Medical organizations call for new funding for mental health and addictions
TORONTO, Oct. 3, 2022 /CNW/ - The provincial government should invest $37.5 million immediately and $75 million annually for 10 years to help primary care providers treat people with moderate to severe depression and anxiety through the expansion of team-based care, the Ontario Medical Association and the Primary Care Collaborative recommend.
The recommendation is part of a four-point plan to strengthen mental health and addiction services within primary care settings. A recent Angus Reid poll found one in three Canadians is struggling with their mental health. Rates of new mental health and addictions diagnoses are rising, exacerbated by the pandemic, yet many Ontarians have trouble finding care in their communities.
The Primary Care Collaborative and the OMA note that while it is urgent to address Ontario's mental health challenges, the scope of the issue is overwhelming and the solutions are complex. This plan focuses on issues that are prevalent in Ontario and where primary care providers could make a difference if they had more support.
The requested funds would be used to embed much-needed mental health supports in interprofessional teams of primary care providers with expertise who could offer treatment locally for moderate to severe depression and anxiety.
"About three-quarters of Canadians rely on their primary care provider to treat their mental health needs and it's significant care, especially in communities where there are no or few mental health specialists or wait times are long," said OMA President Dr. Rose Zacharias.
"If we created and funded these interprofessional teams for moderate to severe depression and anxiety, we could help seven to 10 per cent of Ontarians. Otherwise, these patients suffer alone or use hospitals that are not equipped to provide the specialized support they require."
The plan also recommends the Ontario government:
Expand Health Connect Ontario (formerly Telehealth) to allow primary care doctors and their patients to better navigate the mental health system, preventing unnecessary emergency visits and delays in care
Expand access to supervised consumption and treatment sites and other evidence-based harm reduction programs
Implement an Indigenous-led mental health and wellness strategy to address the health inequities and challenges Indigenous Peoples experience
Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table reported in September 2021 that since the onset of the pandemic, rates of emergency medical services for suspected opioid overdose have increased by 57 per cent and rates of fatal opioid overdose have increased by 60 per cent.
One in four Ontarians who died of an opioid overdose during the pandemic had an interaction with the health-care system in the week prior to death, suggesting potential missed opportunities for overdose prevention. In addition to allowing people to use substances safely, supervised consumption and treatment sites provide the opportunity for multiple contacts with health-care staff, social workers and other professionals. This public health crisis must be addressed by providing much-needed supports in the community where people access care and those supports must be in primary care.
Throughout this pandemic, Indigenous Peoples with chronic conditions have consistently had worse physical, mental and social health than other Canadians. Low income, food insecurity, disrupted family dynamics, lack of immediate and ongoing social support, and increased substance use are among the most significant factors contributing to deteriorated mental wellness among Indigenous Peoples and communities.
"For most Ontarians, primary care is the first point of contact for people with mental health and addictions issues," said the partners of the Primary Care Collaborative. "People underestimate the role that primary care providers play in providing this first point of contact as well as ongoing supports in many forms, including medication monitoring, counselling, referrals and other services. People in Ontario form trusting and continuous relationships with their family physician, nurse practitioner or primary care team, which enables this continuity of care.
"While primary care provides these services, clinicians are chronically underequipped to do so in a meaningful way and have not seen the investments they need to provide mental health and addictions support for their patients," the collaborative said. "The modest requests for funding in our four-point plan will ensure that people in Ontario continue to have access to mental health and addictions supports when they need them and from the providers that they trust."
About the OMA
The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario's 43,000-plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario's health-care system.
About the Primary Care Collaborative
The Primary Care Collaborative is an alliance of primary care organizations that joined together to collaborate on strengthening primary care as we move toward recovering from the pandemic. It is made up of the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario, the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council, the Alliance for Healthier Communities, the Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association, the Ontario College of Family Physicians and the OMA's Section on General and Family Practice.
SOURCE Ontario Medical Association
Health Care Sharing Ministries offer members freedom and significant cost savings
Katy Talento: ‘People need to know that a million Americans are avoiding secret hospital price-gouging by switching to a Health Care Sharing Ministry’
WASHINGTON D.C. — Americans who notice that hospitals and health insurance carriers collude to take advantage of patients are responding to this arrangement by deciding to join a Health Care Sharing Ministry.
Stories abound about hospitals overcharging patients and insurance carriers. For instance, one woman needed a biopsy when she felt a strange lump in her breast. After the hospital refused to give her a price upfront, the hospital’s online “Patient Payment Estimator” showed her that an uninsured patient would owe about $1,400 for the procedure. Assuming that since she had insurance her price would be cheaper, she went ahead with the procedure, only to find out that her insurance was charged $17,979, including lab work, pharmacy charges, and sterile supplies. Her insurance in-network negotiated rate was $8,424.14, of which the insurance company paid the hospital $3,254.47. The patient was billed a staggering $5,169.67, the balance of her deductible.
