Partnership commits $24.5M to support innovation in Canadian cancer services
The Canadian Partnership Against Canceris working with partners across Canada to innovate cancer care, with a focus on improving access to world class cancer screening services for underserviced populations in the wake of a pandemic that's changed the face of health care
TORONTO, Nov. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (the Partnership) is investing $24.5 million and supporting 20 partners to bring innovations to cancer services across Canada including actions that will address the urgent needs of people affected by cancer during this pandemic. This work reflects the Partnership's Innovating Against Cancerfocus and builds on over $300 million in federal funding already invested with our partners since the Partnership was formed in 2007 supporting quality improvements, change initiatives and innovation across all aspects of cancer care to the benefit of everyone in Canada. During the pandemic, the funded initiatives deliver on the need to reduce people's exposure to the healthcare system, receive services virtually and closer to home, and bring quality efficiencies in an accelerated manner to cancer services.
"The Partnership recently worked with 7,500 citizens and partner organizations from across Canada to craft a new vision for cancer care, the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control 2019-2029 (the Strategy). To achieve this shared vision, major innovations are set out in the Strategy's eight priorities," said Cynthia Morton, CEO of the Partnership. "The pandemic has highlighted the need and desire of cancer systems to urgently adopt at an accelerated pace the innovations set out in the Strategy, with both existing and new partners. As our cancer and healthcare systems seek new ways to sustain access to quality care, we have an obligation to adopt real innovation and improvements to how cancer services are delivered to all people wherever they live in Canada."
The just released Lung Cancer and Equity report highlights the differences in access to care and health outcomes for people with low income and people who live in rural and remote communities. For example, the data show striking disparities in lung cancer survival, early diagnosis of the disease and access to treatment between low- and high-income Canadians. The Partnership is supporting provinces and territories in their efforts to implement lung cancer screening for those at high risk. As a result, Canada will be a world leader in the introduction of lung cancer screening and the reduction of deaths caused by lung cancer in Canada.
"The leadership and support of the Partnership gives provincial cancer programs the ability to work together to improve the cancer care system for all Canadians," says Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi, chief medical officer at BC Cancer. "We are grateful for the funding support recently received from the Partnership which enabled British Columbia to be the first in Canada to announce a population-based provincial lung cancer screening program. We are stronger when we work together and together, we are changing the outcomes and making a difference in the lives of all Canadians touched by cancer."
Quick Facts
Innovating Against Cancer is a suite of partner initiatives that will help restore and sustain cancer screening and clinical care, reduce the rates of cancer deaths in Canada, drive faster innovation in how cancer services are delivered, and implement system-level changes that address inequities in cancer care for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, and underserviced populations.
New investments by the Partnership will support our work with partners on Innovating Against Cancer initiatives, which will make changes to cancer services that align with, and continue to drive forward, the priorities of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control.
In the early days of the pandemic, the Partnership recognized that partners at provincial and territorial cancer programs and health ministries were facing new challenges, and cancer patients faced many unknowns in the availability of their care. To ensure patient connectedness back to their cancer teams, the Partnership provided immediate funding $1.3 million and technological supports to help our partners keep those affected by cancer and their communities safe and informed.
The Partnership has committed funding of $24.5 million and other supports to provide jurisdiction-specific assistance to sustain cancer care through the pandemic and beyond – to accelerate the adoption of the Strategy's innovative care solutions, including more cancer services delivered virtually, at-home cancer screening and other home-based services for cancer patients, for mental health, palliative care and other needs.
Addressing gaps in cancer care for underserviced communities
All Innovating Against Cancer initiatives will see underserviced populations put front and centre with a priority of working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. The Partnership and its partners will work with community leaders to co-develop solutions that deliver innovative cancer services in a culturally appropriate way. A major milestone has already been achieved, as the Partnership is supporting the development and implementation of Indigenous cancer strategies in every province and territory, with previously announced Partnership funding of $24 million.
"We recognize that your race, Indigeneity, immigration status, economic status, where you live and/or sexual orientation can affect your ability to engage with the cancer and healthcare system and ultimately impact the outcomes of your cancer diagnosis," said Dr. Craig Earle, VP, Cancer Control at the Partnership. "Our efforts with our partners to restore and innovate cancer services require all systems to address these inequities as a priority. Canada's refreshed Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control 2019-2029 establishes priorities and actions we all need to undertake to ensure high quality, accessible cancer care for everyone living in Canada."
Innovating Against Cancer – The Initiatives
Eliminating cervical cancer through innovative practices
The World Health Organization has set the goal to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide this century and Canada's Minister of Health committed the country to achieving this. A key step to achieve this in Canada is the Action Plan for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Canada 2020-2030, now available. The Partnership and partners across Canada are using this plan to guide action on priorities toward the elimination of cervical cancer in Canada by 2040. These priorities include HPV vaccination of boys and girls, a shift to primary HPV screening in cervical screening programs and ensuring all people receive appropriate follow-up when abnormalities are identified. First Nations, Inuit and Métis-specific priorities and actions are also presented in the Action Plan. The Partnership has provided $1.6 million in funding to immunization partners Urban Public Health Network, Rural Remote and Northern Public Health Network, and the Public Health Physicians of Canada, and is working with The Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada on clinical guidance for follow-up and management of patients after abnormal HPV testing.
Establish lung cancer screening programs across Canada
The Partnership is working with all provinces to implement organized lung cancer screening for people at high risk. Leading the way, British Columbia has announced its plans for a screening program expected to be running by the spring of 2022. The Partnership is committing $5.0 million to this work over the next 1.5 years to accelerate planning and implementation across Canada. The evidence is clear that screening people based on their risk of getting lung cancer can save lives because this type of cancer, when caught early, has better treatment outcomes. This initiative will place a special focus on working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis to develop Peoples-specific approaches to increase the accessibility of lung cancer screening programs for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. The Partnership has released a report on Lung Cancer and Equity that focuses on income and geography and its effect on lung cancer diagnosis and outcomes.
