Podcast appearances and mentions of Alberta Health Services

Palliative care in multiple sclerosis spans the disease course, from early screening and support after diagnosis to symptom management and quality‑of‑life optimization in midstage disease, and end‑of‑life care in advanced MS. This episode outlines a staged approach to palliative care, highlights the roles of neurology and primary care teams, and discusses tools such as patient‑reported outcomes and symptom scales to support ongoing assessment of patients and care partners. In this episode, Katie Grouse, MD, FAAN, speaks with Penelope Smyth, MD, FRCPC and Janis M. Miyasaki, MD, MEd, FRCPC, coauthors of the article "Palliative Care in Multiple Sclerosis" in the Continuum® April 2026 Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders issue. Dr. Grouse is a Continuum® Audio interviewer and a clinical assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco in San Francisco, California. Dr. Smyth is the director of the Division of Neurology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Dr. Miyasaki is a professor in the Division of Neurology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta and the zone clinical department head for Clinical Neurosciences at Alberta Health Services in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Additional Resources Read the article: Palliative Care in Multiple Sclerosis Subscribe to Continuum®: shop.lww.com/Continuum Earn CME (available only to AAN members): continpub.com/AudioCME Continuum® Aloud (verbatim audio-book style recordings of articles available only to Continuum® subscribers): continpub.com/Aloud More about the American Academy of Neurology: aan.com Social Media facebook.com/continuumcme @ContinuumAAN Full episode transcript available here Dr Grouse: With the new treatments for MS, people might be saying palliative care is not relevant at all. It's about giving up hope and hopelessness. But this article covers why palliative care is important for your patients and families throughout their illness trajectory. Dr Jones: This is Dr Lyell Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Continuum. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio. Be sure to visit the links in the episode notes for information about earning CME, subscribing to the journal, and exclusive access to interviews not featured on the podcast.  Dr Grouse: This is Dr. Katie Grouse. Today, I'm interviewing Drs Penelope Smyth and Janis Miyasaki about their article on palliative care in multiple sclerosis, which appears in the April 2026 Continuum issue on multiple sclerosis. Welcome to the podcast, and please introduce yourselves to our audience.  Dr Smyth: Thank you, Katie. I'm Penny Smyth. I am a neurologist at the University of Alberta, a professor in neurology, and a clinical multiple sclerosis specialist.  Dr Miyasaki: Hi, Katie. Thanks for having us. I'm Janis Miyasaki. I am a movement disorder neurologist primarily who also provides neuropalliative care at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.  Dr Grouse: It's so great having you today to talk with us about your article. I thought this article was really a wonderful take on the topic. I learned a lot, and I'm really hoping all of our listeners will take advantage of this article and take advantage of all the learning they can get from reading about this topic. So, I wanted to start with a more general question, which is, what is the key message from this article that you're hoping your readers will take away?  Dr Smyth: In terms of key takeaways, I think it's our hope that neurologists will come away from reading this article with, really, an expanded understanding of what palliative care is and how that might be applicable to them in their care for their patients with MS along a continuum of treating people with MS, that there can be components of palliative care and strategies that can be integrated early after diagnosis in, really, anywhere along the continuum of caring for people with MS. We've called that kind of mid-stage. And then there are particular needs for people with MS and their care partners in late-stage or severe MS and end of life that might require different palliative care strategies. I think we kind of have maybe a bit of a bias sometimes in thinking of palliative care as more directed towards those that are near end-of-life. But in fact, it's a much expanded concept.  Dr Miyasaki: And I'll just add that we also discuss a palliative approach, that palliative care skills and philosophies can be used by generalists---in this case, neurologists who are providing care to people with MS---and that adopting certain skills and communication techniques can help us better address our patients' and their families' symptoms. And also to keep in mind that for most people with neurologic illness, the unit of care is not only the patient, but it's the patient and the family, however that family looks.  Dr Grouse: Now, Penny, I'm curious, how are early-stage and mid-stage multiple sclerosis palliative care strategies different from, say, a typical evaluation and counseling that a neurologist would give, say, an MS specialist or even a general neurologist?  Dr Smyth: Thank you, Katie. That's a great question, and something that actually I learned in writing this piece with Janice and from her as a neuropalliative care expert. I think in terms of early strategies around palliative care that can be helpful to the general neurologist in their office, palliative care is about holistic support for patients and their care providers spiritually, emotionally, physically. There are components of palliative care and symptom management and making sure that the patient is at the center of the care, as well as support for their care partners with their holistic approach of relief of suffering as well as offering hope. When I started this piece, I was thinking that many of us neurologists, I think, often informally utilize many of these components already when we're dealing with patients early on after diagnosis in terms of communication, counseling, and education; going through their fear of an uncertain future; spiritual well-being; and then connecting them with supports for adaptive coping strategies. And then as well in mid-stage, which is really around what we can do in symptom management and improving quality of life, with screening tools and patient-reported outcome