COVID-Related Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers: 11 Everyday Habits That Can Help At a time when healthcare workers are stressed to the max, healthy habits can help them manage COVID chaos and avoid burnout. Here are 11 powerhouse practices to try right now.
Nashville, TN (December 2020)—The year 2020 has been extremely tough on healthcare workers. They’re exhausted and overworked—especially as staffing shortagesbecome ever more critical—and they have endured months upon months of traumatic stress. But Diana Hendel, PharmD and Mark Goulston, MD say healthcare workers aren’t doomed to suffer until the pandemic is over (whenever that may be). Healthy habits are the key to building resilience, preventing burnout, and starting to heal right now.
“Healthcare providers need to embrace proven self-care habits during these tough times,” says Dr. Hendel, coauthor along with Dr. Goulston of Why Cope When You Can Heal?: How Healthcare Heroes of COVID-19 Can Recover from PTSD (Harper Horizon, December 2020, ISBN: 978-0-7852-4462-2, $17.99). “Don’t think of them as tasks to check off a ‘to do’ list. They’re intentional practices you turn to every day to stay calm, grounded, and present.”
Why Cope When You Can Heal? shares therapeutic approaches that are currently used to effectively treat traumatic stress and introduces powerful exercises to help you move through the trauma and further your healing. Read on to learn the habits that will sustain your mental and physical health and help you thrive during COVID and beyond.
Start with sleep, diet, and exercise. They are your foundation. Arrange your life so you can prioritize these things. Go to bed early enough to get the rest you need. Cook a batch of healthy meals at once so you can have several lunches and dinners ready when you are. Make time to exercise; you will feel physically and emotionally better when you move your body several times a week.
“Be sure to avoid too much alcohol and caffeine during this time,” says Dr. Hendel. “It can be hard to abstain when you’re under frequent stress, but these seemingly harmless crutches can cause problems quicker than you might think.”
Establish a “grounding practice.” Grounding is a great way to reduce anxiety and arrive in the here and now. Do it morning and evening as a way to begin and end the day. (It’s also a good way to recenter yourself when you feel triggered by upsetting memories or flashbacks.) When used daily, grounding will help you remain centered, grateful, and in touch with your calling to care for others. NOTE: Please see the attached tip sheet for a basic grounding exercise to try.
Meditate daily. A simple meditation routine can help you maintain a more relaxed state overall and manage anxiety and stress. If you’re new to meditation, try not to overthink it. Simply find a quiet moment, close your eyes, and begin slowly breathing in and out. Focus on your breathing but allow your emotions and thoughts to rise and flow through you naturally. Don’t fret if you can only meditate for a few minutes at a time. Start small and add more time when you are ready.
“You can also use your meditation time to do a quick body scan,” says Dr. Goulston. “Start at the top of your head and intentionally scan your entire body, noticing any areas where you may be holding onto extra tension. Mindfully release any tension you become aware of.”
Stay in touch with family and friends. This can be tricky, especially for healthcare workers who may need to quarantine even from immediate family members. Use services like Zoom or Skype (or an old-fashioned telephone call) to stay connected to those you love. You need social support right now, and a fifteen-minute catchup session each day—or even just a few times a week—will support your mental and emotional health.
Make room for hobbies, laughter, and lightheartedness. Daily joy is more important than you may realize. “You might find it difficult or even guilt-inducing to laugh and enjoy your life when experiencing death or the extreme anguish of others at work, but making time for joy is crucial to your own wellbeing,” says Dr. Hendel. “Remember that you can’t help others when you yourself are not okay. Give yourself permission to get absorbed in your favorite hobbies, or watch your favorite lighthearted talk show, or laugh with abandon at your favorite funny movie.”
Become aware of what “triggers” you. Do not be surprised if certain sights, sounds, or events cause feelings anxiety, fear, or panic. You have been through a lot, and it’s not unusual for events in the present to trigger feelings of distress or revive painful traumatic memories. For example, if a siren wailing makes your heart pound or causes you to gasp for breath, it could be reminding you of the traumas of COVID-19. It’s important to learn what triggers you so are not caught off guard. NOTE: Please see the attached tip sheet for a distress relief exercise to try whenever you feel triggered.
