LuminUltra Will Supply 500,000 COVID-19 Tests per Week to Canadian Government
FREDERICTON, April 15, 2020 /CNW/ - Canadian biotechnology leader LuminUltra today announced that it will provide 500,000 urgently needed COVID-19 tests per week to the Canadian federal government for use across Canada.
In his press conference earlier today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that New Brunswick-based LuminUltra is ramping up its production capacity to provide tests for the provinces and territories.
"We responded immediately to the Prime Minister's call to action to join in the fight against this virus by refocusing our team to develop the tests needed for COVID-19," said LuminUltra Chairman and CEO Pat Whalen. "By producing and delivering 500,000 tests per week that leverage the existing testing infrastructure, we are essentially providing one test for every Canadian as a crucial step towards defeating the pandemic, protecting Canadians and alleviating the human cost of this disease."
Recognized internationally as a leader in rapid-results biological testing, LuminUltra has the specialized tools and talent needed to produce the tests quickly, accurately and in large quantities. The company is well positioned from both a manufacturing and financial perspective to ramp up production to meet this growing demand. Shipment of these tests has already begun, and the pace will continue for the year ahead.
Added Whalen: "Our team at LuminUltra is very proud to be able to help Canadians during this incredibly difficult time for our country. Given our expertise in biological testing for environmental applications it is a natural extension for us to develop a test for COVID-19. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside the team at the Public Health Agency of Canada over the past few weeks, whose tireless work in protecting our country has been an inspiration."
About LuminUltra LuminUltra is a Canadian biotech company with more than 20 years' experience in developing and delivering rapid-results biological testing primarily used to test environmental applications such as water. The company has dozens of Fortune 500 customers, sales in over 80 countries and operations in six countries.
At the same time, LuminUltra fosters a culture of innovation and agility and is on an accelerated growth path, acquiring multiple companies in recent years and forming a partnership with the specialized private equity firm XPV Water Partners. It is this innovation, agility and partnership which positioned the company to respond to Prime Minister Trudeau's call to action to join in the fight against COVID-19.
SOURCE LuminUltra
Industry Leaders Bring Telehealth to Wound Care at No Cost During Coronavirus Pandemic
Swift Medical, SE Health, AlayaCare, Woundpedia, the University Health Network's Michener Institute, the Mayer Institute and many others are teaming up to connect patients with wound doctors, nurses, and experts - bringing immediate telehealth relief to thousands of Canadians.
TORONTO, April 15, 2020 /CNW/ - According to Wounds Canada, 30-50% of all health care in Canada involves a wound. With the ongoing spread of COVID-19, thousands of Canadians with chronic wounds are struggling to access the critical wound care they need while in isolation.
With facility lockdowns, community self-isolation and other safety measures in place across many senior care organizations, wound care providers are increasingly unable to visit their patients in-person. Finding new ways to continue delivering wound care is essential – without timely access to care, untreated wounds can quickly lead to infection, hospitalization, amputation and death.
To address this challenge, forward-thinking leaders have come together to form the Telewound Coalition: a trusted, best-practice collective of clinical experts, healthcare providers and technology innovators working together to provide access to immediate, remote wound care throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The Coalition's objectives are to ensure accessibility and continuity of wound care, to preserve the health and safety of our most vulnerable patients and care providers, to prevent further spread of the virus, to decrease demand on personal protective equipment (PPE) and to alleviate hospital capacity pressures.
"We are only months into this pandemic and with no clear end in sight, the serious effects of delaying wound care need to be addressed in a strategic way," says Carlo Perez, Founder and CEO of Swift Medical. "The innovative solutions we create today will not only ensure continuous and compassionate care now, but will also permanently shape the future of care delivery."
The Coalition represents an industry-first, collaborative approach to better integrating our diverse wound care ecosystem in Canada. Each partner organization plays a vital role in supporting the patient's wound care journey and, together, through a unified and symbiotic strategy, the Coalition will make an immediate and lasting impact on the delivery of wound care across the country.
"SE Health is proud to be part of this trailblazing coalition," says Nancy Lefebre, Chief Clinical Executive at SE Health. "We need to empower patients in their own homes and communities. By expanding access to clinical care and virtual visits, we're helping to keep the most vulnerable patients healing and healthy at home."