“Why are we taken aback at the unfair predatory pricing in hospital bills, not to mention other medical services?” said Katy Talento, executive director of Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries (The Alliance, ahcsm.org). “You get what you pay for. Insurers pay hospitals to deliver high-priced stuff to sick people. So it’s no surprise that we get more and higher-priced stuff done to sicker and sicker people. Until we rebuild a system where we pay doctors and hospitals to keep people healthy, millions of patients every year will continue to be victims of price-gouging, inappropriate care and worse clinical outcomes.”
Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for uninsured patients — or any patient willing to pay a cash price — to be charged far less for a procedure than patients with health insurance. For Americans with high-deductible plans, using insurance can lead to a far bigger expense than if they had been uninsured or just paid cash in advance.
Cash prices paid by many Health Care Sharing Ministry members are almost always lower than prices charged to patients with health care insurance.
“Cash prices, especially those negotiated by a Health Care Sharing Ministry, can often be much lower than prices charged to insurance plans,” Talento said. “People need to know that tens of thousands of Christians are reducing hospital overcharges by switching to a Health Care Sharing Ministry where they pay cash prices for services and enjoy a supportive faith community to stand with them in their hour of need.”
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries is a 501(c)(6) trade organization representing the common interests of Health Care Sharing Ministry organizations which are facilitating the sharing of health care needs (financial, emotional, and spiritual) by individuals and families, and their participants. The Alliance engages with federal and state regulators, members of the media, and the Christian community to provide accurate and timely information on medical cost sharing.
To learn more about the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, visit www.ahcsm.org or follow the ministry on Facebook or Twitter.
Blown Into Now Bridges the Worlds of Life and Loss
San Francisco, Calif., October 3, 2022 ― Mylo Schaaf’s new book, Blown Into Now: Poems for a Journey, takes readers on an odyssey through shade and light, offering glimpses into the stages of grief Schaaf went through when her son died suddenly at age 24. She offers the profound manifestations of his presence that she witnessed following his passing.
“Poems demanded to be written,” Schaaf said. “They brought relief and healing, as did hills warm with grass, tree spirits and arms of sky.”
Blown Into Now offers 45 remarkable poems, each paired with a striking photograph taken by her late son, Alex Lowenstein, who was a mountaineer, world traveler and adventurer, and veteran.
“The path is not all sadness,” she said during a recent interview. “It goes sort of up and down as you suppose any path would, but it eventually heads toward joy and toward understanding.”
In Blown Into Now, Schaaf carries readers from deep sadness and loss to comfort and support, finally edging toward joy. Her melodic words become a guidebook, allowing those who grieve to witness a spectrum of responses, to understand what might give relief, and to know how to look for the signposts that will guide them down the path toward healing.
To those who must endure such a shocking new reality, she aims to bring compassion, beauty and spiritual connection.
Her poems reveal a mother’s great heart and the love she shares with her son for granite peaks and untracked desert. Each photograph provides a pause from grief and allows us a glimpse of something we want and cannot name.
About the Author
Mylo Schaaf trained as a journalist, editor and physician, before taking a left turn into poetry. Before everything changed, she was a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco, mentoring and teaching students in international, low-resource settings. Her commitment to global health grew out of her work and connection with India, the Americas, Liberia, Haiti and China. Then one day, a shocking phone call revealed her son’s death and collapsed this pursuit of engagement and action. Each long day would slowly disappear, and Schaaf found understanding and release when she began to write. Over the years poems have continued to emerge, as the tangles of days slip into light.
For more information, please visit https://www.myloschaaf.com, or follow the author on Instagram at writermyloschaaf.
Blown Into Now – Poems for a Journey
Publisher: Blue Light Press
ISBN: 979-8-9864093-0-6 (soft cover, available now)
A COTA Family is Celebrating Their Daughter’s Now Healthy Liver and Their Donor Family’s Selfless Decision
October 3, 2022-- October is Liver Awareness Month, which is the month touted by the American Liver Foundation to raise public awareness of the importance of liver health. More than 30 million Americans, or one in 10 Americans, suffer with some form of liver disease. This October an Oregon transplant family is celebrating their daughter’s now healthy liver and is extremely grateful for the family who donated their child’s organ to save her life.
The Saemenes Family of Albany, Oregon, had no clue when the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading across the United States that safeguarding their family from the virus would not be the biggest medical challenge they would face in 2020.
Mom Jessye remembers the day in late February 2020 when she drove their then eight-year-old daughter, Delia, to get blood work done. Delia had been complaining about stomach pains. There was a suspicion she had food allergies that blood work would help pin down. Jessye had been noticing that Delia’s skin had become pale and there were dark circles around her eyes. However, the tests did not show any allergies and so the family of six continued navigating the unfolding pandemic. On March 19, 2020, while all the social and professional aspects of the family’s lives were in chaos, Jessye took Delia to the doctor because her stomach was bloated. The medical team reviewed the blood work taken earlier, examined her belly and immediately sent Jessye and Delia to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Emergency Room in Portland, which was about an hour away from the family’s home. Imagine Jessye’s shock hearing this, “Your daughter is in liver failure and needs a life-saving transplant. We need to life-flight you and your daughter to Palo Alto, California.” Dad Nick was at home, now working remotely as a graphic designer for Oregon State University, along with the family’s other three children who were attending school from home as well.