Express your feelings every day. You are bound to have a number of feelings and emotions come up as a result of your work during COVID-19. Make time each day to regularly express how you feel to another person, if possible. It might be a coworker, a partner, or a friend outside of work. You can also record your thoughts and feelings in a journal if you wish. NOTE: Please see the attached tip sheet to try the “12 Words Exercise,” which is great for identifying and processing your feelings.
Let the tears fall. It is normal and natural to cry when you are surrounded by the tragedies of COVID-19. Of course, you may not be able to break down in the middle of your shift, but don’t suppress your tears longer than necessary. Give yourself time to have a good cry and let the pain out. Afterward you will likely feel revived and capable of returning to work.
Establish a “fire team” to support you at work. “If your organization doesn’t have a support group for its employees, consider starting an informal meeting so you and your coworkers can get together and talk about what you are going through,” says Dr. Goulston. “This group is called your ‘fire team’—the colleagues fighting by your side in the battle against COVID-19. You can meet with them for a few minutes every day or set up a longer weekly meeting. This gives you a community to share about your mental and emotional struggles, and yes, your triumphs too!”
Let people know exactly what you need (and what you don’t) when you’re stressed out. The people in your life want to support you, but they may not know how to go about it—especially when your anxiety or stress levels are high. For example, tell family members, your partner, and co-workers that you prefer they give you a few minutes of privacy when you’re visibly struggling, and ask them not to bombard you with chit chat until you’ve had a chance to calm down. It is much easier when everyone is on the same page.
Consider checking in with a pro. It can be helpful to talk out what you’re experiencing with a trained professional at least once. Use the resources you have available to you to set up a confidential check-in either with your EAP, a social worker, a mental health professional, or a chaplain and discuss how you are doing. You might find that this is very beneficial to your wellbeing and decide to make it a routine practice.
“COVID won’t last forever, but while it is here you can use these habits as a stabilizing anchor,” concludes Dr. Hendel. “Later when the pandemic is a thing of the past, you will have a set of practices and tools to keep you strong and healthy as you continue to move forward.”
Rocky View Foundation Opening Senior Lodge in Airdrie
AIRDRIE, AB, Dec. 9, 2020 /CNW/ - Airdrie area seniors will have access to new lodge units created by innovative development and financing partnership to re-purpose distressed hospitality facility.
The Rocky View Foundation today announced that 96 much needed seniors lodge units will welcome new Airdrie and area residents in early 2022.
Pending zoning approval for the conversion, the Hamptons Inn & Suites in Airdrie will be redeveloped and converted to seniors' lodge units ranging from studio to two-bedroom. The project is expected to create 150 construction and permanent operational jobs.
With the current economic environment, many businesses in the hospitality sector are severely strained or now permanently closed. Given the ongoing need for affordable and market-based seniors housing, this represents an opportunity to utilize these assets to meet needs in new ways.
Rocky View Foundation and Abrio Health assembled a pro-bono team of development and program planning partners — M3 Development Management, Western Management Consultants, MillarForan, and MTA Urban Design Architecture — who identified the steel and concrete hotel in the area that was no longer financially viable for continuing hospitality operations. Their collaborative work built a sustainable financial, development, and operational plan to convert the former hotel into a new senior's lodge.
Many of Alberta's existing seniors' lodges require a contribution of land, a significant capital grant, or operational funding from government. This innovative project will manage the acquisition, renovation, and operations through private sector financing and municipal requisitions without need for a capital construction grant.
"This is an excellent example of Alberta's Recovery Plan that will create jobs and an exciting day for Airdrie's seniors who will in future be able to remain in their own community," said Josephine Pon, Alberta Minister of Seniors and Housing. "Alberta's government applauds an innovative collaboration among private sector advisors to support the housing authority in repurposing assets to meet a significant need within the community."
"Airdrie has long needed seniors lodge housing," Al Henuset, Chairman, Rocky View Foundation; Councillor, Village of Beiseker. "Seniors in the area currently have no affordable lodge options and must relocate out of their home community. Without this opportunity to re-purpose a perfectly suitable building, new construction would likely cost 200+% more. It is an incredible model that emerged from the current circumstances we are all facing."