Building world-class cancer screening systems from coast-to-coast-to-coast
The first wave of the pandemic saw cancer screening programs stop or drastically modify their approach to finding cancer early, out of a fear of patient exposure to COVID-19 along with a lack of access to diagnostic and lab time. The Strategy sets out new approaches to screening that require fewer interactions with the healthcare system and more accessible, highly reliable home-based screening options. The Partnership is providing funding of $3.4 million to support early adoption of these innovative approaches to screening programs. Additionally, the Partnership has brought together experts from across the country to rethink how cancer screening services can optimally resume in ways that are responsive and ensure access during successive waves of COVID-19. This guidance document Management of Cancer Screening Services During the Pandemic and Building Resilient Screening Servicesprovides evidence-based recommendations to ensure all provinces and territories can increase the resiliency of screening services during further outbreaks or service disruptions.
Improving cancer surgery
The Strategy identified the need for faster, clearer, and more effective pathways from diagnosis to treatment, including access to high-quality surgery for cancer patients. In September 2020, on behalf of 11 Canadian surgical associations, the Partnership released the pan-Canadian Action Plan for Cancer Surgery. The Action Plan presents a unified approach, identifying key partners and providing guidance on coordinated efforts needed to deliver high-quality, efficient, and coordinated surgical cancer care. The pandemic has created new challenges for the delivery of surgical care. The Action Plan comes at an important time and will aim to drive innovation and a shift towards new models of care to safeguard the delivery of cancer surgery in Canada as health resources are stretched.
Reducing false positive screening results for breast cancer & unnecessary follow-ups
Abnormal call rates (ACRs) in breast cancer screening have been rising across Canada since 2014 with no change in cancer detection rates. This means more women are receiving false positive screening results and associated psychosocial harms, in addition to unnecessary follow-up tests. Through the Partnership's funding and support of our network of experts, Canada's breast cancer screening community recently released a Framework outlining six evidence-based approaches to guide pan-Canadian and jurisdictional efforts to reduce ACRs. If implemented, these approaches will see a reduction in ACRs in the coming years, which will, in turn, result in fewer false positives, fewer follow-up appointments and fewer interactions with the healthcare system during the pandemic and beyond.
Colorectal cancer screening for underserviced communities
The Strategy's call to improve the reach of organized colorectal screening – and a reduction in colorectal cancer rates – is now being expedited with the move to direct-mail at-home screening tests, which will reduce the need for any healthcare system interaction. The Partnership is also investing $1.5 million in a multi-year initiative to help provinces and territories better identify populations who are under-screened for colorectal cancer and to work with local communities to remove barriers that prevent them from accessing these screening programs. As a first step, the Partnership provided jurisdictions with training on the use of geo-mapping to identify communities where colorectal screening rates are particularly low, and the Partnership will release a toolkit that provides evidence-based approaches for improving screening participation that can be adapted to suit specific populations and local contexts.
Other funding and support for innovative initiatives
In addition to these major areas of innovation to cancer care already funded and underway, the Partnership will be funding $4.0 million to expand the services provided by paramedics in the home to include palliative care, which will decrease patient visits to the hospital. In addition, several traditional supports to cancer patients will now be replaced with virtual or alternate models of care, through $6.3 million in funding from the Partnership. Funding to Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network will support remote access to clinical trials. The Partnership will support the gathering and use by clinicians of Patient-Reported Outcomes through virtual means when in-person visits are not possible. This will ensure the care team remains informed and connected to patients and their needs throughout the cancer journey. Supporting people to quit smoking including cancer patients is now using virtual tobacco cessation counselling and at-home or other cost-effective and convenient dispensing of nicotine replacement therapies funded through $1.3 million investment by the Partnership.
About the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer As the steward of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (the Strategy), the Partnership works with Canada's cancer community to take action to ensure fewer people get cancer, more people survive cancer and those living with the disease have a better quality of life. This work is guided by the Strategy, which was refreshed for 2019 to 2029 and will help drive measurable change for all Canadians affected by cancer. The Strategy includes eight priorities, which will tackle the most pressing challenges in cancer control as well as distinct First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples-specific priorities and actions reflecting Canada's commitment to reconciliation. The Partnership will oversee the implementation of the priorities in collaboration with organizations and individuals on the front lines of cancer care – the provinces and territories, healthcare professionals, people living with cancer and those who care for them, First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, governments and organizations, and its funder Health Canada. Learn more about the Partnership and the refreshed Strategy at www.cancerstrategy.ca.
SOURCE Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
Canada's First Pension Plan For Medical Doctors
TORONTO, Nov. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - Blue Pier™ is pleased to announce the launch of Canada's first real pension solution for doctors.
Self-employed physicians from coast to coast to coast can now join a pension plan offered by Blue Pier™ -- Canada's "Pension Plan as a Service".
Physicians practising in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, with specialties ranging from family and emergency medicine to anesthesiology and radiology, have joined Blue Pier.
"Most of Canada's 90,000 doctors don't have a pension plan. A lot of products promise retirement income to doctors, but only Blue Pier offers a real pension plan with doctor-customized features," said Dr. Stephen Milone, a Blue Pier Director. "The distinction matters: Blue Pier's flexibility, tax efficiency and low cost accommodate the changing needs and circumstances of doctors and their families in ways that RRSPs or IPPs don't."
"Medical professionals have advocated for decades for a bona fide pension plan for doctors, but the ideal regulatory vehicle just wasn't available. Blue Pier has now answered that call," said Tom Magyarody, Blue Pier Director and former CEO of the Ontario Medical Association.
Blue Pier Director Dr. Craig Donaldson said, "Blue Pier's approach to providing pensions to physicians is what the doctor ordered. It works for doctors because doctors helped design it." "I've been waiting for a real pension plan for a long time," said Dr. Christian Kirkpatrick. "Glad it's finally here!".
In a joint statement, Drs. Stephanie Milone, Apurva Patel, Mark Murphy and John Dufton observed "There are more than 40,000 mutual funds and 100,000 financial advisors in Canada, all competing for our business. How can doctors be expected to do their jobs and sort through all that? With Blue Pier, we can focus on practising medicine and look forward to a secure retirement."
Susan Murray, a renowned government-relations expert and Blue Pier board member noted, "This plan is ground-breaking, not only for the fine doctors of Canada who need real pensions, but for all small businesses across the country which employ most of Canada's workforce. Blue Pier is changing the pension landscape in Canada."
Blue Pier Founder and CEO James Pierlot said "We are proud to launch the first national pension solution for Canada's doctors, as part of Blue Pier's broader goal of bringing pension coverage to all Canadian workers. At Blue Pier, we embrace inclusiveness, diversity, innovation and accountability, values that will drive modernization and democratization of pensions for Canada's 21st century workforce. We're delighted that Canada's doctors are behind us and honoured to serve them with a pension solution that can enhance retirement income security for medical professionals and their staff.