"Moving to virtualize wound care is vital now more than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic," says Adrian Schauer, CEO of AlayaCare. "As the leading home and community care technology solution adopted across Canada, we can help home care providers across the country seamlessly access remote wound care expertise and provide the best care for their patients in isolation."
Through this unique collaboration, the Coalition can immediately connect thousands of Canadians and their care providers with wound care specialists from their home or residence. To power this connectivity, Swift Medical will provide the underlying technology, their new Telewound module, accessible to patients and their care providers at no cost. This will enable thousands of virtual visits a day, keeping patients healthy and in place, and out of already overwhelmed hospitals.
"It's very important to have an interprofessional, complex wound assessment team," says Dr. Gary Sibbald at Woundpedia. "20% of the wounds make up 80% of the cost. A wound management system that accurately tracks healing trajectories and connects providers with each other and their patients can improve patient care outcomes and save health care dollars."
Given the rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic, the Coalition will continue to expand its membership and amass additional expertise and capabilities. The Coalition's technology and clinical network are established and ready to provide virtual wound care in Canada, ensuring continuity of care for patients during this pandemic.
About the Telewound Coalition The Telewound Coalition is a North American network of wound care experts and innovators assembled to provide ongoing, remote wound management in Canada and the US. If your organization is interested in accessing the Coalition, as either a healthcare provider in need of telehealth wound care or an organization who can support the delivery of remote wound care, please visit: www.telewoundnow.org
SOURCE Swift Medical
Noted Ontario Divorce Lawyer Russell Alexander Shares Advice for Couples in Quarantine
Family law expert offers useful tips to help keep families together during the pandemic
LINDSAY, ONTARIO—Noted Ontario divorce lawyer Russell Alexander and his team at Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers share advice and resources for families struggling to get through their time at home together during the coronavirus pandemic.
“As an attorney working on divorce, I have seen families in some of the toughest situations they can face,” said Alexander. “But with Canadian families now in their second month of isolation, many more are now in similar circumstances.”
The Lindsay, Ontario law firm has put together advice for couples on keeping their relationship healthy and grounded in its lawyers’ own experiences working with couples seeking to separate.
Among other things, Alexander recommends giving your spouse some “alone time” each day to decompress, whether that’s reading in another room or, if space is limited, just listening to music on headphones or watching a movie on a laptop without interruption. At the same time, he says couples should set aside five to 10 minutes at the end of the day to set aside smartphones, turn off laptops and TVs and just talk face-to-face.
Alexander also advised couples to find their own hobbies, if they don’t already have one, to give them something to focus on and take time away from their daily routines of housekeeping, working and caring for children and/or relatives.
“The hardest part about the quarantine is the sense that you can’t get out,” Alexander said. “You need to give each other permission to be alone and respect that time so that you can reconnect later in the day.”
Additional resources for families by Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers can be found here:
Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers is committed to practicing exclusively in the area of family law in Ontario dealing with all aspects, including separation and divorce, child custody and access, spousal support, child support, and division of family property. A team of lawyers provide guidance from start to finish, helping clients identify and understand the legal issues as well as the options and opportunities available through the transition. The firm has offices in Lindsay, Whitby, Oshawa, Markham, Peterborough and Toronto, Ontario.
Infoway Accelerates Virtual Care Integration with PrescribeIT® Electronic Medical Record Vendors
TORONTO, April 14, 2020 /CNW/ - In response to feedback from physicians and pharmacists managing patient consultations virtually during COVID-19, Canada Health Infoway'sPrescribeIT® has initiated an EMR-Virtual Care Investment Program.
The Infoway EMR-Virtual Care Investment initiative will provide participating EMR vendors with financial support to rapidly integrate or scale existing virtual care technologies to meet the growing demand during the pandemic when Canadians are encouraged to observe physical distancing. The program is just one way Infoway is working with Health Canada and the jurisdictions to provide support during this time.
"This crisis has shown us that we need to get our health care system ready for any eventuality," noted Michael Green, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Health Infoway (Infoway). "In support of physicians, pharmacists, and other health professionals, truly enabling virtual care – from patient consultation to prescription – is the right thing for patients and our investment program will help make this a reality more quickly."