SOURCE Rocky View Foundation
Kite's YESCARTA® (Axicabtagene Ciloleucel) Reimbursed in Ontario for the Treatment of Certain Types of Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
-- YESCARTA is a Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR T) Therapy --
-- CAR T Therapy is a Hematologic Cancer Treatment in Which a Patient's Own T Cells are Engineered to Seek and Destroy Cancer Cells --
-- CAR T Therapy is Manufactured Specifically for Each Individual Patient --
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Dec. 10, 2020 /CNW/ - Gilead Sciences Canada, Inc. (Gilead Canada) announced today that YESCARTA® (axicabtagene ciloleucel) is now available in Ontario as a treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), high grade B-cell lymphoma, and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma.i YESCARTA will be manufactured by Kite, a Gilead Company (Kite) at its commercial manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California.
YESCARTA is a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy, an individualized method of treatment that harnesses the power of the body's own immune system to target cancer cells. In CAR T therapy, T cells (a type of white blood cell) are removed from a patient (a process called apheresis) and modified so they can recognize and respond to a specific antigen, which is identified on cancer cells and signals cell death.ii This cell therapy can induce a complete response (no detectable cancer) in a proportion of patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL and PMBCL, which are aggressive forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).iii Eligible patients in Ontario now have the option to be treated with YESCARTA at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and The Ottawa Hospital.
"Today's announcement means that patients now have a much-needed new treatment option, which offers an exciting and innovative way to treat these types of blood cancer," said Melissa Koomey, Vice President and General Manager, Gilead Canada. "Gilead will continue to work to provide final site certification to a number of specialized centres across Canada enabling them to make YESCARTA available to appropriate patients."
DLBCL is the most common form of NHL (a group of cancers that originate primarily in types of white blood cells)iv and accounts for approximately 30 per cent of newly diagnosed cases.v Based on previous rates of diagnosis, in Canada it is estimated that up to 4,000 new cases of DLBCL were diagnosed in 2019.vi,vii The prognosis for relapsed or refractory adult patients is very poor, with a median survival of just six months.viiiGilead Canada received approval for YESCARTA in Canada in February, 2019.
"CAR T therapy is a personalized treatment option that could offer a significant benefit to patients with certain rare and aggressive forms of relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma," said Dr. John Kuruvilla, MD, FRCPC, ZUMA-1 Investigator and Hematologist in the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. "For these patients, the prognosis is very poor, even a year or less. With access to YESCARTA, they have a new and potentially life changing opportunity."
The approval of YESCARTA was based on one-year follow-up data (median of 15.4 months) from the pivotal ZUMA-1 trial of axicabtagene ciloleucel in adult patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma. Data from the two-year (median of 27.1 months) follow-up of ZUMA-1 showed that 74 per cent (n=75/101) of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma treated with a single infusion of YESCARTA responded to therapy, with 54 per cent achieving a complete response.ix
In the ZUMA-1 trial the most common Grade 3 or higher adverse reactions include encephalopathy (30%), unspecified pathogen infection (19%), hypotension (15%), fever (14%), cytokine release syndrome (12%), hypoxia (10%), bacterial infection (8%), aphasia (7%), arrhythmia (6%), viral infection (6%), delirium (6%), and hypertension (6%).x Grade 3 or higher prolonged cytopenias (still present at Day 30 or with an onset at Day 30 or beyond) included neutropenia (31%), thrombocytopenia (27%), and anemia (17%).xi
"Today's announcement offers new hope for patients with certain types of relapsed and refractory lymphomas, who previously faced a dire prognosis," said Antonella Rizza, CEO at Lymphoma Canada. "By taking this step, the Ontario government is ensuring Canadians in this province have access to this new and potentially transformative treatment option."
In the ZUMA-1 pivotal trial, Kite demonstrated a 99 per cent manufacturing success rate with a median manufacturing turnaround time of 17 daysxii.
Important Safety Information The YESCARTA Product Monograph has a SERIOUS WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS BOX regarding the risks of:
Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), including fatal or life-threatening reactions, occurred in patients receiving YESCARTA. Delay YESCARTA treatment if a patient has active uncontrolled infection or inflammatory disorders, active graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or unresolved serious adverse reactions from prior therapies. Monitor for CRS after treatment with YESCARTA. Provide supportive care, tocilizumab, or tocilizumab and corticosteroids, as needed.xiii
Neurologic adverse reactions, including fatal or life-threatening reactions, occurred in patients receiving YESCARTA, including concurrently with CRS or independently of CRS. Monitor for neurologic adverse reactions after treatment with YESCARTA. Provide supportive care, tocilizumab (if with concurrent CRS), or corticosteroids, as needed.xiv
YESCARTA should be administered by experienced health professionals at specialized treatment centres.xv
For all important safety information for YESCARTA, including contraindications, warnings and precautions, adverse reactions and drug interactions, please see the Canadian Product Monograph at www.gilead.ca.
