The waiting room at Bonnie Doon Medical Clinic is standing room only this windy April morning. But the crowd gathered in this comfortable neighbourhood clinic isn’t here to renew prescriptions or have their blood pressure checked. They will be seeing the doctor, but in a totally new way. They’re here for Walking on Wednesdays (WOW),…
Sharon came to the Happiness Basics following success in other Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network programs. She had just been to an exercise workshop, and was looking into more classes, when Happiness Basics was mentioned. Happiness Basics was new at the time, as a program to teach individuals what happy people do differently, and she…
Nutrition Month is here and dietitians are celebrating! This year, one area of focus is to unlock the potential of food. We want to help Canadians discover how food can bring us together. No matter who we are, we all have one thing in common: We love food – it unites us! But when is…
Growing up, bowel movements were not a taboo topic in my home. With five kids close in age, our dinner conversations unsurprisingly led to the most inappropriate topics. Still, we must have developed filters over time, as I hesitated recently before texting my mom, “Have you and Dad had a poop test lately?” The Canadian…
By Stephanie SchlaakExercise Specialist With February being National Heart Month, there is no better time to talk about how to keep your heart healthy and strong. This is important because taking care of your heart can help prevent heart disease, a condition where the heart is not working well. Heart disease affects 2.4 million Canadian…
By Amy RawlinsonRegistered Respiratory Therapist and Certified Respiratory Educator The National Non-Smoking Week is the perfect time to consider your next steps in becoming tobacco free. However, with so much information and products available, the quit process can be overwhelming. A good place to start is using a Practice Quit to help develop a long…
By Brittany Faux Clinical Improvement Facilitator Does it seem as if the receptionists at your doctor’s office are constantly asking for your details? The next time they ask, remember to thank them for doing a great job! Confirming patient information is one of the most fundamental steps a clinic can take to improve care. Did you…
by Kirsten Goddard, RRT, CRE, CTERespiratory/Tobacco Educator As a respiratory therapist at Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network, I often get asked to provide help regarding Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). CPAP is a treatment for a sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). The questions asked are not usually around the disorder itself but about the…
by Rhonda PhilipenkoHealthy Aging Nurse “Home” brings the hope of being taken care of. Your “medical home” offers the same hope. The people in your medical home are your family doctor, as well as the other healthcare workers in the clinic. The other healthcare workers may include a nurse, dietitian, social worker, respiratory therapist, or…
by Brittany FauxHealthy Aging Social Worker In World War 2, my grandfather, David, served as a navigator for the Royal Canadian Air Force. In this role, he instructed the pilots where to fly their planes and which targets to strike. While he interpreted the maps, the pilots were able to direct all of their focus…