measures. However, I have to say that there are many unmet needs for people with MS and their care partners that they identify that are clearly not being met by us neurologists in this day and age. So even though we may be incorporating some of these strategies, I don't think we're meeting the mark all the time and hitting the target, especially in our busy office practices, in various ways. Dr Grouse: Given that, at a high level, what are some important early-stage MS palliative care concepts that we should be keeping in mind when we are counseling patients in these stages of the disease? Dr Miyasaki: An important concept to keep in mind for neurologists dealing with early-stage MS patients is that for us, we feel successful that we have made a diagnosis. And yet for the patient, it is taking away that hope. Maybe it's not MS. Maybe I just have a numb hand and it's gonna go away. And for us to appreciate that while we make this diagnosis multiple times a week---or, for MS specialists multiple times a day---for this person, it is the first time, the first experience, and it shakes their entire foundation of who they are as a person, how they will perform all the tasks and roles that they have in society, in their professional lives, in their family structures, and in their close, intimate relationships. As physicians, we may be overwhelmed by acknowledging that. I feel that it's important for us to understand the needs that our patients have and to allow them to have their feelings. You know, feelings can feel messy and time-consuming, and yet when we fully see our patients, I feel that this is the best of medicine. And it certainly is, in terms of palliative care, the principle that we seek. We accept all of the patient, the joy and the sorrow, the anger and the frustration. We accept it all, and we try to determine what will serve this person who is suffering in front of us now.  Dr Smyth: There's another piece to this, which came up as Janice and I were writing together. We were talking about offering a prognosis to a patient as to how they would do, and this was something that I thought deeply about, because I said, we always communicate how uncertain the prognosis is and how we can't predict the future. And then she said to me, well, what about offering a roadmap to a person with MS soon after diagnosis as to how you're gonna determine how they do over the next couple of years? Which are really important years in terms of determining how patients are doing on their disease-modifying therapies, whether they're having progression or not, and things. It's a pivotal time. So, if you can offer a roadmap to a person with MS and say, look, this is when we will be following you up. This is how we will be following you with MRI and biomarkers if you have that available, and this is how we will determine how responsive you are and then how we move forward from there. Dr Grouse: Really important concepts. And the roadmap certainly makes a lot of sense to me and something that, apart from just being useful to the patient for so many reasons to help set expectations, you know, is useful for us to better partner with the patient so they understand this is sort of how we do things and everyone's sort of expectations are met. So, I think those sound like really great goals and things to keep in mind. Now, we talked about early-stage MS palliative care concepts. How does that change as you get into the mid-stage of the disease?  Dr Smyth: Yeah. So, this is reflecting the fact that the course of MS is so different and the experience of MS is so different person to person. And so, what do we do as neurologists when we follow these people long-term over years and decades of living with their MS as their needs evolve, as their symptoms evolve, and as their disability evolves? Well, really, this is about the time of getting into, what are the symptoms that they're struggling with, what are the causes of their suffering at various points? And then how do we identify that, maybe with use of patient-reported outcome measures, screening scales, things like that. And then how do we direct symptomatic management to the specific symptoms that are causing distress to the patient? As well as trying to improve their quality of life in various ways, treating their comorbidities, making sure to check on exercise, healthy living, and that kind of thing.  Dr Grouse: Now getting into, I think, topics that we're more used to thinking about when we think about palliative care: a lot of us, I think, are really unsure of the right time to discuss advanced care directives in the course of multiple sclerosis, and I think that's not helped by the fact that many of us are just, in general, not terribly comfortable talking about those types of things in general. What is your advice to questions like this?  Dr Smyth: And this is something that, again, Janice and I had to come together on, because there is no universal accepted time for when is the right time in multiple sclerosis to discuss advanced care directives and goals of care. And in fact, when they have looked at it in the literature, different things have come out. It has come out that neurologists can be uncomfortable discussing this. There's unique challenges to people with MS in that they have a diagnosis at a young age with an uncertain trajectory of how their course of disease is going to go. And many of these things lead care providers to be somewhat hesitant as to when is the right time, as well as, there were identified barriers within patients themselves as to when the right time might be to discuss. In that, you know, some of the coping strategies might be, as identified by some of the qualitative studies that have been done on this, around the fact that they would prefer to focus on the present rather than the future. In some studies expressed an ambivalence as to when they thought the right time might be, as well as some negative experiences that they might have had from providers trying to discuss these things in their previous experience. So, I went back to looking at the European guidelines for palliative care in MS, who suggested when a person might have severe MS---which they define as walking with bilateral aids for at least twenty meters or an EDSS of six or higher---or trigger-based, when there has been a change in the patient's status, when there's been a decline in some way or progression. Now, this is a little different, actually, than what we offer other people with neurologic diseases, and I don't know if that's the right answer. And this is where I'm going to turn it over to Janice, because I think we could learn something, as neurologists who treat people with MS, from our palliative care specialists.  