About Kite Kite, a Gilead Company, is a biopharmaceutical company based in Santa Monica, California. Kite is engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor and T cell receptor engineered cell therapies. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com.
About Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. Gilead Sciences Canada, Inc. is the Canadian affiliate of Gilead Sciences, Inc., and was established in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2006. For more information on Gilead Sciences, please visit the company's website at www.gilead.com.
Forward-Looking Statement This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risk that physicians and patients may not see the benefits of YESCARTA as a treatment option for the indications for which it is approved; the ability to provide final site certification to specialized centres across Canada enabling them to make YESCARTA available to appropriate patients in the anticipated timelines or at all; the ability of Kite to continue to manufacture YESCARTA at the success rates experienced during clinical trials; and the possibility of unfavorable results from ongoing and additional clinical trials involving YESCARTA. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks are described in detail in Gilead's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Gilead, and Gilead assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
YESCARTA, KITE PHARMA and the KITE LOGO, are trademarks of Kite Pharma, Inc. GILEAD, and the GILEAD LOGO are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.
Learn more about Gilead at www.gilead.com, follow Gilead on Twitter (@GileadSciences) or call Gilead Public Affairs at 1-800-GILEAD-5 or 1-650-574-3000. For more information on Kite, please visit the company's website at www.kitepharma.com. Follow Kite on social media on Twitter (@KitePharma) and LinkedIn.
_________________
i YESCARTA® product monograph, February 13, 2019, revised March 18, 2020 (www.gilead.ca).
iii Locke F. et al. Long-term safety and activity of axicabtagene ciloleucel in refractory large B-cell lymphoma (ZUMA-1): a single-arm, multicentre, phase 1-2 trial. The Lancet Oncol. 2019 Jan; 20(1):31-42.
v Menon M. et al. The Histological and Biological Spectrum of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma in the WHO Classification. Cancer J. 2012 Sept;18(5):411–420.
vi Menon M. et al. The Histological and Biological Spectrum of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma in the WHO Classification. Cancer J. 2012 Sept;18(5):411–420.
viii Crump M. et al, Outcomes in refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: results from the international SCHOLAR-1 study. Blood. 2017 Oct. 130(16): 1800–1808.
ix YESCARTA® product monograph, February 13, 2019, revised March 18, 2020 (www.gilead.ca).
xiii YESCARTA® product monograph, February 13, 2019, revised March 18, 2020 (www.gilead.ca).
xiv IBID
xv IBID
SOURCE Gilead Sciences Canada, Inc.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors will represent 47% of the 5EU gastric and gastroesophageal market by 2029, says GlobalData
The lack of approved immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in the gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (G/GEJAC) market in the *5EU is expected to significantly enhance the revenue of Opdivo and Keytruda following their upcoming label expansions.
Miguel Ferreira, MSc, Oncology and Hematology Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “GlobalData expects that Keytruda will enter the 5EU markets first as a monotherapy, amassing $23m by its third year in the market. It will lose out to Opdivo’s $24m in its second year in the market - given Opdivo’s more in-demand approval for the adjuvant setting.”
Key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData stated that ICIs are of little interest to physicians as monotherapies or third-line options. Therefore, only combinatorial label expansions are expected to significantly impact the value of the market. Hence, Keytruda’s earlier entry won’t offer the usual first-to-market advantage.
Ferreira concludes: “Despite entering the 5EU market first in 2021, Keytruda will generate similar revenue to that of Tislelizumab in 2029, $138m verses $111m, respectively - despite the latter only being forecast to enter the market in 2024 Meanwhile, Opdivo will be the distinguished market leader with $303m.”
*8MM = The US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan and China * 5EU = France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK
Quotes provided by Miguel Ferreira, MSc, Oncology and Hematology Analyst at GlobalData
About GlobalData
4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.