Delia and Jessye were life-flighted to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, California, within a couple of hours. Their home in Albany was 603 miles from Palo Alto, or a nine-hour drive. Jessye remembers, “Finding out your eight-year-old needs a liver transplant is a very stressful thing. Finding out your child needs a liver transplant IMMEDIATELY … in a different state … during a pandemic … without any warning or preparation is mind-blowing agony.”
Delia spent March 20th enduring many medical tests, pricks and pokes. And for the next three weeks, there were more tests, frequent blood draws and multiple transfers from the main floor to the PICU at Lucile Packard. Jessye, a pastor of the Hub City Church back in Albany, worked hard to remain strong for their frightened girl. She prayed and talked constantly to Dad Nick and their other children via telephone.
Jessye also had a conversation with two transplant social workers during these weeks of waiting for information about next steps in their journey. The social workers recommended she call the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to learn more about how the organization might be able to help reduce some of the family’s mounting stress and anxiety. Jessye called COTA on March 25th and instantly knew they had to start working with the organization. The family’s agreement arrived at COTA’s headquarters the next day and the Saemenes family officially became part of the COTA Family.
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) uniquely understands that parents who care for a child or young adult before, during and after a life-saving transplant have enough to deal with, so COTA’s model shifts the responsibility for fundraising to a team of trained volunteers. COTA is a 501(c)3 charity so all contributions to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law, and COTA funds are available for a lifetime.
Soon after the Saemenes paperwork was received, a COTA fundraising specialist trained the family’s volunteers via telephone due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Due to the family’s urgent situation (facing an expensive transplant hundreds miles away from their home), fundraising for transplant-related expenses needed to get quickly underway. The COTA staff member shared information about COTA’s fundraising strategies (virtual and face-to-face), fundraising templates, guidance and support, and the no-cost website they would be provided. COTA in honor of Team Delia was launched; the team of volunteers quickly got to work planning and orchestrating COTA fundraisers.
“Everything happened so very fast. We had no idea what insurance would cover, no idea how much everything was going to cost, and we had loads of lovely, wonderful people offering to help us … but we had no idea how to best go about dealing with the offers of assistance,” Jessye said. “COTA stepped in and took a huge burden off our shoulders; the lifting of that weight was palpable. It was such a relief to let our family and friends know that 100% of the money donated to COTA for Team Delia would be used for transplant-related expenses.”
Once settled at Delia’s hospital bedside in California and waiting for ‘the call,’ Jessye started to blog (with the help of friends and family members back home in Oregon) on the COTA-provided website.
March 28, 2020: It’s been over a week now that we have been here. I don’t even remember last Saturday. Everything was such a blur, yet here we are finding ourselves in a second weekend. We have hunkered down with Little House in the Big Woods and coloring … This thing I am in, it’s dark. It’s heavy and it’s freakishly hard, but I am trying to find all of the beautiful moments I can to ‘treasure up’ in my heart and carry away from this place and this time. I keep thinking of Bilbo from The Hobbit as he climbs the tree off the path. He is at the top of the tree, and all looks hopeless, but he does not know he isn’t looking at the end. He is still too deep in. I keep thinking of Bilbo’s bravery and his intense desire for home even as he continues to walk the path forward.
April 1, 2020: Because of the COVID-19 situation, many of the consultations with the doctors have been moved to online video calls to protect Delia. This has the benefit of allowing Nick to participate from home in Oregon in almost all of the discussions about her procedures and treatments.
April 2, 2020: This morning was rough; it felt bleak and grey again. Both of us woke up tired, grouchy and just done with this whole situation. Today marks two weeks of unexpected separation and sadness … and we are both exhausted, homesick and just done. Luckily, we received some more packages today with letters and pictures and beauty and more chocolate. It reminded us both that, while we are by ourselves, we are not alone.
April 5, 2020: Hospital restrictions tightened quite a bit over the weekend and now everyone has to wear a mask all the time. (Delia and I do not when we are in her room.) I have been taking the stairs as much as possible and I nearly had a panic attack the other day because every time I inhaled while trying to climb quickly, the fabric of my mask sucked into my mouth and my body was convinced it was suffocating. So I am now taking the stairs a lot slower and my one option for cardiac exercise is on hold.
April 6, 2020: Delia’s 1A transplant status means we could get offers at any time for a new liver. Because of Delia’s condition and because COVID-19 has brought a lower number of available donors, they have decided to expedite having me evaluated as her living donor. Overall, I am doing extremely well with this. Last weekend I had sort of hit a wall and could not wrap my head around doing this any longer; waiting is so very difficult for me. Now we have direction, I have purpose and action and something to do that feels good. There’s still so much out of my control but for right now, this feels right, and I am at peace.
