, you're in good company. The prophets of Israel often showed schizoid tendencies.
Hopefully your condition is under the control of the Holy Spirit by whatever means the Lord has given that works for you.
Click on the title above to read an article by Gary DeMar which critiques a less than healthy theology which advocates care for creation and then presumes to suggest that The Lord's imminent return excuses us from strenuous activity in the realms of social and ecological justice.
JESUS is both our Salvation and our Judge,
and HE is NOT schizophrenic.
Hopefully your condition is under the control of the Holy Spirit by whatever means the Lord has given that works for you.
Click on the title above to read an article by Gary DeMar which critiques a less than healthy theology which advocates care for creation and then presumes to suggest that The Lord's imminent return excuses us from strenuous activity in the realms of social and ecological justice.
JESUS is both our Salvation and our Judge,
and HE is NOT schizophrenic.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
On Dental Health, yes dental...
His ashes don't lie
Within a couple of weeks of complaining about aching teeth, Ali Mohammed was dead
By MARK BONOKOSKI
From Toronto Sun: 22nd March 2009
One of Toronto's working poor -- homeless in his final moments -- died the other day at St. Michael's hospital, unnoticed by a greater world around him.
It was word of mouth that told of Ali Mohammed's passing, about how he could not be stirred from his cot at the Gateway hostel on Lower Jarvis St., and how staff members there did their best to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived for the short run to the emergency ward at St. Mike's.
Once there, doctors purportedly pumped him full of antibiotics to stem the poison emanating from obviously infected teeth and gums, even though he had gone three times to a walk-in dental clinic, and had at least one tooth extracted.
He hadn't been able to eat for days on end, so severe was his pain once the infection set in. As one friend said: "They got his heart going a couple of times at St. Mike's, but they could not keep him alive."
No obit appeared in any newspaper.
The coroner's office, which ruled that Ali Mohammed's death was from a heart attack, saw to his cremation.
He was 56.
As best that can be determined, Ali Mohammed's provincially funded cremation was the first time he has ever cost the taxpayer a dime, since there are no records that he ever took a dollar in welfare -- under any name.
For the 20 years he had been in this country -- arriving here as Addison James Soodeen, but living as Ali Mohammed, a nickname given to him by friends -- he had worked piecemeal as a handyman and contractor to learn the basics: Laying floors, putting up dry wall, painting interiors and exteriors, and even doing a little plumbing.
He lived, most of his life here, with friends -- ending up at Gateway when he tired of feeling beholding.
"He did good work. He was trustworthy. He was loyal," said Sam Sundar-Singh, an employee at the Scott Mission who only knew him a matter of months, and who employed Ali Mohammed to work on a house renovation.
"He was genuine -- gentle and kind is the way I have always described him," he said.
"Anyone who knew him would agree."
The Gateway, where Ali Mohammed lived for a little over a month, held a memorial service in its chapel a week ago Thursday and then ensured that his ashes will soon make their way home to a sister living in Trinidad.
Some 20 people attended that memorial. There was prayer, there were songs, and there was testimony from people who had met Ali Mohammed along the way.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ..."
The executive director at the community health centre where Ali Mohammed was treated at its dental clinic was out of the province when the clinic was visited, but a director indicated that privacy laws negated the discussion of specific cases.
"No one is going to talk to you about specifics at the dental clinic," she said, stating that it would be best to call a dental office, or a community doctor, if one wanted to talk hypotheticals.
So we called Dr. Gary Bloch, who works out of St. Mike's and is a director for the Inner City Health Association, a group that helps fund doctors to deal with the homeless in 30 sites across the city -- from hostels, to drop-in centres, to makeshift walk-in clinics.
According to Bloch, some 60% of the homeless who come through his association's doors do not have a valid health insurance number -- meaning antibiotics would not be covered in any clinic other than a community health centre.
"And then antibiotics are not always considered necessary," he said, indicating, however, that unhealthy teeth and gums are the door openers to other health problems.
According to a study by a major U.S. dental school -- a probe of 18 years of medical histories involving almost 12,000 people -- people with infected teeth and diseased gums are twice as likely to die from a heart attack and three times as likely to die from a stroke.
"For low-income people, and for people like the homeless, the only dental coverage is for extractions," said Bloch. "And that's a huge problem because there is no coverage whatsoever for prevention -- like teeth cleaning.
"As a result, I've seen some pretty horrific looking mouths among the homeless."
According to Dion Oxford, director of the Gateway, Ali Mohammed returned three times to the dental clinic complaining about the pain and, each time, was given nothing more than Tylenol tablets, over-the-counter painkillers that require no prescription.
But not antibiotics?
"To get those, Ali found himself having to go to St. Mike's, and getting them there," said Oxford. "But he didn't get them at the dental clinic."