Canada's first and only "Pension Plan as a Service", Blue Pier enables employers of any size across Canada to offer customized workplace pensions to their employees without taking on the costs, risks and workload of pension administration. Blue Pier leverages scale, technology and unique design features to deliver sustainable, cost-effective pensions with minimal workload for employers. Designated an essential service by the Ontario government, Blue Pier is COVID-19 compliant, with unique capabilities to onboard and provide services to employers and members without any need for direct personal contact.
SOURCE Blue Pier™
Lynparza® (olaparib) Receives Health Canada Approval for the Treatment of BRCA or ATM Gene-Mutated Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Lynparza is the first targeted treatment approved in biomarker-selected prostate cancer validated by a Phase III trial1
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - On August 21, 2020, Health Canada approved Lynparza® (olaparib), for the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline and/or somatic BRCA or ATM-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have progressed following prior treatment with a new hormonal agent (NHA). BRCA1/2 or ATM gene mutation must be confirmed before Lynparza treatment is initiated.
The Notice of Compliance was granted under priority review and marks the first Health Canada approval of a PARP inhibitor in prostate cancer. Lynparza is the first biomarker-selected targeted treatment option approved in Canada, based on the Phase III PROfound trial of men with Homologous Recombination Repair mutated (HRRm) mCRPC.1 This approval follows previous indications in ovarian, breast and pancreatic cancers.
"Sadly, the risk of developing prostate cancer is significantly higher for carriers of the BRCA or ATM-gene mutation, which affects roughly 10 per cent of men living with mCRPC," said Dr. Kim Chi, Medical Oncologist and Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. "This new approval offers patients a much-needed new treatment option, and also reinforces the importance of BRCA and ATM testing."
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men, and the third leading cause of cancer deaths amongst this demographic.2 On average, 64 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 11 men die from it every day.2 Germline and somatic mutations in HRR genes, which include BRCA1/2 and ATM, are associated with potentially more aggressive prostate cancers and poor prognosis, demonstrating the importance of biomarker testing.3,4,5,6
Currently, mCRPC remains an incurable disease, and despite advancements in available therapies, the 5 year survival rate for men with metastatic prostate cancer is only 28 per cent.7,8
"We are thrilled to hear about this new indication for patients with BRCA or ATM-mutated mCRPC," said Jackie Manthorne, President & CEO, Canadian Cancer Survivor Network. "This aggressive form of prostate cancer can have a devastating impact on patients and families, but this new treatment option is providing much-needed hope for better outcomes."
The Health Canada approval of Lynparza for BRCA or ATM gene-mutated mCRPC was based on data from Cohort A of the global Phase III PROfound trial. The PROfound trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of Lynparza versus investigator's choice of a new hormonal agent (abiraterone or enzalutamide) in men with mCRPC who have a mutation in at least one of 15 qualifying HRR genes. Cohort A of the PROfound trial, which included men with BRCA1, BRCA2, and/or ATM gene alterations, showed that Lynparza significantly reduced the risk of radiographic disease progression or death and significantly delayed time to pain progression versus the investigator's choice of a new hormonal agent.9a At the time of rPFS analysis, the interim OS data for Cohort A also indicated a trend in OS benefits in Lynparza treated patients.9a
The safety and tolerability profile seen with Lynparza in the PROfound study was consistent with that reported in previous trials, except for the addition of venous thromboembolic events (VTE). In the PROfound trial, VTE including pulmonary embolism, occurred in 7% of patients with mCRPC who received Lynparza plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) compared to 3.1% of patients receiving Investigator's Choice of NHA.9 Patients receiving Lynparza and ADT had a 6% incidence of pulmonary embolism compared to 0.8% of patients treated with ADT plus either enzalutamide or abiraterone. Based on the available clinical trial data, a causal association between Lynparza treatment and VTE including pulmonary embolism has not been established. Patients should be monitored for signs and symptoms of venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and treated as medically appropriate, which may include long-term anticoagulation as clinically indicated.
Approximately 32 patients from 12 Canadian centres have participated in the PROfound trial to date.10 Participation in Canadian clinical trials will continue on an ongoing basis.
About Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer in Canadian men, with an estimated 23,300 diagnoses in 2020, representing 20 per cent of all new cancer cases in men.2 Approximately 34 per cent of men are diagnosed with mCRPC annually, and despite currently approved therapies, 16 per cent die each year.11
About Lynparza (olaparib) Lynparza was the first oral (PARP) inhibitor approved in Canada. Lynparza exploits tumour DNA damage response (DDR) in cells/tumours harbouring a deficiency in homologous recombination repair (HRR), such as mutations in BRCA1 and/or BRCA2, to selectively kill cancer cells.9c Lynparza is the only PARP inhibitor currently approved in multiple tumour types in Canada including breast, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers. In 2019, it was the first PARP inhibitor approved as a first-line maintenance therapy treatment in BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer.
Lynparza is being jointly developed and commercialised by AstraZeneca and Merck, as part of a global strategic oncology collaboration.
About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of primary and specialty care medicines that transform lives. Our primary focus is on three important areas of healthcare: Cardiovascular and Metabolic disease; Oncology; and Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmunity. AstraZeneca operates in more than 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. In Canada, we employ more than 675 employees across the country and our headquarters are located in Mississauga, Ontario. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.astrazeneca.ca.
About Merck For over a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships.
Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer's disease and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola.
Based in Kirkland, Québec, Merck employs approximately 765 people across Canada. Merck is one of the top R&D investors in Canada, with investments totaling $69 million in 2018 and more than $1 billion since 2000. For more information about our operations in Canada, visit www.merck.ca and connect with us on YouTube and Twitter @MerckCanada.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).
References
1 De Bono et al. "Olaparib for Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer." New England Journal of Medicine. (2020); vol. 382:2091-2102. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1911440
2 ESMO. (2019). Olaparib Outperforms Enzalutamide or Abiraterone Acetate in Men with mCRPC and HRR Alterations. Available at:
4 Markowski. (2018). Germline genetic testing in prostate cancer – further enrichment in variant histologies? Oncoscience, p.62-64.