On April 8, 2020, Delia’s liver numbers dropped enough that she was moved to the top of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list for a new liver. Incredibly a liver match was found within 24 hours. Delia’s dad was able to fly to Palo Alto and be with his little girl for two hours before she was taken into the lengthy and complicated transplant surgery. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only one parent was allowed to wait with her until the team came to take her into the operating room. This did not help an entirely emotional and fear-filled time for Mom, Dad and Delia.
April 8, 2020: Delia has a liver coming in tonight. To the family of the donor, if you ever read this, know Delia’s community is remembering you in prayer tonight and in the coming weeks. It is not lost on us that this night is very different for you.
Delia received her life-saving liver transplant on April 9, 2020, which was three weeks after arriving at Lucile Packard. While those three weeks felt like a lifetime to Jessye, Nick and Delia they were all extremely grateful that it was only three weeks. One week post-transplant on April 16th the family experienced a scare when Delia had to be taken to surgery and reopened for a reconstruction surgery to better connect her bile duct to her new liver. On April 24th she was discharged from Lucile Packard to an Air BnB in close proximity to the hospital for check-ups and blood tests. On May 25th, Delia and Jessye were allowed to return to the family’s home in Oregon -- much to the delight of Delia’s siblings, Elie, Lainey and James. Friends, family members and church members reached out in a variety of ways and offered a myriad of support and assistance.
“Once we returned home, I also received telephone calls and emails from COTA staff just to check in and see how we were doing and how they could help,” Jessye said. “Every COTA person I have talked to has been friendly and helpful. I cannot even imagine going through all of this without their resources, guidance and support.”
The COTA for Team Delia did an incredible job of fundraising for transplant-related expenses. In November 2020 the family was notified that COTA had awarded a Challenge Grant based on the team’s successful fundraising efforts.
“COTA stepped into our lives during the most traumatic, confusing moments we had ever experienced,” Jessye said. “We were not aware our daughter was in severe liver failure until we were life flighted to a transplant center 600 miles from our home. We cannot say enough good things about COTA. Knowing that COTA funds are available for a lifetime of transplant-related expenses gives us a sense of peace. Delia’s health issues will grow with her; it is such relief to know COTA will grow with her as well.”
March 19, 2021: It has been one year. The strange thing about having our big Life Changing Event happen during a worldwide pandemic is that for almost everyone, this week has been a delineation of Before and After. This year has sucked. And while I have withdrawn and grieved and processed, I have also been able to participate in mass grieving. The world is a different place than it was a year ago. Today will be a day of processing all that we have lost; the life without blood draws and liver numbers, the freedom of not having medication alarms structuring my day, the freedom of not having a child who is immunocompromised, the child whose life ended so my child’s life did not … but it will also be a time of gratitude. You all were good to us. I have never felt as loved as I did those two months in the hospital. In the worst time of our life, our community showed up and loved us well. So thank you.
Delia is doing well post transplant. She is in the 6th grade, loves reading and is a budding author works on her book every chance she gets. In July, she showed her rabbit in the 4H county fair and won Best in Show, which was a big milestone. She also loves dogs, cats, and kitten YouTube videos. Delia is an artist who loves playing outside and building Legos. Jessye describes her daughter as a child of contradictions and surprises. She is independent but snuggly, she is very shy but also unbelievably verbose. Delia is patient and easy going until she loses it and then she is capable of epic tantrums. She is logical and practical, but also imaginative and creative. Delia is so incredibly brave. “I wish I had not had the opportunity yet to know just how very brave she is, but I have been humbled and honored to see what an incredible kid we have,” Jessye said.
October is Liver Awareness Month. This month is set aside to recognize to the importance of liver health and the causes of liver disease. A healthy liver serves many vital functions, including breaking down, balancing and creating nutrients from food, storing energy, cleaning the blood, regulating blood clotting and fighting infections. There are more than 100 different liver diseases caused by viruses, genetics, autoimmune disease, excessive alcohol use, poor diet and obesity and reactions to medications, street drugs, or toxic chemicals. Many people with liver disease do not look or feel sick and are unaware that damage is occurring. Symptoms of liver disease can include nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, yellow-colored skin and eyes, dark urine and weight loss; however, symptoms can vary depending on the specific disease or cause of damage.
For more information about the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), or to find a COTA family in your area, please email kim@cota.org.
Newborn’s First 1,000 Days Crucial to Preventing Diseases, Allergies — New Book
Philadelphia, Oct. 3, 2022 — Expectant moms are advised to eat well, exercise, take vitamins, abstain from caffeine and do everything possible to ensure the optimal health of their babies. Yet, children born today are sicker than in any past generation. Food allergies, asthma and other chronic health conditions affect up to 30 percent of kids across the country. Why?
In The Baby and the Biome: How the Tiny World Inside Your Child Holds the Secret to Their Health (Avery, an imprint of Penguin/Random House; September 6, 2022; Hardcover; ISBN: 9780593421024), author Meenal Lele reveals the answer—and it’s not bad genes or bad parenting. As a medical researcher with a chemical engineer’s degree from Wharton, her firsthand experience as an “allergy mom,” Lele sheds light on the key role of a newborn’s microbiome (the mix of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live on us and in us) in either preventing or provoking diseases of the immune system, which include not only food allergies and asthma but also eczema, ADHD, IBS, type 2 diabetes, Crohn’s disease and more.