St. Jude psychologists release tips for helping people through the COVID-19 holiday season
Drawing on years of guiding grieving families through difficult holidays, St. Jude psychologists offer expert advice to help
MEMPHIS, TENN. – With the COVID-19 holiday season upon us, many Americans are anticipating the difficult challenge of how to celebrate this year. To help families across the country, the team of psychologists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, including St. Jude Psychology Clinical Director Niki Jurbergs, PhD,along with her colleagueMegan Wilkins, PhD, have released the following tips for the public to stay healthy both mentally and emotionally, as well as physically during this holiday season.
“In my work with children with cancer, I have, indeed, watched families face holidays while separated from one another and while enduring unthinkable stress and grief,” said Clinical Director Niki Jurbergs, PhD., who draws on years of helping grieving families through difficult holiday seasons after the loss of a child or a life-changing cancer diagnosis. “Families facing the upcoming holidays should feel empowered to do what feels most comfortable given the risks and restrictions of the current pandemic. We should all be working to adjust our expectations and prepare for things to be different this year, and in many cases, difficult as well.”
In addition to the tips outlined below, St. Jude psychologists are available for interviews to discuss mental health narratives around this upcoming COVID-19 holiday season, including for example:
How can we broach conversations with family to stay safe this upcoming holiday season?
Physical health has been a huge focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how important is mental and emotional health?
What can we all learn about surviving difficult holidays given their experiences working with children with cancer and family caregivers?
St. Jude Psychologists 6 Tips for Surviving the COVID Holidays
Perform a mental health check - It is critically important, especially given mounting “pandemic fatigue,” that we attend to our own mental health. We must first take stock of our own mental health and assure we are not trying to “pour from an empty cup.” It is imperative that parents take time for care of themselves, including spending time outside, seeking social support and engaging in relaxing activities. Give yourself grace to feel disappointment and upset about this highly anxious and uncertain time.
Feel empowered to do what feels comfortable – In our work with families of children with cancer, we stress the importance of facing the upcoming holidays feeling empowered to do what feels most comfortable given the risks and restrictions of their child’s diagnosis. This is a time for all of us to take this lesson to heart and work to adjust our expectations and prepare for things to be different this year, and in many cases, difficult as well. It can help to talk about these losses, sharing what we are missing most this holiday season.
Take time to consider what is meaningful to you around the holidays – Take time to consider what is meaningful to you around the holidays. Is it the special recipe for a dish your grandmother used to make? Is it playing games with family members? Watching a game with friends? What parts of these meaningful pieces of the holidays can still happen in a way you feel comfortable with? Rather than looking forward to our typical parties and family meals, we might choose to focus on the gift of health we give when we make the sacrifice of honoring our families’ and loved ones’ health and safety by staying home.
Make the holidays special from afar - Planning surprises such as cards or gifts delivered in the mail lets your loved ones know you’re with them in spirit, if not in body. Recognizing that many of us are tired of looking at screens, virtual games and activities such as scavenger hunts or singing favorite holiday songs may be more engaging than simply video chatting. Families who remain distanced this season may enjoy developing new traditions, such as trying new recipes or playing new games with those they share a household with that might be incorporated into future holidays when they can safely be together again. Families may choose to reflect on what they are thankful for by coming together to make donations to charities and causes that are meaningful to them.
Protect your elderly loved ones from loneliness and isolation - In many cases, seniors experience a heightened sense of loss related to pandemic restrictions. These elderly individuals express the feeling that their time is short, and that time is being stolen from them. Some express a willingness to accept the risk of potential virus infection to spend time with family because they are more fearful of dying of old age than they are of dying of COVID-19. Reaching out to those at highest risk for loneliness is more important than ever. Phone calls, video chats, cards, drive-by parades and even socially distanced outdoor visits can help them feel connected and reassure them that you are thinking of them.
For the 250,000 Americans grieving the loss of a loved one from COVID-19, make the decision about the holidays that feels right for you – Celebrating holidays for the first time without a loved one is unspeakably difficult. For these families, not only has this pandemic taken the life of a loved one, the threat remains. That is, not only are they grieving, they are continuing to face the virus and its ongoing impact on a daily basis. These families should not feel obligated to engage in holiday traditions as they have in the past. In fact, it might feel better for some to not celebrate at all this year. Conversely, some families may choose to find special ways to honor and include the memory of their lost loved one. As with all family decisions, this one is highly personal.