5 Castro, Elena et al. "Germline BRCA mutations are associated with higher risk of nodal involvement, distant metastasis, and poor survival outcomes in prostate cancer." Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology vol. 31,14 (2013): 1748-57. doi:10.1200/JCO.2012.43.1882
6 Annala, Matti et al. "Treatment Outcomes and Tumor Loss of Heterozygosity in Germline DNA Repair-deficient Prostate Cancer." European urology vol. 72,1 (2017): 34-42. doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2017.02.023
7 Annala, Matti et al. "Circulating Tumor DNA Genomics Correlate with Resistance to Abiraterone and Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer." Cancer discovery vol. 8,4 (2018): 444-457. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-17-0937
8 Albala. (2017). Imaging and treatment recommendations in patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Rev Urol. 19(3), pp.200-202
12 Geynisman DM, Plimack ER, Zibelman M. Second-generation Androgen Receptor-targeted Therapies in Nonmetastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer: Effective Early Intervention or Intervening Too Early? Eur Urol. 2016 Dec;70(6):971-973. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2016.05.026. Epub 2016 May 26. PMID: 27238654.
SOURCE AstraZeneca Canada Inc.
What Part of Your Body to Focus on During Your Workouts
Whether it’s the gym or the comfort of your own home, workouts can help keep you fit and give your body some of the movement it needs to stay healthy. There are several types of workouts that you can do, and focusing on a particular part of the body can help you train those muscle groups for strength and repetition.
Whole Body
This tip is a good place to start if you are new to workouts and just beginning your fitness journey. In most cases, this kind of routine trains each muscle set in succession with just a few repetitions per set. You will also keep the overall volume of exercises low if you’re new to these workouts. A low volume helps your body adjust gradually to changes in your nervous system. You will teach your body how to activate additional muscle fibers that you may not use as much as others. Although it is important to rest in between training sessions like these, you shouldn’t let too many days go by before your next set.
Upper Body
Once you feel comfortable enough, you can start splitting the workouts into more specific areas of the body. If you’re not sure what you need to work on, a qualified physical therapy center can help you figure out what your next moves should be. These centers help people recover function after injuries, but they also work with athletes or people who want to know their own bodies better. If you want to do a workout that focuses on the whole upper body, you’re probably looking at the chest, back, shoulders, and arms. Upper body workouts can improve your posture, are generally good for your heart, and may reduce your risk of injury during other activities.
Lower Body
If you’ve decided that a lower body split is the kind of thing you need, you’ll shift your focus to calves, hamstrings, quads, and glutes. In most cases, your abdomen is also included in a routine for the lower body. A regimen for this area can include benefits such as improved balance, more stamina, and better bone strength. It could also help to prevent or mitigate injuries to your knees or ankles. If you tend to have weak balance or poor joints, you can meet with a therapist to discuss your options.
Neck
You can cover almost everything in workouts for both halves of your body, but what about your neck? If you’re experiencing stiffness in the neck muscles or a limited range of motion, exercises for the neck can relieve some tension. Giving your neck a workout could also improve circulation.
As you gain experience and increase your muscle, you may want to combine some of these splits or opt for different training that makes things more intense. However, it is important to note that higher volumes or intensity levels in your exercise routine will require more days to recover from than your average workout. You should listen to your body. Don’t try to push it beyond its reasonable limits while it is still healing.Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan
Legendary Actress Writes New Book to Help Kids Cope During Pandemic
New York City, NY, November 24, 2020 — When Donna Fae Mogul, a.k.a. actress Lisa Carroll, heard her NYC neighbor’s daughter cry from the fears of COVID-19, she thought there had to be a way to use her well-versed communication and survival skills from her movie, TV and Broadway career in a way to offer comfort in the eyes of her little neighbor—and beyond. That’s why Lisa teamed up with award-winning illustrator G.F. Newland to create The Big, Bad Coronavirus! And How We Can Beat It (Pixel Mouse House), written by Lisa Carroll, illustrations by G.F. Newland.
The Big, Bad Coronavirus! And How We Can Beat Ittells the story of little Lisa as she struggles to face the realities of COVID-19. Little Lisa can't comprehend why she has to wear a facemask, why she has barriers around her school desk or why she’s confined to virtual learning from home. It all doesn’t add up. Because little Lisa longs for the life she once had, she imagines the virus as a giant, scary dragon. Fortunately, her mother comes to her side and comforts her, teaching her everything she needs to know to deal with this pandemic from a kid’s perspective. Lisa becomes a stronger and braver girl who inspires her classmates to live without fear.
Lisa’s journey to writing this book is extraordinary. Having appeared in such films as Otto Preminger’s “River of No Return,” starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum; “Battlecry,” starring Van Johnson; “The Shrike,” starring June Allyson and Jose Ferrer; “Diane,” starring Lana Turner; and “One Desire,” opposite Rock Hudson, Lisa is no stranger to hitting tremendous highs and overcoming incomprehensible lows to survive.
In the late 1950s, at 16, while driving from Hollywood to New York City with her mother for a Metropolitan Opera audition, Lisa survived a deadly car crash, which killed six. Lisa was told she would never walk or talk again. While in rehabilitation (for six years!) and listening to the radio, Lisa learned the art of rapping—paving the way for her mega-hit children’s hip-hop album for Capitol Records, “Rappin’ Up Christmas: Homeys 4 the Holidays.” This inspired her to make her first huggable toy, Hip Hop Randy Bear for the Gund company, part of a group of 10 plush toys, including Hip Hop Hamilton, inspired by the outstanding statesman Alexander Hamilton. In the ’60s, Lisa turned to the stage to appear as Carol Channing’s stand-by in “Hello Dolly!,” as well as toured in the national company of “Applause,” among others. She also appeared on the ABC TV national children’s show “Toybox” in which she featured 10 of her toys called “Furry Friends.” She was also in numerous other episodic TV roles, including “General Hospital.” In addition, Lisa hosted the BBC’s “Night Ride,” had a UK recording contract with CBS Records and starred as a cabaret artist in her own one-woman show at the Savoy in London, the Hilton in Hong Kong, plus stints in California and Vegas. With all this experience on TV, stage, screen, cabaret and even in the toy business, Lisa Carroll feels comfortable writing this gentle book on a big subject that many—young and old—can find comfort in.
Author Lisa Carroll captures the perspective of this moment that will resonate with children having a difficult time, while emotionally processing the coronavirus. Drawing from Lisa Carroll’s real-life survival “joie de vivre,” parents and educators alike can use the book to help children cope with COVID-19.