“Immune disease needs a revolution in thinking—and an accessible way for parents to understand it,” Lele asserts. Interweaving the story of her firstborn son Leo’s life-threatening struggles with food allergies and asthma with significant, potentially life-saving scientific findings, Lele aims to lead that revolution by educating parents about how to prioritize and strengthen their baby’s microbiome by protecting the delicate skin, gut and lung barriers.
In accessible language and a reassuring tone, The Baby and the Biome combines medical insights with practical advice on a more informed, healthier approach to the ABCDEs—Antibiotic use, Baby Care, Diet and Environment—during a newborn’s first thousand days, and helps parents raise kids in this toxin-filled world. You’ll learn:
- How to nurture your baby’s biome during pregnancy, practice good biome care from the moment of birth and, if possible, choose breastfeeding over formula to support immunity—but only exclusively for the first two months of your baby’s life.
- Why many standard practices endorsed by pediatricians—wash your baby daily, wait three days between introducing your baby to new foods and more—are not backed by science and might actively hurt your child’s immune defenses.
- Why eczema, which affects about 25 percent of infants, is not just “a little rash” but both a serious warning sign and direct cause of increasingly worse immune conditions to come—plus, clinically proven, actionable ways to treat it.
- Why antibiotics commonly prescribed for ear infections and fever are often unnecessary and can actually make a child sick longer and cause diarrhea, among other complications—plus, examples of when antibiotics are essential.
- Why to avoid using creams and lotions, including sunscreen, on your baby’s skin—and tips for minimizing diaper rash, including using cloth diapers (which are also better for the environment than super-absorbent disposable diapers).
- Why giving your baby regular exposure to the most common food allergens, including peanuts and eggs, is a vital practice for developing a healthy, disease-free immune system—and how to do it safely and stress-free.
- The importance of feeding your baby a good and diverse diet, with priority on avoiding added sugar and processed foods, which contain preservatives, dyes, synthetic fats and emulsifying agents that are poisonous to the gut barrier.
- The biome-friendly benefits of letting your baby play and crawl around in good dirt, whether in your own backyard or a natural park with real grass, trees and mud, as opposed to a playground built on artificial turf.
- Tips for cleaning your home, dishes and clothes, as well as your family’s hair and bodies, to prevent immune disorders—plus, the potential long-term dangers of our national obsession with antibacterial cleansers … and much more.
About the Author
Meenal Lele is a mom to two boys, medical researcher and chemical engineer with a degree from the Wharton School. She is the founder and CEO of Lil Mixins, a company devoted to educating parents about how to prevent their children from developing food allergies. She lives in Philadelphia, PA, with her family.
Parents: Learn How to Navigate the Four Freedoms of Adolescence
Austin, TX, Oct. 3, 2022 —There’s a reason the road through adolescence is rocky — it’s supposed to be. Children must pass through “four unfolding freedoms” in order to become competent, independent and confident adults, according to psychologist and parenting expert Dr. Carl Pickhardt.
“When parents choose to have a child, they have agreed to have an adolescent,” Dr. Pickhardt says. “So effective parenting partly depends on being able to anticipate common teenage changes.”
In his new book, Holding On While Letting Go: Parenting Your Child Through the Four Freedoms of Adolescence, Dr. Pickhardt shares these four unfolding freedoms and helps parents navigate these challenging times.
The four unfolding freedoms include:
1. Freedom from rejection of childhood, around the late elementary school years, when they want to stop acting and being treated as children. 2. Freedom of association with peers, around the middle school years, when they want to form a second family of friends. 3. Freedom for older experimentation, around the high school years, when they want to try more grown-up activities. 4. Freedom to claim emancipation, around the college age years, when they decide to become their own ruling authority.
“Counseling with many families over many years, I believe there is a continuing need for parents to be informed about common changes that adolescence brings for the teenager and for themselves,” said Dr. Pickhardt. “I hope this book serves that purpose.”
Dr. Pickhardt’s message is clear: with each successive push for freedom, both parents and teens need to learn how to do less holding on to each other while doing more letting go. Readers will learn the way with compassion, experience and time-tested guidance.
About the Author Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D., is a noted psychologist, speaker and parenting expert, now retired from private counseling practice. He received his B.A. and M.Ed. from Harvard, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the American and Texas Psychological Associations. He writes a popular parenting advice column for Psychology Today and has written some of the most practical and helpful books about important parenting issues, including: The Connected Father, Stop the Screaming, The Future of Your Only Child and Why Good Kids Act Cruel. A prolific author, he continues to write three distinct kinds of books: illustrated psychology, coming of age fiction and nonfiction parenting advice. Holding On While Letting Go is his 17th parenting book. For a complete list of his books, see his website: http://www.carlpickhardt.com/.