Benefits of EMRs offering integrated virtual care solutions:
A better patient experience with patients seeing their own doctor;
Increased patient safety with physicians having access to complete medical records;
An end-to-end solution from virtual patient consultation to electronic prescription;
Confidence that the solution ensures patient privacy and security of information; and
A better physician experience with a choice of one-stop solutions to provide patient care.
PrescribeIT® vendor partners and other EMR vendors who will be participating in this program serve more than half of physicians in Canada. These vendors include:
Canadian Health Systems is accelerating adoption of virtual care tools for clients across Canada, including those caring for underserved and vulnerable populations. www.chsinc.ca
Indivica is extending and accelerating the integration of its IndiviCare EMR solutions with secure telepresence and medical API gateways to enable practical virtual patient care and monitoring. www.indivica.ca
InputHealth is enhancing its existing virtual care toolset, launching a fully integrated patient-focused mobile app, as well as accelerating training to support adoption and effective use. Additionally, InputHealth has launched a virtual care enabled population health navigation tool to assist providers during COVID-19. www.inputhealth.com
MEDFAR Clinical Solutions is expanding its virtual care offering by integrating videoconferencing into its MYLE EMRsolution. www.medfarsolutions.com
Microquest Inc. is enabling EMR integrated, bi-directional patient-provider communications through a patient portal. www.microquest.ca
Omnimed, a bilingual EMR solution, is focusing on enhancing the effectiveness of standard care pathways by implementing electronic clinical tools to improve efficiency, such as one-click prescription technology. www.omnimed.com
P&P Data System, recognizing the unprecedented concerns health care providers are facing, is fast-tracking the integration of its EMR solutions with telemedicine capabilities to facilitate virtual care visits at no cost to Ontarians and enable social-distancing measures during COVID-19. www.p-pdata.com
TELUS Health has fast-tracked the development and deployment of a bilingual, integrated virtual care capability into five of its EMRs. This capability enables practitioners to schedule and conduct virtual visits from within their full-function EMRs, preserving their connectedness to patients and ensuring continuity of care. www.telus.com/en/health
WELL Health Technologies is automating the registration and deployment of its existing service with the goal to fully integrate and roll out nationally with OSCAR EMR or as a standalone solution. www.well.company
Offering an integrated virtual care solution that includes e-prescribing is a significant advantage for health care providers and patients. PrescribeIT®, a national e-prescribing service developed by Infoway, can reduce the need for in-person physician or nurse practitioner visits and enables vulnerable populations to limit their time outside thereby reducing their risk of infection.
For physicians and nurse practitioners offering virtual consultations with patients, prescriptions can be sent electronically from their EMR to the patient's pharmacy of choice and pharmacies can request prescription renewals from the patient's prescriber electronically. For pharmacists, PrescribeIT® enables them to receive prescriptions directly into the pharmacy management system and enables them to electronically request prescription renewals from the prescriber, which enables more time for patient care.
PrescribeIT® also offers the ability for physicians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists to send secure clinical communication to each other through the integrated messaging tool. This permits care professionals to quickly align on an appropriate course of action and provide the best medication approach for their patients.
ABOUT PRESCRIBEIT®
Canada Health Infoway is working with Health Canada, the provinces and territories, and industry stakeholders to develop, operate and maintain the national e-prescribing service known as PrescribeIT®. PrescribeIT® will serve all Canadians, pharmacies and prescribers and provide safer and more effective medication management by enabling prescribers to transmit a prescription electronically between a prescriber's electronic medical record (EMR) and the pharmacy management system (PMS) of a patient's pharmacy of choice. Learn more at www.prescribeit.ca.
ABOUT CANADA HEALTH INFOWAY
Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians. Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government. Learn more at www.infoway.ca.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Karen Schmidt Director, Corporate/Internal Communications Canada Health Infoway 416.595.3167 Email Us Follow @Infoway
The TurfMutt Foundation Urges Public Green Spaces Remain Open
Nature and its Calming Effects Should Be Available To All
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 14, 2020
Alexandria, Va.—With much of the country under stay-at-home orders, the TurfMutt Foundation, which directs the TurfMutt environmental education and stewardship program, urges public officials to allow people to get outdoors in public green spaces, such as parks, public gardens, school yards, golf courses and other community green spaces. For a decade, the TurfMutt Foundation has advocated the importance of managed landscapes and other green space as critical to human health and happiness, and which should be available to everyone.