Tis the Season to Join Sahoja And Win One of Three Special Gift Packs
ATLANTA – Peace on earth, good will toward all – sentiments voiced often in the closing months each year as fundamental tenets of the new social-media community Sahoja which is marking this holiday season by launching a multi-faceted marketing program to attract new members and boost its Mindful Marketplace partners.
Sahoja is a new social media community dedicated to connecting good people to share good ideas, buy from companies dedicated to doing good and helping good causes. And providing complete privacy and transparency in all interactions.
The new-member promotion features three special give-a-way packages from vendor partners. All members who join between now and Dec. 18th will be eligible to win one of the following:
- The initial package combines examples of MOKA ORIGINALS chocolates and coffees. Two packages of medium roast and one of Ugandan dark roast coffee along with three unique chocolate bars, all made from different origins of cacao. Also included in the gift basket is a booklet reprising the mission and history of MOKA ORIGINALS.
- The second package will be a Luke’s Toy Factory set of four educational trucks (made from sustainable materials with no paint and no glue). These STEM educational toy trucks encourage early childhood development of problem solving, creative play, and fine-motor skills in kids aged 3 and up.
- New members will also have a chance to win a Shakti Warrior Yoga package including a mat and yoga straps. A mother daughter venture, Shakti Warrior the company using the timeless principles of yoga: awareness, high ethical standards, love, beauty and discipline.
The membership program will be promoted with advertisements on Facebook, Instagram and Sahoja’s site. Targeted in the marketing campaign are 20-40-year-old urban females, Sahoja’s principle target audience.
“Research shows this target group has a tremendous amount of empathy for the values Sahoja and its partners represent,” explained John Bonaccio of Sahoja. “These include causes such as poverty elimination, education, sustainability, peace and well-being, all of which are addressed by the partners producing the promotional items.”
Facebook, along with Instagram, will be the platform for a second marketing program to boost awareness of Sahoja’s partners as well as the social-media platform which will be announced in the coming weeks.
About Sahoja
Improving society overall through common positive goals are key factors for Sahoja (Sahoja.co) – a new social media community dedicated to connecting good people to share good ideas, buy from companies dedicated to doing good and helping good causes. And providing complete privacy and transparency in all interactions.
Sahoja is at its core a social media platform but goes beyond simply providing a forum for conversation. It offers ethical products, healthy advice and the ability to directly benefit worthy causes.
“The meaning of Sahoja is ‘stronger together,’” explained Rai, a Sahoja co-founder. “All the aspects of our platform, or more precisely, platforms, combine to improve the world around us in many ways.”
Types of Exercises You Can Do When Going Through Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a type of medical precise health care that involves kinesiology, exercise recommendations, health education, mobilization, electrical, and physical agents to treat and reduce chronic pain caused by an injury initiated by accidents, trauma, or illnesses. If you have been experiencing pain and have loads of questions you need to ask, this is the perfect opportunity for you to visit an orthopedic clinic.
The most suitable remedy that your physiotherapist would recommend are exercises to aggravate the pain. PT exercise is part of your therapist's strategy to help regain your body's change and promote normal growth of muscles and tissues. If you have pain and abnormal functional mobility, your therapist may describe the following exercises.
Flexibility Exercises
Every patient who visits an orthopedic center has different forms of pain. Thus, every physiotherapy needs to consult with their patients and find out the exact cause of pain. They are keeping in mind that every condition has a different treatment and exercises.
Flexibility exercises aim to improve endurance, strength, and balance. Also, it stretches the muscles. The primary purpose of flexibility exercises is for one's body to stay pliable. It eliminates discomfort even when you are in a stationary place for a duration of time, like at your office place. Examples of flexibility exercises include body yoga, pilates, forward bend, stretches, cross-over, seat side straddle, among many others.
Range of Motion Exercises
Range of motion exercises involve activities that focus on improving movement with a particular joint. Therefore, ROM is the ability of the joints to move flexibly. A joint can move either 180 or 360 degrees.
The goniometer and inclinometer usually determine the amount of motion in the joints. The exercises recommended by your therapist may either be active, passive, or both. It helps to relax the muscles and lose tension. Operational activities involve the injured performing it, while passive exercises require a therapist to do it on behalf of the patient.
Functional Mobility Exercises
The exercises tend to improve the stability and mobility of the joints. The functionality helps us perform our daily activities; otherwise, we would remain useless in completing tasks or running errands. Ways to improve the whole body's function are to access it from the ground up through exercises to prevent injuries. Examples of these exercises are:
Foot stability-stationary runner
Ankle mobility standing plantar/dorsiflexion
Knee stability- lunge matrix
Lumbar spine stability
These are just examples, but there are many more others that your therapist might assist you in identifying with them.
Cardio-Respiratory Exercise
Most people believe that cardiovascular patients are not supposed to get involved in any exercise. These are all myths. Talk to any cardiologists, and they always encourage their patients to exercise. However, it is good to know and understand your cardiorespiratory endurance.Cardiorespiratory endurance is the level at which your heart, lungs, and muscles work collectively. Running and jumping exercises help your heart and lungs take in oxygen. Try also side to side hops and burpees.
Physical therapy exercises are good, but your therapist should include other forms of alternatives like electrical and physical agents, mobilization, among other treatments. Get direct access to a physical therapist and achieve your rehabilitation goals. Don't let that pain get in the way of your happy, healthy life.