Holding On While Letting Go: Parenting Your Child Through the Four Freedoms of Adolescence Publisher: HCI Books Release Date: October 2, 2022 ISBN-10: 0757324231 ISBN-13: 9780757324239 Trade Paperback, 336 pages Available for pre-order on Amazon.com
Rookie Attorney Gets Schooled in Satirical Thriller, Filthy Rich Lawyers
New York City, October 3, 2022 ― What could be more entertaining than watching hedonistic lawyers fall flat on their faces? In Filthy Rich Lawyers, Book One:The Education of Ryan Coleman, author and attorney Brian Felgoise and co-author David Tabatsky weave a satirical legal thriller filled with scenarios loosely based on real-world interactions Felgoise had with lawyers, judges and plaintiffs, with one new key ingredient: guilty pleasure at the expense of unscrupulous, filthy rich attorneys.
“I laughed out loud at the salty wise cracks on most every page,” said Matt Flynn, author ofMilwaukee Jihad. “But underneath the lightning paced humor is a serious message about corruption in class action litigation. Filthy Rich Lawyers is a hilarious satire about a very real problem.”
The story begins in a Texas courtroom, where naïve young attorney Ryan Coleman is chasing his share of a class-action lawsuit involving a multi-national defense contractor. After getting reprimanded by the judge for speaking out of turn, Coleman meets Robert Smalley, a brilliant attorney and borderline criminal who boasts that, “I have the greatest practice of law in the world because I have no clients.”
Included in the cast of colorful characters is Eugenia “Gene” Cauley, a female shark in the male-dominated legal world whose life spirals tragically out of control, and Randy Hollis, an insanely successful lawyer turned multi-billionaire, who is pursuing his ultimate American dream: buying a professional football team. Coleman becomes Hollis’ “errand boy,” but as Hollis is investigated by journalists, law associations and government agents, Coleman must decide if he wants to remain in this sordid circle.
Federal prosecutor Patrick Coyle wants to take Hollis down because of an old grudge. He aligns with Dick Dickey, former Secretary of Defense and CEO of a military contractor, to ruin Hollis and Coleman. When an escort mysteriously dies in Hollis’ penthouse, Coleman becomes an unwitting accomplice and must choose between protecting his boss and saving his marriage, or telling the truth and risk going to prison.
Filthy Rich Lawyers reveals the surprising ways in which our system of class-action law enables (mostly) men to get ridiculously wealthy and behave like sophomoric frat boys.
“How they use their money and power will shock, amuse and entertain readers,” Felgoise said. “As media billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman once said, referring to some lawyer’s self-indulgence and unbridled hubris, ‘Practicing law is the exact opposite of sex. Even when it’s good, it’s bad.’”
Felgoise and Tabatsky have just completed Filthy Rich Lawyers, Book Two:In Due Time, where Coleman becomes Hollis’ prodigal son and must navigate his new life as a billionaire rainmaker as he grapples with one moral dilemma after another.
About the Authors
Brian M. Felgoise, Esq.,is a graduate of Temple University Law School and has been practicing class-action law for more than 25 years, including cases where billions of dollars have been recovered for class members who lost a significant amount of money.
David Tabatsky has authored, co-authored and edited many novels, including The Boy Behind the Door, Friends Like These, The Marijuana Project, The Battle of Zig Zag Pass and Drunk Log. His memoir, American Misfit, was published in 2017. Tabatsky was consulting editor for Marlo Thomas and her New York Times bestseller, The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2. To learn more, please visit: www.tabatsky.com.
Bruce Power to explore production of cancer-fighting medical isotope yttrium-90 for global distribution
Tiverton, Ontario, Oct. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bruce Power announced today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Boston Scientific to explore the feasibility of producing cancer-fighting yttrium-90 (Y-90) in its reactors.
The company, already a leading producer of cobalt-60, which is used to sterilize approximately 40 per cent of the world’s single-use medical devices, is exploring expansion of its production of cancer-fighting medical isotopes.
“The growing global demand for medical isotopes is our opportunity to cement Ontario’s leadership in this innovative space. I’m proud of our progress and excited for the future. Medical isotopes save lives and Ontario is primed to become an isotope superpower,” said Ontario’s Energy Minister Todd Smith.
Production of Yttrium-90
TheraSphere™ Y-90 Glass Microspheres, manufactured by Boston Scientific, are a targeted liver cancer therapy consisting of millions of microscopic, irradiated Y-90 glass microspheres used to treat hepatic malignancies. Through this collaboration, Bruce Power will play a critical role in ensuring Boston Scientific customers and their patients have dependable access to a reliable, made-in-Canada supply of TheraSphere devices, which are currently distributed to 30 countries.
“Each year, liver cancer is diagnosed in more than 800,000 people globally, and for those treated with TheraSphere, timely production and distribution of each device is critical,” said Peter Pattison, President, Interventional Oncology & Embolization, Peripheral Interventions, Boston Scientific. “We are pleased to have the support of Bruce Power to expand our network of reliable supply chain channels, which enables us to continue to help more patients around the world in their fight against liver cancer through precise and effective Y-90 therapy.”