The exact time frame between Ali Mohammed's last trip to the dental clinic, his visit to St. Mike's to finally get some antibiotics, and the time he was found unresponsive in his bed at the Gateway is somewhat uncertain.
But, within a matter of a couple of weeks of his first complaint about his aching teeth, he was dead.
This is undeniable.
His ashes, in a cardboard box, do not lie.
MARK.BONOKOSKI@SUNMEDIA.CA OR 416-947-2445
Within a couple of weeks of complaining about aching teeth, Ali Mohammed was dead
By MARK BONOKOSKI
From Toronto Sun: 22nd March 2009
One of Toronto's working poor -- homeless in his final moments -- died the other day at St. Michael's hospital, unnoticed by a greater world around him.
It was word of mouth that told of Ali Mohammed's passing, about how he could not be stirred from his cot at the Gateway hostel on Lower Jarvis St., and how staff members there did their best to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived for the short run to the emergency ward at St. Mike's.
Once there, doctors purportedly pumped him full of antibiotics to stem the poison emanating from obviously infected teeth and gums, even though he had gone three times to a walk-in dental clinic, and had at least one tooth extracted.
He hadn't been able to eat for days on end, so severe was his pain once the infection set in. As one friend said: "They got his heart going a couple of times at St. Mike's, but they could not keep him alive."
No obit appeared in any newspaper.
The coroner's office, which ruled that Ali Mohammed's death was from a heart attack, saw to his cremation.
He was 56.
As best that can be determined, Ali Mohammed's provincially funded cremation was the first time he has ever cost the taxpayer a dime, since there are no records that he ever took a dollar in welfare -- under any name.
For the 20 years he had been in this country -- arriving here as Addison James Soodeen, but living as Ali Mohammed, a nickname given to him by friends -- he had worked piecemeal as a handyman and contractor to learn the basics: Laying floors, putting up dry wall, painting interiors and exteriors, and even doing a little plumbing.
He lived, most of his life here, with friends -- ending up at Gateway when he tired of feeling beholding.
"He did good work. He was trustworthy. He was loyal," said Sam Sundar-Singh, an employee at the Scott Mission who only knew him a matter of months, and who employed Ali Mohammed to work on a house renovation.
"He was genuine -- gentle and kind is the way I have always described him," he said.
"Anyone who knew him would agree."
The Gateway, where Ali Mohammed lived for a little over a month, held a memorial service in its chapel a week ago Thursday and then ensured that his ashes will soon make their way home to a sister living in Trinidad.
Some 20 people attended that memorial. There was prayer, there were songs, and there was testimony from people who had met Ali Mohammed along the way.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ..."
The executive director at the community health centre where Ali Mohammed was treated at its dental clinic was out of the province when the clinic was visited, but a director indicated that privacy laws negated the discussion of specific cases.
"No one is going to talk to you about specifics at the dental clinic," she said, stating that it would be best to call a dental office, or a community doctor, if one wanted to talk hypotheticals.
So we called Dr. Gary Bloch, who works out of St. Mike's and is a director for the Inner City Health Association, a group that helps fund doctors to deal with the homeless in 30 sites across the city -- from hostels, to drop-in centres, to makeshift walk-in clinics.
According to Bloch, some 60% of the homeless who come through his association's doors do not have a valid health insurance number -- meaning antibiotics would not be covered in any clinic other than a community health centre.
"And then antibiotics are not always considered necessary," he said, indicating, however, that unhealthy teeth and gums are the door openers to other health problems.
According to a study by a major U.S. dental school -- a probe of 18 years of medical histories involving almost 12,000 people -- people with infected teeth and diseased gums are twice as likely to die from a heart attack and three times as likely to die from a stroke.
"For low-income people, and for people like the homeless, the only dental coverage is for extractions," said Bloch. "And that's a huge problem because there is no coverage whatsoever for prevention -- like teeth cleaning.
"As a result, I've seen some pretty horrific looking mouths among the homeless."
According to Dion Oxford, director of the Gateway, Ali Mohammed returned three times to the dental clinic complaining about the pain and, each time, was given nothing more than Tylenol tablets, over-the-counter painkillers that require no prescription.
But not antibiotics?
"To get those, Ali found himself having to go to St. Mike's, and getting them there," said Oxford. "But he didn't get them at the dental clinic."
The exact time frame between Ali Mohammed's last trip to the dental clinic, his visit to St. Mike's to finally get some antibiotics, and the time he was found unresponsive in his bed at the Gateway is somewhat uncertain.
But, within a matter of a couple of weeks of his first complaint about his aching teeth, he was dead.
This is undeniable.
His ashes, in a cardboard box, do not lie.
MARK.BONOKOSKI@SUNMEDIA.CA OR 416-947-2445
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