TWO SPECIAL RELEASES SHIPPING ACROSS NEW YORK STATE, EAST COAST AND SELECT MARKETS NATIONALLY: Launches will be at its Tasting Room, 518 Craft, in Troy, NY throughout the holidays
Troy, NY -- Tuesday, November 24, 2020 --Shmaltz Brewing Company officially turns 24 this Hanukkah season as the largest, the smallest, the most award winning, and astonishingly still the only Jewish celebration beer company in the country. And what a time for Anniversaries as the roller coaster of a year just keeps rolling. With so much uncertainty still looming for 2020 and beyond, couldn't we all use some tasty and delightful craft beer comfort?! A long way from the first 100 cases brewed in 1996 and delivered in a Grandmother's Volvo - Hanukkah Beer is all new for 2020! 8 malts, 8 hops, 8% abv of course - Shmaltz cooked up bright shiny gift of its new Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale brewed with 600 pounds per batch of real purees of Raspberry & Cherry with a generous slathering of pure vanilla. A glorious tribute to the beloved Sufganiyot, dating back to the 1500s, the official chosen beer of this holiday season will be available in 12oz Can 4-Packs and limited draft through their East Coast wholesalers and through Brew Pipeline nationally: -Shmaltz Direct: Gasko Meyer - Upstate New York, SKI Beer - NYC, Long Island and Westchester, Horizon - Massachusetts, Black River Traders - New Jersey, Shangy's - Philadelphia PA, Savatt - Pittsburgh PA, DOPS - Maryland/D.C./Delaware , Freedom Beverage - North Carolina, Aleph - South Carolina, Cavalier - Florida, Full Clip - Texas, Johnson Brothers - Iowa, Kysela - VA, WV -Brew Pipeline: Guardian (So Cal), Mussetter (Nor Cal), Orcas (WA), Quail (AZ and NE), Beverage Distributors (OH). Regional retailers confirmed to carrying Hanukkah Beer this year include Total Wine, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, ABC and Publix in FL plus 100s of high-end independent craft beer specialty stores across the country. Check shmaltzbrewing.com or info@shmaltzbrewing for local availability. For this very special release, celebrations kickoff all week long including a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Wednesday 11/25 at its Tasting Room (518 Craft, 200 Broadway, Troy, NY) now featuring local artisanal chocolate hero, Primo Botanica and new 3rd wave custom espresso roaster, Alias Coffee. Plus Thanksgiving morning for the virtual Turkey Troy with Collar City Runners, Small Business Saturday with local Troy food and craft markers, Small Brewery Sunday (Brewers Association) and Cyber Monday with new gift pack offerings, delectable flavor collaborations, and the annual favorite, the "Build Your Own Beer Menorah" promo. Details at Facebook.com/ShmaltzBrewing. Shmaltz will also be launching Hanukkah 2020 along with its newest art installation at their Tasting Room in Downtown Troy: Negative is Positive: Hindsight is 2020, a curated art show by photographer Thom Williams of Troy Arts Center with over a dozen regional and local artists exploring personal, political, and aesthetic themes of the current moment. The local launch began with WEQX and Capitol Craft Beverage Trail Virtual Makers Happy Hour and will also include a Holiday Doughnut Festival featuring renown Cider Belly, Cosmic Donuts, and more for the Hanukkah holiday, this year from Thursday, Dec 10 to Friday Dec 18. More details for local and regional delights will be posted on Facebook and Instagram. PREVIEW ALERT! Coming in December and launching into the New Year: SHE'BREW: #RBG IPA4-packs of 16oz cans and draft, this soon to be #Notorious IPA will be launching in New York State at both breweries in December and around the region and the country over the coming week. Details to follow! From the label for the coming #RBG Tribute: For our fourth She'brew Release, when Lauri from Moustache Brewing mentioned that #RBG was her Beacon of Empowerment - the verdict was IN! The perfect inspiration for our next Shmaltz tribute collaboration. The launch was set for Int'l Women's Collab Brew Day in March 2020 -- and then the disastrous case of our current Global Pandemic stormed into reality. But RBG was also a once in a lifetime kind of event -- a truly epic hero who changed our country and our consciousness for the better through her work and by her example. Intelligence and emotion, collaborative in spirit yet ferocious in her commitment to progress, the most serious positions from the highest responsibilities exhibited with constant charm and wicked wit. This year is clearly different from all other years -- and we brewed this sincere offering to give huge thanks to a guardian and a champion in the way we know best -- by upholding the bar for #Notorious IPAs equally balanced for a commemoration of life and just causes everywhere - L'Chaim! -Jeremy and Lauriand the extended Shmaltz/Moustache posseA portion of the profits from She’brew’s #RBG IPA will go to the ACLU Women's Rights Project and the Pink Boots Society. Judges L to R: Laura Kavanaugh (Shmaltz Den Mother), Megan Kanan (518 Fam - spranklemarketing.com), Teresa Casey (CCBT, Mackin & Casey), Alex Haraburda (Shmaltz Sales Rep), Deanna Fox (Food Journalist), Shikole Struber (518 Fam), Mariah Fannan (MFR Sales), Jeremy Cowan (Shmaltz Founder/Owner), Kimberly Stoehr (Moustache Sales Rep), Lauri Spitz (Moustache Co-Founder), Vinessa Monaco (Head Unicorn Wrangler), Erin Grace (CCBT, Mackin & Casey), Matthew Spitz (Moustache Co-Founder), Elise Deming (Cap. Lawrence), Kirsten Brenner (518 Fam), Tracy Kennedy (Collar City Runners), Matt Polacheck (Shmaltz Art Director) About Shmaltz Brewing CompanyFounder and owner Jeremy Cowan established Shmaltz Brewing in San Francisco in 1996. The first 100 cases of He'brew Beer® were hand-bottled and delivered throughout the Bay Area from the back of his Grandmother's Volvo. Shmaltz Brewing now sells across 25 states, through 40 wholesalers and in nearly 5,000 retailers. RateBeer.com ranked Shmaltz as one of the "Top 100 Brewers in the World" in 2013, and the brewery recently brought home 1 platinum, 10 gold and 6 silver medals from the World Beer Championships. In the past several years, Shmaltz Brewing introduced its line of upstate New York focused farm beers under the 518/838 Craft brand name and acquired and rebranded the Alphabet City Brewing beers. In July 2018, Shmaltz opened 518 Craft, a new bar and tasting room in downtown Troy, NY. Shmaltz beers are available at 518 Craft as well as throughout Upstate New York, the East Coast and in select markets nationally at the best craft beer bars and retailers.
Healthcare Workers and Trauma: Why COVID-19 Is the “Perfect Storm”
Healthcare workers are a gritty and resilient lot. But in the face of COVID-19, many are now struggling with PTSD. Mark Goulston, MD, and Diana Hendel, PharmD, explain why—and explore some of the “storm factors” that have come together in such a devastating way.
Nashville, TN (November 2020)—Healthcare professionals are no strangers to stress. They must regularly field huge challenges, rapid changes, and the unpredictability that comes with caring for human beings—and many thrive in this demanding environment. But COVID-19 is a new ball game. The deadly virus, currently in full surge mode, has healthcare workers struggling like never before—and many are showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Psychiatrist Mark Goulston is not surprised. He says for almost a year now, workers have battled a “perfect storm” of factors that have overwhelmed them to an unprecedented degree.