Production of Lutetium-177
Additionally, Bruce Power will soon become the first nuclear power reactor operator to commercially produce lutetium-177 through an innovative Isotope Production System (IPS). The IPS, designed and manufactured by Isogen (a partnership between Kinectrics and Framatome), was recently installed in Bruce Power’s Unit 7 during a planned maintenance outage. The IPS is a first-of-its-kind solution to produce short-lived medical isotopes in a commercial reactor and will provide unprecedented capacity, redundancy and scale for medical isotope production. Isogen will also work with Bruce Power and Boston Scientific on the feasibility of yttrium-90 production using the IPS.
“The installation of our Isotope Production System to produce luteitum-177 is a huge milestone, and it is equally as exciting to continue to look for new ways to use our reliable irradiation capability and further expand our production of cancer-fighting medical isotopes at Bruce Power,” said Peter McDermid, Bruce Power Director of Isotopes and Site Energy Develop, Business Development & Energy Innovation.
Partnership with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation
In support of the global fight against cancer, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) and Bruce Power will continue to collaborate to market new isotopes and create new economic opportunities within the SON territory by establishing new isotope infrastructure. As Chief Veronica Smith of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation has pointed out, the Partnership will provide an essential source of much-needed medical isotopes for cancer patients in our communities, across Canada and around the world.
“Our Community embraces these technologies and our partnerships that produce medical isotopes to help battle cancer around the world,” said Chief Conrad Ritchie of Saugeen First Nation.
About Bruce Power Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,200 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province and life-saving medical isotopes around the world. Bruce Power has worked hard to build strong roots in Ontario and is committed to protecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we live. Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is a Canadian-owned partnership of TC Energy, OMERS, the Power Workers’ Union and The Society of United Professionals. Learn more at www.brucepower.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
Tryp Therapeutics Announces Publication of International PCT Patent Application for the Intravenous Administration of Psilocin and Psilocybin
Enables Potentially Scalable Model For The Broad Roll-Out of Psychedelic Treatments
Company Will Host Investor Update Tuesday, October 4th
KELOWNA, British Columbia, Oct. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tryp Therapeutics, Inc. (CSE: TRYP) (OTCQB: TRYPF) ("Tryp" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing psilocybin-based compounds for diseases with unmet medical needs, today announced that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) published their international patent application (PCT/IB2022/052347) covering the intravenous administration of psilocybin and psilocin. The PCT application, titled “Improved Methods For The Use of Psychedelics” expands and strengthens the IP related to the Company’s development of TRP-8803, an IV formulation of psilocin, which will be administered in conjunction with psychotherapy.
The patent application includes a unique and proprietary formulation and delivery system to enhance the positive effects of psilocybin and in particular psilocin, while markedly reducing the limitations of psilocybin dosed through other routes of administration, including oral, nasal and sublingual. Oral administration, while convenient, has several limitations and challenges that TRP-8803 can address, including:
Controlling time to onset of psychedelic experience
Oral administration of psilocybin can take 1 to 2 hours to induce the psychedelic state; IV infusion can reduce this time period to within 30 minutes.
Managing the duration of the psychedelic experience
With oral administration the psychedelic state, once started, can last 6-8 hours, a significant burden to the patient and the two psychotherapists; IV administration allows the practitioner to manage the duration of the psychedelic state and potentially shortens the overall duration to 1-2 hours.
Achieving clinically validated blood levels of psilocin
When orally administered, psilocybin’s bioavailability can be reduced due to first pass metabolism in the liver. Psilocybin is a pro-drug which needs to be converted to psilocin, the active molecule that crosses the blood brain barrier and induces the psychedelic state. These factors contribute to variable blood levels of psilocin, which can be either too low or too high. High blood levels are associated with side effects, while low blood levels of psilocin can reduce efficacy; IV administration enables more precise dosing which achieves optimal blood levels of psilocin, thereby improving the likelihood of achieving clinical endpoints and efficacy while preserving safety.
Customizing the psychedelic experience
IV administration provides more control over the experience, allowing the attending psychotherapist to increase or decrease both the strength and duration of the psychedelic experience. Conversely, should the patient experience a side effect, the clinician can terminate administration of the drug, an option not available with oral administration.
With these advantages, particularly TRP-8803’s ability to reduce the time spent with medical professionals in a clinical setting, the Company believes there is a clear path to scaling broader commercial acceptance and use of TRP-8803 in conjunction with psychotherapy. Orally administered psychedelics have been widely introduced for use in treating depression, PTSD, OCD and other conditions, including by Tryp Therapeutics and its TRP-8802 programs. The Company plans to leverage its current clinical studies using TRP-8802 for the treatment of binge eating disorders and chronic pain to improve the likelihood of success for TRP-8803, with the additional goal of providing value to indications beyond those that Tryp is currently pursuing.
Jim Gilligan, Chief Executive Officer of Tryp Therapeutics, commented, “The oral administration of psilocybin has yielded valuable progress in the combined use of psychedelics and psychotherapy but oral therapies also have acknowledged limitations. We are excited to introduce the unique and proprietary IV administration of TRP-8803, which we believe can change the landscape for psilocybin-based therapies.”