“The ability to get outside, reconnect with nature and destress is even more critical today than ever before,” says Kris Kiser, President of the TurfMutt Foundation. “During this pandemic, your yard is safe green space, but if you don’t have one—and many people in cities don’t—parks and other public green spaces should be available so long as people act responsibly and follow all guidelines for physical distancing.”
Research has proven the criticality of green space for physical and mental health and well-being, and in fact, it is a lifeline for people in cities who do not have access to a home yard. Unfortunately, public parks and gardens have come under scrutiny and a stage for “social distancing shaming” and infringement crackdowns.
“People are compressed in the city, and at some point you have to give people an avenue to get outside, get some fresh air and respite from being indoors,” says Kiser. “It’s incumbent on people to be responsible, but not allowing them to go to the park will only exacerbate the stress families feel from being cooped up during stay-at-home orders. You can’t have people locked in forever.”
The pandemic also has shown a general lack of local green space, which is only exacerbated when parks, trails and public gardens are closed to the public. According to the Trust for Public Land, 100 million people (28 million children included) in the U.S. do not have a neighborhood park within a 10-minute walk from home.
Even small neighborhood green spaces, including plazas, triangles, and other open spaces could be helping during the pandemic “but only if shaming of people trying to get outside stops,” adds Kiser. “We should be urging physical distancing and responsible behavior, but by all means allow people to destress through the calming effects of trees, grass, shrubs and plants.”
Kiser is hopeful that the country will emerge from the pandemic with a “greater appreciation for our landscapes and see more people getting outdoors.”
He also adds when the country turns a corner on the pandemic “we need to address green space equity—or lack of it—with more access, funding and space. We hope that cities realize the importance of their green space, and officials reinvigorate our critical green infrastructure. Access to nature shouldn’t be just for certain people. It should be available to all, for the benefit of all. A stressed-out public doesn’t do anyone any good.”
About TurfMutt TurfMutt was created by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute’s (OPEI) TurfMutt Foundation and has reached more than 70 million children, educators and families since 2009. Through classroom materials developed with Scholastic, TurfMutt teaches students and teachers how to “save the planet, one yard at a time.” TurfMutt is an official USGBC® Education Partner and part of their global LEARNING LAB. TurfMutt is an education resource at the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Apple, the Center for Green Schools, the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, the National Energy Education Development (NEED) project, Climate Change Live, Petfinder and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2017, the TurfMutt animated video series won the coveted Cynopsis Kids Imagination Award for Best Interstitial Series. TurfMutt’s personal, home habitat is featured in the 2017-2019 Wildlife Habitat Council calendars. More information at www.TurfMutt.com.
McGill researchers launch program to help Canadians stay fit while social distancing
Initiative provides six-week web-based wellness program to complete while at home
MONTREAL, April 14, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - These are challenging times as the world adapts to life trying to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying at home and practicing social distancing is critical in order to help flatten the curve of the virus' spread. The downside with this strategy is too much sitting around, weight gain due to unhealthy eating, as well as feeling tired, stressed, and isolated from friends and family.
To help improve the resiliency of Canadians, the health professionals at the McGill Comprehensive Health Improvement Program (CHIP) have announced a free web-based health promotion program developed to safely improve your physical and mental health in only six weeks.
During the past two years, Drs. Steven Grover at McGill University has been one of the researchers working on an online health promotion to help Canadian families maintain their health. This internet-based health program may now be particularly relevant to support healthy lifestyle habits during the COVID 19 pandemic while daily movement is restricted for most Canadians.
Homebound Resiliency Mission
The Homebound Resiliency Mission has been shown to improve physical activity levels, improve healthy eating habits, help drop a few pounds, plus reduce stress and fatigue while connecting with others. All aspects of the program, including physical activity, can be practiced in the safety of one's home or outside while maintaining social distancing.
The program itself has been tested with the Canadian Armed Forces and is currently being offered to Canadian Veterans and their families via the MissionVAV website thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada. Participants learn how to exercise safely, use mindful techniques to eat healthier, and reduce their stress levels while they have fun tracking their progress with friends and family online. All these features are accessible on computer, tablet or smartphone.
Impressive Results to Date
Results from earlier Resiliency Missions have demonstrated significant improvements in daily physical activity (+30 per cent), reductions in stress levels (-20 per cent), and an average weight loss of ½ pound each week.