“Fear, grief, and exhaustion are only part of it,” says Dr. Goulston, coauthor along with Diana Hendel, PharmD, 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). “COVID-19 has unfolded amid a backdrop of devastating political and cultural reactions as well as other factors that have coalesced in a way that’s deeply traumatizing.”
History has shown us that frontline workers may suffer from post-traumatic stress following a deadly outbreak. It happened following the SARS and Ebola epidemics, and early research shows it is happening with COVID-19 as well. Why Cope When You Can Heal? takes an empathetic, informed approach that helps people navigate traumatic stress and PTSD, process their experiences, and heal from the inside out.
“Traumatic stress is different from routine stress,” notes Dr. Hendel. “Stress is temporary. We can build the resilience to endure it. But trauma threatens our sense of safety and changes how we see the world. It can create long-lasting harm—and it must be approached in a different way from stress.”
The first step is understanding why this pandemic and the conditions surrounding it have proven to be so devastating. Drs. Goulston and Hendel list some of the factors that add up to a perfect storm for trauma and PTSD:
STORM FACTOR 1:It all happened so quickly. Reports of a pneumonia-like virus in Wuhan, China, began circulating in December 2019. The virus spread across the globe like wildfire, and by March 26, the U.S. had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, with at least 81,321 infections and over 1,000 deaths.1 This was just the beginning of the surge in the U.S. A massive nationwide effort to “flatten the curve” went into effect. Nonessential businesses closed, and office workers set up shop at home. Education went online. Churches closed. Every aspect of normal life changed drastically…and it happened shockingly fast.
STORM FACTOR 2:Healthcare workers have faced (and continue to brace for) wartime conditions.Many have seen and done things that have scarred them for life. At the beginning, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers braced for a massive influx of sick patients. Hospital leaders launched government-recommended, stringent infection control protocols as they went into “surge” mode, setting up triage tents and dedicating floors and wings for coronavirus patients. And they prepared for the grim likelihood that a shortage of beds and ICU equipment would force them to make impossible life-and-death decisions. Surge mode continues in current hot spots today, and healthcare workers everywhere are either bracing for either a resurgence or anticipating that they will become the next hot spot.
STORM FACTOR 3:Workday realities are harsh and upsetting. Healthcare workers experience intense, overwhelming, and unforgettable moments on the job. They face moral injury when having to make impossible life-or-death decisions. They grieve for patients who die alone with no soothing human touch, and comfort family members who must say goodbye via video screen (if at all). Plus, many healthcare workers must isolate from families, or if they must continue living at home, they must go to extreme measures to stop the spread of the virus and constantly worry that exposure could happen at any moment.
STORM FACTOR 4: Their own lives are at risk. While healthcare workers have been busy caring for their patients, they have been getting infected themselves. As of June 2020, nearly 600 healthcare workers had died.2 By September 2020, the latest report by one of the largest nurses unions, National Nurses United (NNU), has that number at more than 1,700.3
STORM FACTOR 5: They are running on fumes. Healthcare professionals work long shifts that they compare to living nightmares. They post photos of their exhausted faces marked by red and purple bruises caused by their PPE. Many have been working 24-hour shifts so they can make fewer trips home and lower the risk of passing the virus on to family members and other citizens. But what’s more, they don’t have time to hit pause—the need for healthcare workers is too great—and the shortage of available healthcare workers continues to grow. This means they don’t have the time or ability to pause, reflect, and process the crisis that continues grinding away at them.
STORM FACTOR 6: They have received a distressing lack of national and united support. From supply-chain issues, to clear and concise guidelines, to messaging and instructions to the public, there has been a lack of a cohesive plan for the country. Unfortunately, healthcare leaders and workers must do their incredibly difficult jobs inside a healthcare system that is often disjointed and fragmented and part of a deeply divided nation wracked by strife. And in the early days of the pandemic, America’s lack of readiness equated to equipment shortages of virus tests, ventilators, and PPE.
STORM FACTOR 7: The just-get-over-it culture in America AND in healthcare make matters worse.America’s just-get-over-it culture has created a double whammy for healthcare providers in terms of trauma. Exhibit A: the big push to quickly reopen the country and the divisiveness that has only intensified over the course of 2020. As more and more businesses reopened (too soon, in the eyes of many experts), the virus surged in many places. As a result, healthcare workers have gotten little relief from their workload and its heavy psychological toll.
Meanwhile, healthcare has its own version of the just-get-over-it culture. In some settings, workers are expected to buck up, figure it out, get it done with the equipment they have, and move on to the next patient. Trying to navigate a pandemic in such a culture (where burnout is already rife) is pushing workers to the breaking point.
It’s clear health workers need help. And while there are no clear or easy solutions, providing healing tools and plenty of empathetic support can go a long way, says Dr. Goulston.
“It’s imperative that symptoms that arise in the face of this trauma are not ignored, downplayed, or dismissed and that the stigma of PTSD is not perpetuated because of lack of knowledge or unwillingness to learn,” he says.
“With good leadership in healthcare, PTSD can be treated and managed,” adds Dr. Hendel. “We owe it to healthcare professionals to give them the tools and support they need to heal from the trauma they have faced and continue to face every day. We owe it to the patients they serve. And we owe it to the future of the healthcare industry, our nation, and our world.”
About the Authors: Mark Goulston, MD, FAPA Dr. Mark Goulston is the coauthor of Why Cope When You Can Heal?: How Healthcare Heroes of COVID-19 Can Recover from PTSD (Harper Horizon, December 2020) and Trauma to Triumph: A Roadmap for Leading Through Disruption and Thriving on the Other Side (HarperCollins Leadership, Spring 2021). He is a board-certified psychiatrist, fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, former assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA NPI, and a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer. He is the creator of Theory Y Executive Coaching—which he provides to CEOs, presidents, founders, and entrepreneurs—and is a TEDx and international keynote speaker.
He is the creator and developer of Surgical Empathy, a process to help people recover and heal from PTSD, prevent suicide in teenagers and young adults, and help organizations overcome implicit bias.
Dr. Goulston is the author or principal author of seven prior books, including PTSD for Dummies, Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior, Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, Real Influence: Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In, and Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life. He hosts the My Wakeup Call podcast, where he speaks with influencers about their purpose in life and the wakeup calls that led them there. He also is the co-creator and moderator of the multi-honored documentary Stay Alive: An Intimate Conversation About Suicide Prevention.