FACIT fuels promising made-in-Ontario breast cancer therapeutic and medtech innovations through Prospects Oncology Fund
Ontario First capital supports early stage commercialization of cancer intellectual property
TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2020 /CNW/ - FACIT, Ontario's oncology commercialization venture firm, announced the newest recipients of Ontario First seed capital through the latest round of its Prospects Oncology Fund: Dr. Rebecca Laposa of the University of Toronto, as well as London-based start-up Multi-Magnetics Inc., scientifically led by Dr. Jeffrey Carson and spun out of the Lawson Health Research Institute. Both entrepreneurial scientists were previously finalists in FACIT's Falcons' Fortunes pitch competitions. FACIT's programs bridge the seed gap and support Ontario's life sciences entrepreneurs and their innovations throughout various stages of early commercial development.
Dr. Laposa is developing novel small-molecule inhibitors that target cancer cell mitochondria, a fuel source that many cancer cells rely on during chemotherapy. The initial indication for this potential drug candidate is high-risk early breast cancer. Multi-Magnetics is developing a hand-held device that uses photoacoustic imaging to detect tumour margins and residual disease in the surgical cavity during breast-conserving (lumpectomy) surgery.
These two investments join the ranks of FACIT's award winning investment portfolio, which has collectively attracted over $1 billion in follow-on financing from the private sector. FACIT is unique in its approach to leverage Ontario First capital to propel cancer IP and is strongly aligned with Ontario's life sciences commercialization strategy. Indeed, FACIT's maturing portfolio of oncology investments has helped bring industry and investors to Ontario, anchoring companies and jobs to the province.
"We are pleased to support these Ontario entrepreneurs, and continue our mission to elevate local innovations to reach the market and benefit patients with cancer," said Dr. David O'Neill, President of FACIT. "Given COVID-19 and heightened interest in the benefits of a homegrown healthcare industry, now is a critical time to continue maximizing the value of Ontario IP, encourage a new generation of biotech leaders, and support the province's post-pandemic economic recovery."
"Ontario's first-class researchers and research facilities allow Ontario to build on our strong reputation as a leader in cancer research and innovation," said the Honourable Ross Romano, Ontario's Minister of Colleges and Universities. "We are proud to see investments supporting Ontario-made research, innovation and commercialization that introduce new cutting-edge technologies that make a great difference for those battling breast cancer."
About FACIT FACIT is an award-winning commercialization venture firm that builds companies with entrepreneurs to accelerate oncology innovation, with a portfolio that has attracted more than $1 billion in investment to Ontario. Blending industry experience, capital and the unsurpassed clinician-scientist network of its strategic partner the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), FACIT capitalizes on the province's investment in research and healthcare to the benefit of the local economy and patients worldwide. FACIT's commercialization portfolio includes Turnstone Biologics, Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Triphase Accelerator and other biotechnology organizations. Cancer Breakthroughs. Realized. facit.ca.
About University of Toronto Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's leading institution of learning, discovery and knowledge creation. U of T is one of the world's top research-intensive universities, driven to invent and innovate. It is also one of the top ten universities in the world for its start-up incubator programs. In the last 10 years, the U of T entrepreneurship community has created over 500 companies and raised over $1.5 billion in investment capital.
About Multi-Magnetics Inc. Multi-Magnetics Incorporated (MMI) is a Canadian company formed in London, Ontario as an offshoot of the Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson). The mission of MMI is to advance patient care through leading edge science and technology development. MMI has been instrumental in developing hybrid PET/MRI for neuroimaging, bacteria imaging for inflammatory bowel disease, and photoacoustic imaging for breast cancer detection.
SOURCE FACIT Inc.
Overcome Overeating—During the Holidays and Throughout the Year
San Francisco, CA, December 10, 2020 — Candied sweet potatoes. Egg nog. Mac ‘n’ cheese. Stuffing. Pumpkin pie. Traditional holiday meals are resplendent with taste-of-home fare that’s easy to overeat. Based on original research by holistic nutrition researcher Deborah Kesten, M.P.H., and behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz, Ph.D., Whole Person Integrative Eating offers in-depth insights into the reasons we overeat and gain weight, and a science-backed, step-by-step dietary lifestyle that can halt—even reverse—overeating and weight gain during the holidays—and throughout the year.