Given the health challenges facing homebound Canadians across the country right now, the McGill team is now offering the opportunity to participate in the program to up to 1,000 households, on a first come first served basis.
The program is free, secure, and private. Personal information, will be de-identified for research analyses and individual data will not be shared with any third party.
Registration for the Homebound Resiliency Mission will open on April 20 and the program will begin on April 27.
SOURCE McGill Comprehensive Health Improvement Program (CHIP)
Amgen Canada launches $1M giving program to support Canadians during COVID-19
MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 14, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, Amgen Canada Inc. (Amgen Canada) announced a range of initiatives to give donations, supplies and expertise to help Canadian communities fight the challenges presented by COVID-19. The impact of this program is valued at over $1 million.
Amgen Canada is providing support at a variety of levels. Highly skilled staff, including healthcare professionals, are encouraged to volunteer to support local communities in need through the COVID-19 Amgen Canada Volunteering Program. Staff can volunteer to act as surge support and in communities which are experiencing considerable strains.
Amgen Canada is also supporting governments, health authorities, hospitals, and healthcare professionals by sending essential supplies to the front lines. Most recently, Amgen Canada has made a substantial contribution to the industry-wide effort, led by Innovative Medicines Canada, to urgently supply 100,000 N95 masks to communities across the country. Amgen Canada has also made a considerable donation to the CanadaHelps COVID-19 HealthCare and Hospital Fund, which will be used to support charities and hospital foundations providing medical response efforts, lifesaving aid and critical equipment
CanadaHelps COVID-19 Community Care Fund has also received a significant donation from Amgen Canada, which will help to provide relief and support to vulnerable people, including seniors, children, and those who require special assistance.
"With these timely and generous donations, CanadaHelps will not only be able to offer increased support to Canadian charities to provide life-saving aid and critical equipment in response to COVID-19, but also provide emergency aid to people in our communities who face difficulties coping with the disruption and economic fallout from the pandemic," said Marina Glogovac, President and CEO, CanadaHelps.
As well as providing considerable support to local communities, Amgen Canada is ensuring its patients receive the support they need during this time. Amgen will provide its medicines free of charge to Canadian patients who are currently prescribed an Amgen medication and no longer have prescription drug coverage due to loss of employment related to COVID-19. The company will also provide support to patient associations for COVID-19 related programs and to those organizations that have experienced hardship during the pandemic, allowing them to continue their important work.
As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting science education, Amgen remains focused on providing science learning opportunities during this time. Not only does the Amgen Foundation support the Khan Academy and LabXchange, which provide digital science learning, Amgen Canada has also set aside funds specifically to support its science education partners to finance COVID-19 related needs either for special programs or as a result of hardship experienced during the pandemic.
Lastly, Amgen Canada is encouraging employees to make charitable donations to COVID-19 relief efforts. The Amgen Foundation Disaster Relief Matching Gifts Program will match staff contributions to COVID-19 charitable funds across the globe, dollar-for-dollar, doubling the impact of the company's giving worldwide.
"It is critical that everyone contributes to helping local communities in Canada fight the pandemic," says Brian Heath, vice-president & general manager, Amgen Canada Inc., "We're proactively seeking out ways that we can use our skills and expertise to help Canadians in need during these challenging times. As a company, we're committed to helping our colleagues in government, healthcare and medical science in any way that we can."
Amgen Canada's commitment is part of the company's global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 23, Amgen and the Amgen Foundation announced an initial commitment of up to $12.5 million (USD) to support U.S. and global relief efforts to address critical needs in communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be used to support emergency response efforts, patient-focused organizations that are mounting their own response efforts, and international relief efforts.
More information about Amgen Canada's COVID-19 community support For more information about Amgen Canada's COVID-19 community support program, including a short infographic about the giving, please visit amgen.ca.
About Amgen Canada As a leader in innovation, Amgen Canada understands the value of science. With main operations located in Mississauga, Ont.'s vibrant biomedical cluster, and its research facility in Burnaby, B.C., Amgen Canada has been an important contributor to advancements in science and innovation in Canada since 1991. The company contributes to the development of new therapies and new uses for existing medicines in partnership with many of Canada's leading health-care, academic, research, government and patient organizations. To learn more about Amgen Canada, visit www.amgen.ca.