“In addition to providing the clinician with greater control over the psychedelic experience, from initiating the psychedelic experience, to achieving targeted blood levels, to a controlled duration of the experience, TRP-8803 also enables a shorter overall clinical session. Our ability to reduce the in-clinic experience from 8 hours to approximately 2 hours, is not only appealing to patients, we also expect it to create a more scalable model for the broad and efficient roll out of psychedelic treatment, not just for the indications we’re focused on but other indications as well. We remain focused on expanding our patent portfolio as we continue to develop novel, scalable, psychedelic and psychotherapy treatments for broader indications and with the publication of the PCT we look forward to discussing the merits of TRP-8803 with collaborators and investors.”
Robin Carhart-Harris, Ph.D., Chairman of Tryp Therapeutics’ scientific advisory board, commented, "By allowing rapid initiation and termination of the psychedelic experience, as well as providing highly-refined control over the depth and duration of that experience, I believe TRP-8803 has a very strong potential to shift the treatment paradigm for fibromyalgia and binge eating disorder, as well as certain types of depression, pain and obsessive-compulsive disorders."
Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call tomorrow, Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss TRP-8803.
Investor may use this link to access the live webcast.
To participate in the call by phone, dial (888) 506-0062 approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled start time. International callers please dial (973) 528-0011. Callers should use access code: 474888.
A replay of the teleconference will be available until October 18, 2022 and may be accessed by dialing (877) 481-4010. International callers may dial (919) 882-2331. Callers should use conference ID: 46661.
About Tryp Therapeutics Tryp Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing psilocybin-related molecules, including TRP-8803, for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs through accelerated regulatory pathways. Tryp's Psilocybin-For-Neuropsychiatric Disorders (PFN™) program is focused on the development of synthetic psilocybin-related molecules as a new class of drug for the treatment of binge eating, chronic pain, and other indications. The Company has begun enrolling patients in its Phase II trial for the treatment of binge eating disorder at the University of Florida and recently announced an upcoming Phase IIa clinical trial with the University of Michigan to evaluate TRP-8802 for fibromyalgia. TRP-8803 is a proprietary psilocybin-based product that uses a novel formulation and route of administration to potentially improve efficacy, safety and the patient experience. For more information, please visit www.tryptherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans," "targets," "expects" or "does not expect," "is expected," "an opportunity exists," "is positioned," "estimates," "intends," "assumes," "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes," or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might," "will" or "will be taken," "occur" or "be achieved." In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.
Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Tryp as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors'' section of Tryp's final prospectus available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Tryp; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Tryp expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
How Large, Legacy Companies Can Win at the Innovation Game
Denver, Colorado, October 3, 2022 — Big companies have traditionally dominated innovation. But today, according to recent data, entrepreneurs have pulled ahead and taken over most of the growth in consumer-packaged goods. However, using nimble strategies and a hands-on approach, Fortune 500 companies can make and test ideas faster, reduce risk and launch bold new products, say innovation experts Jonathan Tofel and Carolina Sasson.
In their new book, Fire in the Machine: Driving Entrepreneurial Innovation in Large CPG Organizations, Tofel and Sasson share insights on innovation gained from decades spent working with Fortune 500 companies such as Clorox, PepsiCo and Kellogg's. They reveal the strategies that have helped their CPG clients harness the startup mindset with big business systems to unleash the best of both worlds.
"Innovators in large companies know that when it comes to creating and delivering products consumers love, size is on their side," Tofel said. "The power of a Fortune 500 company allows it to leverage its resources to grow by developing new products that greatly enhance consumers' lives."
But big-company strength alone won't cut it when it comes to innovation, explains Sasson.
"The sweet spot lies between large company capability and the entrepreneurial ethos underscoring successful startups," she said. "This mix is the key to unlocking exponential growth and inspired innovation."
Fire in the Machine offers an insightful journey into the challenges that all great innovators in large corporations face and shows leaders in these companies how to leverage new approaches and realize the growth possible when entrepreneurial innovation is in the driver's seat.
About the Authors
For more than two decades, Jonathan Tofel, CEO of Mission Field, has been a consumer goods package entrepreneur at the forefront of innovation in Fortune 500 CPG companies. He has worked with clients in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia to develop thousands of unique product ideas. His clients have included a who’s who of CPGs, including PepsiCo Inc. (Frito-Lay, Quaker), Heineken, General Mills, Tropicana Brands Group and Kellogg’s.
As COO of Mission Field, Carolina Sasson helps Fortune 500 CPG clients kickstart their internal innovation processes from ideation and strategy design to prototype development and real-life battle testing — all with the entrepreneurial speed that often eludes large corporations. She has worked with some of the leading CPG companies in the world, including Clorox, Kraft-Heinz, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Danone and Ocean Spray.
Mission Field is a global innovation, strategy and insights consultancy that has been on the Inc. 5000 list, twice made the Financial Times The Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies and was designated a "Fast 50" high-growth company by the Denver Business Journal.