“Now is the time to ‘reset’ and rethink what and how we eat; to replace traditional dieting with a scientifically sound way of eating that lessens overeating and that leads naturally to weight loss, health, and healing,” says Kesten.
In their award-winning book, Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Breakthrough Dietary Lifestyle to Treat the Root Causes of Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity, authors Kesten and Scherwitz share a simple yet powerful premise: Identify the reasons you overeat (your overeating styles) and gain weight—with the illuminating self-assessment quiz—then overcome overeating and lose weight by replacing your overeating styles with the antidotes: the elements of the Whole Person Integrative Eating program.
By shedding light on the root causes of overeating, Kesten and Scherwitz present a program that empowers readers with a personalized plan, and in turn new hope and new choices to help them reduce overeating, lose weight and keep it off.
WPIE is not a diet that a person goes on … then off. It is a scientifically sound, dietary lifestyle designed to be practiced for a lifetime.
"If people follow the revolutionary program outlined in this game-changing, insightful book, it may be the most helpful step they can take toward losing weight and keeping it off," says bestselling author Kenneth Pelletier, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco.
The authors’ paradigm-shifting message is that food influences not only the physical dimensions of health, but also our emotional, spiritual and social well-being. Their dietary lifestyle can build bridges between the millions who struggle with overeating and weight issues and the medical community. And it can inspire us all to re-envision our relationships with food, eating and weight, so that each time we eat, we are nourished … for life.
Deborah Kesten, M.P.H.,is an international nutrition researcher, award-winning author and medical/health writer, with a specialty in preventing and reversing obesity and heart disease. She served as Nutritionist on Dean Ornish, M.D.’s first clinical trial for reversing heart disease through lifestyle changes, the results of which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. She has served as Director of Nutrition at cardiovascular clinics in Europe and on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, San Francisco.
Kesten has published more than 400 nutrition and health articles. Her first book, Feeding the Body, Nourishing the Soul, received the first-place gold award in the Spirituality category from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Whole Person Integrative Eating has been honored with the No.1 gold, best-book award in the Health category by Book Excellence Awards and is a No. 1 Amazon best seller. Kesten is a VIP Contributor at Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, and is married to behavioral scientist and co-author of Whole Person Integrative Eating, Larry Scherwitz, Ph.D.
Home Opens the Door to Healing After Devastating Loss
Santa Rosa, CA, Dec. 10, 2020 — In the wee hours of October 9, 2017, the disoriented and panic-stricken Barnes family, with two little boys in tow, frantically scrambled to evacuate their Santa Rosa, California, home. Smoke burned their lungs. Ash stung their eyes. Nearby fires raged, engulfing homes as howling winds fed the flames. In the end, the Tubbs Fire, deemed one of the most destructive wildfires in California history, destroyed more than 5,643 homes, including the Barnes’.
They returned to the lot where their house once stood, to gain closure and confront the harsh reality that the house was truly gone. But seeing the empty lot had a profound — and lasting — impact on 7-year-old Brett.
When her search for relatable, child-centric resources to augment Brett’s recovery came up short, mother Carrie Lee Barnes used her family’s experiences to inform her compelling, inspirational book, Home: A Story of Resilience and Healing. Told from a child’s perspective, Home is one little boy’s account of the abrupt and devastating loss of his house and his emotional journey toward discovering the true meaning of home. Written primarily for young children from ages 3 to 7, Home is an uplifting story intended to bring hope and healing in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
“My goal is for this book to help comfort children as they find their new normal after the loss of their home due to any circumstance,” Barnes says. “When I read Home to my little ones, they immediately saw themselves in the story. It opened up a forum for dialogue and healing for my boys and allowed them to feel a part of something bigger.”
With wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters happening more and more frequently, it’s important for children to have age-appropriate resources for coping. Home is Barnes’ heartfelt contribution to this very worthy cause.
“My hope for Home is that it provides a much needed glimpse at an ending for natural disaster victims,” Barnes adds. “There is a moment when you find peace in the constants of the people you love who are around you every day. We need to find our center, the place we call home, in our human connections.”