About the Amgen Foundation The Amgen Foundation seeks to advance excellence in science education to inspire the next generation of innovators and invest in strengthening communities where Amgen staff members live and work. To date, the Foundation has donated over $325 million to local, regional, and international non-profit organizations that impact society in inspiring and innovative ways. The Amgen Foundation brings the excitement of discovery to the scientists of tomorrow through several signature programs, including Amgen Scholars and the Amgen Biotech Experience. For more information, visit AmgenInspires.com and follow us on Twitter @AmgenFoundation.
SOURCE Amgen Canada
Rensselaer Releases Guide to Living and Working Well While Social Distancing
Downloadable guide provides useful tips and recommendations from Rensselaer experts
TROY, N.Y. – To help people stay as happy, healthy, and productive as possible during the current pandemic, the Strategic Communications and External Relations team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has released “The Rensselaer Guide to Living and Working Well While Social Distancing.”
Many members of the Rensselaer community are actively engaged in developing effective interventions to combat COVID-19, and others are doing their part to fight the pandemic by staying safe and working at home. While this temporary working and living arrangement presents new and unexpected challenges, effective strategies for addressing them can be found within the expertise housed at Rensselaer.
The “Guide to Living and Working Well While Social Distancing” is a free, downloadable collection of useful tips from a range of Rensselaer experts on relevant topics including how to use lighting to manage anxiety and improve sleep, how to maintain focus while working from home, and how to eat well without making frequent trips to the grocery store.
“These are practical, research-based tools that can significantly enhance the experience of being stuck at home during this time,” said Richie Hunter, the vice president for strategic communications and external relations at Rensselaer. “It helps that the guide itself is easy to read, looks great, and is imbued with a sense of creativity and fun.”
For those looking to take a much-needed break, the guide offers a lengthy list of recommended board games and video games, including those made by Rensselaer alumni and faculty, courtesy of faculty from the highly ranked Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program at Rensselaer. It also includes suggestions for how to host a virtual café from the faculty who helped establish the interdisciplinary minor in well-being at Rensselaer.
The guide is just one example of how Rensselaer faculty, students, and staff have responded to COVID-19 in ways that benefit the larger community. Through a national consortium, the Institute has offered access to AiMOS, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, in support of research related to the new coronavirus disease. Rensselaer has also made available the expertise of world-class faculty in data, artificial intelligence, networking, therapeutic interventions, materials, public health, and other critical areas. The Institute has a particular focus on epidemiological data analytics, interventional therapeutics, and personal protection equipment.
About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America’s first technological research university. Rensselaer encompasses five schools, 32 research centers, more than 145 academic programs, and a dynamic community made up of more than 7,900 students and over 100,000 living alumni. Rensselaer faculty and alumni include more than 145 National Academy members, six members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six National Medal of Technology winners, five National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. With nearly 200 years of experience advancing scientific and technological knowledge, Rensselaer remains focused on addressing global challenges with a spirit of ingenuity and collaboration. To learn more, please visit www.rpi.edu.
ICHA and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières announce collaboration to assist people experiencing homelessness at Toronto's 1st COVID-19 Recovery site
TORONTO, April 13, 2020 /CNW/ - Inner City Health Associates (ICHA), Canada's largest healthcare organization specializing in the care of people experiencing homelessness, welcomes Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada to support their COVID-19 pandemic response at Toronto's first COVID-19 recovery site for people experiencing homelessness.
MSF brings to ICHA's comprehensive, provincially funded plan its extensive global experience leading responses to major infectious disease outbreaks, as well as a steadfast commitment to humanitarian principles. ICHA is the clinical services lead for caring for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 outbreak. With MSF's medical technical and logistical advice, ICHA will run the COVID Recovery site for people experiencing homelessness in Toronto.
The 400-bed COVID-19 Recovery Site, slated to open soon, is the product of strong collaboration across public health, community healthcare, social support, hospital and city agencies dedicated to caring for and treating people experiencing homelessness who have contracted COVID-19. It is a critical part of ICHA's comprehensive plan to ensure Toronto's homeless population receives the care it needs during the COVID-19 pandemic; ICHA has already launched its risk stratification work and is providing services at the COVID Protection site.
COVID-19 represents an unprecedented threat for people experiencing homelessness. Health and living conditions among the 8,000 people experiencing homelessness in Toronto makes them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, a virus likely to have a disproportionate and devastating impact on them.