He appears frequently as a human psychology and behavior subject-area expert across all media, including news outlets ABC, NBC, CBS, and BBC News, as well as CNN, Today, Oprah, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune,Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Westwood One. He was also featured in the PBS special “Just Listen.”
Diana Hendel, PharmD Dr. Diana Hendel is the coauthor of Why Cope When You Can Heal?: How Healthcare Heroes of COVID-19 Can Recover from PTSD (Harper Horizon, December 2020) and Trauma to Triumph: A Roadmap for Leading Through Disruption and Thriving on the Other Side (HarperCollins Leadership, Spring 2021). She is an executive coach and leadership consultant, former hospital CEO, and author of Responsible: A Memoir, a riveting and deeply personal account of leading during and through the aftermath of a deadly workplace trauma.
As the CEO of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Hendel led one of the largest acute care, trauma, and teaching hospital complexes on the West Coast. She has served in leadership roles in numerous community organizations and professional associations, including chair of the California Children’s Hospital Association, executive committee member of the Hospital Association of Southern California, vice chair of the Southern California Leadership Council, chair of the Greater Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, board member of the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and leader-in-residence of the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University Long Beach.
She earned a BS in biological sciences from UC Irvine and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from UC San Francisco. She has spoken about healthcare and leadership at regional and national conferences and at TEDx SoCal on the topic of “Childhood Obesity: Small Steps, Big Change.”
About the Book: 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) will be available in bookstores nationwide and from major online booksellers.
Wonderfilm Announces Its Latest Feature, All In, Has Begun Filming in Boston
Against all odds, the students, faculty, staff and parents of one of the smallest private educational facilities in America band together to save their school. How they did it was nothing short of a miracle. LOS ANGELES/BOSTON (November 24, 2020) – Emmy Award winning producers, Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon’s Wonderfilm Media just completed the forth of eight weeks of principal photography on the highly anticipated documentary, All In: Miracle at St. Bernard’s. The feature-length documentary is based on the incredible true story of how St. Bernard’s, a small private Catholic high school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, found itself 100 years after its founding, facing a dramatic shut-down. The film follows the community as they pour their hearts and souls into saving their school from being permanently shuttered. A miracle ensues. A Real-Life David and Goliath StoryWith enrollment dwindling, by 2018 St. Bernard’s was the smallest school in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, with a total of 99 students. The Catholic Diocese of Worcester made the difficult decision to close the school. Led by the school’s principal, Linda Anderson, students, parents, faculty, alumni and the townspeople of Fitchburg hatched an idea to raise enough money to take the school independent and keep it open. They worked tirelessly to raise the daunting amounts needed. Unfortunately, like the school, the town was struggling, and fundraising proved extremely difficult. With quickly approaching deadlines, extreme pressure from the budget shortfalls, the Diocesan Superintendent of Schools informed all parties of the dire straits they were facing, and that short of a miracle, the school would cease to exist. Then the football team started winning. It All Came Down to Football Almost every eligible student at the school joined the football team. With an enrollment so small, that meant the St. Bernard’s football team had 26 boys. Miraculously, despite going up against schools often ten times as big as St. Bernard’s, the team, led by Coach Tom Bingham, was winning, and winning, and winning. And with each win, the media started reporting on this David beating Goliaths. “St. Bernard’s was going up against teams from the top schools in New England, with thousands of students, multi-million-dollar endowments, and players who were much larger physically – and winning,” said All In producer Jeff Bowler. The St. Bernard’s team went on to win the state Super Bowl played in Gillette Stadium. The 26 boys on the team, fighting for every inch of the field that their hero, New England Patriot Quarterback Tom Brady, called home on Sundays, won the State Championship, generating enough national publicity to raise the money needed to save the school, including a huge donation from a still anonymous donor. Shortly thereafter, with funds in hand, the school officially became independent, with the full support of the Diocese. In the first year following the miraculous football season, admissions are soaring, and an entire town’s spirits have been raised in celebration of saving their historic high school. “As a St. Bernard’s alum and filmmaker, I was tapped by the school to help tell this truly remarkable story to the world,” said Bowler. “This feel-good, underdog tale is about so much more than football. The story is about a community that rallied together to create their own miracle. Faced with the closing of their beloved high school, students and faculty members stepped up to the plate to save their school, with unwavering perseverance.” All In: Miracle at St. Bernard’s is being produced by Wonderfilm’s Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon. The Emmy Award-winning duo have enjoyed success in feature documentaries, including the 2017 documentary, UNCHAINED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS, narrated by Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, which won the Emmy for Best Documentary, in the sports category, as well as the 2009 feature-doc, DIRTY OIL aka DOWNSTREAM, directed by Leslie Iwerks, which was short-listed for an Oscar. All In is being directed by Gregg Backer (Producer/Director HBO Sports, Real Sports). Other producers include Foglight Entertainment’s Gregg Backer and Evan Kanew with Nathan Bilotta serving as Executive Producer. All In: Miracle at St. Bernard’s is currently shooting in Fitchburg, Boston and Los Angeles. Wonderfilm Media recently wrapped supernatural horror LULLABY directed by John Leonetti (Anabelle), with Alcon, in Toronto. Cast and crew adhered to all COVID-19 production guidelines and there were no cases of the virus on set. The film is set for a major release next October. Wonderfilm latest release, Dead Reckoning with K.J. Apa and India Eisley, just premiered November 13. Upcoming Wonderfilm Media projects include the biopic on Tampa Bay Rays breakout star, Randy Arozarena. The outfielder escaped Cuba on a makeshift boat in 2015, started a new life in Mexico before making his way to the U.S and has become the most talked-about MLB player in baseball. Wonderfilm is also developing the highly coveted Steve McQueen biopic as a limited series based on Marshall Terrill’s book, “A Tribute To The King of Cool”. About Wonderfilm MediaWonderfilm is a leading entertainment company with offices in Hollywood, Boston and London. Wonderfilm focuses on the production of high-quality feature films and episodic television that offer international appeal through the Company’s commitment to elevated storytelling. Wonderfilm has seen twelve of its features released over the past twelve months, including the Nic Cage thriller Primal and the Guy Pearce vehicle Disturbing the Peace. Wonderfilm was founded by Jeff Bowler, Bret Saxon, and John Lewis.
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