Author Carrie Lee Barnes is a stay-at-home mom who previously trained surgeons on advanced robotic technology in the operating room. Home was written to help victims of natural disasters, especially children, who are emotionally affected by the loss of their home. She lives with her husband and two sons in Santa Rosa, California.
Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards recently recognized Home with a gold medal in the category of Best First Book: Picture Book.
Home Opens the Door to Healing After Devastating Loss
Santa Rosa, CA, Dec. 10, 2020 — In the wee hours of October 9, 2017, the disoriented and panic-stricken Barnes family, with two little boys in tow, frantically scrambled to evacuate their Santa Rosa, California, home. Smoke burned their lungs. Ash stung their eyes. Nearby fires raged, engulfing homes as howling winds fed the flames. In the end, the Tubbs Fire, deemed one of the most destructive wildfires in California history, destroyed more than 5,643 homes, including the Barnes’.
They returned to the lot where their house once stood, to gain closure and confront the harsh reality that the house was truly gone. But seeing the empty lot had a profound — and lasting — impact on 7-year-old Brett.
When her search for relatable, child-centric resources to augment Brett’s recovery came up short, mother Carrie Lee Barnes used her family’s experiences to inform her compelling, inspirational book, Home: A Story of Resilience and Healing. Told from a child’s perspective, Home is one little boy’s account of the abrupt and devastating loss of his house and his emotional journey toward discovering the true meaning of home. Written primarily for young children from ages 3 to 7, Home is an uplifting story intended to bring hope and healing in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
“My goal is for this book to help comfort children as they find their new normal after the loss of their home due to any circumstance,” Barnes says. “When I read Home to my little ones, they immediately saw themselves in the story. It opened up a forum for dialogue and healing for my boys and allowed them to feel a part of something bigger.”
With wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters happening more and more frequently, it’s important for children to have age-appropriate resources for coping. Home is Barnes’ heartfelt contribution to this very worthy cause.
“My hope for Home is that it provides a much needed glimpse at an ending for natural disaster victims,” Barnes adds. “There is a moment when you find peace in the constants of the people you love who are around you every day. We need to find our center, the place we call home, in our human connections.”
Author Carrie Lee Barnes is a stay-at-home mom who previously trained surgeons on advanced robotic technology in the operating room. Home was written to help victims of natural disasters, especially children, who are emotionally affected by the loss of their home. She lives with her husband and two sons in Santa Rosa, California.
Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards recently recognized Home with a gold medal in the category of Best First Book: Picture Book.
TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2020 /CNW/ - Ontario's doctors are calling for paid sick days for all Ontarians so that people who have or suspect they may have COVID 19 can stay home, get well and not infect others.
Many workers who do not have any paid sick day are going to work as truck drivers, personal support workers, food production workers and other jobs, endangering not only their own health, but spreading COVID-19 to others.
"Workers without paid sick leave often feel forced to work when unwell so they can feed and support their families," said Dr. Samantha Hill, president of the Ontario Medical Association. "Worse, many are also at risk of losing their jobs if they stay home. Going to work sick contributes to the record number of COVID cases we are seeing, especially in some of our hotspots. At a time when we are all working as hard as we can to reduce spread, and protect our most vulnerable, it's unfathomable to ask to put workers in that position. Beyond being the right thing to do for the individual, paid sick days are essential for Ontario's recovery and well-being."
Ontario's doctors, working on the front lines of the pandemic, see the impact this highly contagious disease has on people every day.
Doctors – as well as the Ontario Hospital Association and the professional associations representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and respiratory therapists urge every Ontarian to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19, which continues to reach record levels as the holiday season arrives.
"Making Ontario's economy healthy again is an important priority for all us of," said OMA CEO Allan O'Dette. "We first need to make sure workers are healthy."
Here are the top five things doctors recommend you can do to protect yourselves and others:
Wash your hands often.
Wear a mask or face-covering at all times, unless you are at home with housemates or outdoors at a guaranteed two metres distance from others.
Stay away from crowded places.
Celebrate or gather only with members of your household. Don't invite others into your home.
Prepare for contact tracing if you get COVID-19. Download the COVID Alert app and/or keep track of where you go and when.
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.
SOURCE Ontario Medical Association
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