ICHA Medical Director Dr. Andrew Bond thanked MSF for contributing its global expertise to the needs of Toronto's homeless residents. ICHA's relationship with MSF reflects a shared commitment to save lives, alleviate suffering, and help provide dignified shelter and medical care to persons experiencing homelessness.
"This aligned action reflects the severity of COVID-19, its profound impact on homelessness in Toronto, and the urgent need to mount a massive response beyond ICHA's current capacity," said Dr. Bond, adding the inadequacy of services to prevent and respond to COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness makes this initiative necessary. For ICHA, homelessness has always been both a health and a humanitarian concern. In that context, it is an honour to work with MSF," said Dr. Bond.
This is MSF's first operation in Canada. Countries with well-functioning healthcare systems are generally not its focus, but MSF's Executive Director Joseph Belliveau said the magnitude of the COVID-19 outbreak and its particular impact on vulnerable groups, such as people experiencing homelessness, creates an acute need that MSF's unique expertise can help meet.
"With our extensive experience responding to outbreaks, such as Ebola, cholera and diphtheria in conflict-affected low-resource areas, we see an opportunity to share our knowledge with first-responders here in Canada to prepare and assist a community that is highly exposed to the virus," he said.
ICHA's response plan includes identification and risk stratification strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and respectful care and treatment for COVID-19- affected people experiencing homelessness. It incorporates preventive and clinical nursing, medical care, case management and substance use services. These services are to be complemented by a strong community health, social service and harm reduction response from community partners. MSF will advise on infection prevention and control, patient flow, staff safety and other technical logistical aspects of setting up and running the COVID-19 Recovery site.
"We thank Minister Elliott for funding our COVID-19 response plan to protect and care for people experiencing homelessness in Toronto, who make up more than half of Ontario's homeless population," said Bond.
ICHA is a group of over 100 physicians and 50 nurses who provide transitional primary care, psychiatry, nursing, and palliative care services to people living on the street, in shelters and in precarious housing across Toronto. Its mission is a healthy end to homelessness.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was founded in 1971 and provides emergency medical humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or who do not have access to medical care. MSF is an independent, self-governed, non-profit organization and currently has medical programmes in more than 70 countries worldwide.
SOURCE Inner City Health Associates
Rice researchers: Help us understand COVID's impact Participants sought for online surveys CovidSense.org and COVID-19 Registry
HOUSTON – (April 13, 2020) – Two groups of Rice University researchers are asking for the public's help to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing policies are impacting people's lives, livelihoods and mental wellbeing.
They've launched complimentary online surveys — CovidSense.org and the COVID-19 Registry — that can be completed by smartphone in a matter of minutes. The surveys are designed to collectively provide a detailed picture of COVID-19's impact on society. The aim is to gather data directly from people about how they and people in their households are being affected.
"For millions affected globally by COVID-19 — patients, caregivers, healthcare workers and everyone else stuck at home — mental well-being is now under threat," said CovidSense Co-Principal Investigator Ashok Veeraraghavan, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. "We are asking people anywhere in the world to participate in this citizen science study to help us understand how COVID-19 is impacting lives. No app download is needed and no private info will be shared."
CovidSense.org is taking a global approach, can completed from anywhere in the world and already has participants from more than 10 countries. The survey is multi-faceted, with specialized questions for healthcare professionals, COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 caregivers and anyone who's stuck at home. It's also longitudinal, with follow-up questions every few days exploring how the impacts of social distancing and stay-at-home orders change over time. Participants can enroll and read more about the study at CovidSense.org. Researchers also said they will periodically share insights from the data on the website.
The COVID-19 Registry is built upon the Texas Flood Registry, a platform established in 2018 to measure the long-term health and housing impacts of Hurricane Harvey. Some 20,000 people have provided information to that registry, which was expanded in 2019 to include the impacts of Tropical Storm Imelda.
For the COVID-19 Registry, researchers hope to sign up new participants and gather information from those already in the Texas Flood Registry. The COVID-19 Registry will provide real-time information to help health departments in the Greater Houston region track the spread of the virus, and its economic and health impacts. The data will also help officials better understand the public's response to COVID-19 policies and which sources of information are most effective for communicating those policies.
Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
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