Dr Miyasaki: I think of advanced care planning in a very different way. I think what a lot of the patients were expressing in the studies was that being asked about advanced care planning signaled to them in some way that they have reached this point in their illness where things aren't going so great and I anticipate that you may run into complications. Whereas in our movement disorder clinic, one of our fellows did a study looking at capacity for decision-making. And even in people who scored normally on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, they had impairments in some of the domains of decision-making. And so, our philosophy in movement disorders at least---and some of our patients are quite young who have multiple system atrophy, they could be in their forties---we take the philosophy that everyone over the age of decision-making capacity, which is generally eighteen, should have some goals of care established. And how I introduce it in my clinic is, you know, for the young resident, you want the full-meal deal, because the likelihood of the resident surviving the ICU admission is very high. And then when we look at me, who… I am older, the likelihood of surviving an ICU admission is considerably lower. And so, the appropriate goals of care might be that I am willing to go to the ICU, and if things go well, then they can continue. But if things are not going well, they can have a discussion with my personal directive or power of attorney to talk about what the goals of care should be. And then the other aspect is sometimes having the conversation with family is really important because most of our families in hospital express an uncertainty. Am I doing the right thing? And they want to do the right thing for their loved ones. And most people actually say, if you ask them, I don't want to burden my family with making decisions that are going to tear at their hearts. So, then we can't actually make good informed decisions for our loved ones unless we have clear conversations. I think it does speak to our superstitious beliefs that if we talk about death, it's going to happen. But I hope the listeners will take my word for it, it really doesn't. And someone had a really good saying about the advanced directive. They're kind of like evening clothes. You should take them out every once in a while and make sure they still fit. And so, when you normalize it in this way, it helps people to just say, oh, yeah, it's once a year. Dr. Miyasaki is gonna ask me about how do I feel about those goals of care. And then it doesn't have this portent of, oh, I'm not doing well. Instead, it's just, this is what we should all be doing for our sake and for our family's sake.  Dr Smyth: Now, one thing that I have to add on to this is that it is important to try to establish advanced care directives before patients experience cognitive decline, because then that can make it a much more challenging conversation and brings nuances of challenge into the interactions, which, you know, are hard.  Dr Grouse: And Penny, I'm glad you brought that up, because I was really struck by that point too when reading this article, how easy it is to miss the subtle signs that cognitive changes are happening. I think it's just- it's a good kind of segue into that topic in general, but it is such an important link to, you know, making sure that you get those advanced directives at a time when the patient's really able to express and understand what they're talking to you about. Now, on the topic of the cognitive screenings, what's a good way to do this type of screening, and why is this type of screening so particularly important in the case of multiple sclerosis?  Dr Smyth: Yeah. Thank you, Katie. I think that it's important for our listeners to think about and recognize when we see our patients with MS because it is one of the invisible symptoms that people with MS can live with and may not be apparent on regular conversation in the office. So, it's important to deliberately ask about subjective challenges in cognition. Ask the partner about how they're doing in terms of their cognition in various ways. As well as asking them and exploring then, how are they doing in their professional roles if they're working or in their surroundings? How are they coping on a daily basis on a cognitive level in addition to a physical level? We know that cognitive issues are actually the biggest contributor for not working and are a huge driver of disability in MS in terms of functioning, even more than physical decline in many ways. So, it is important for us neurologists to keep top of mind and to think about and deliberately attend to. There are screening tests that we can do in the office. The easiest for us, which measures the verbal processing speed, is the SDMT test, which is a ninety-second test matching symbols and numbers. It's easy to do. You can train a MOA to do it before you see the patient and things like that, and it just gives you an idea as to where the patient is at. And usually they're having difficulties if they're greater than two standard deviations below the norm for their age, or if there's a significant drop of four or eight points, and that might signal to you that there might be more going on. You can explore it, and then if you do have this available, the ability to refer for neuropsychological testing if there's questions. But often we can't get it with the MoCA score, unfortunately.  Dr Grouse: Talking about all these concepts, I think they all sound great. I think a lot of us hearing this will naturally say, "Yes, these are absolutely things we should be incorporating in the care of these patients." What I wondered about was, certainly we're all very busy, it is really hard to find time for a lot of these things. We don't always have access to specialists who can help us with some of these conversations. How can we find time, and how can we work this into the care of our patients effectively and still make time for all the other things we have to talk about, and make sure that we're seeing all of our other patients and staying on time and all of those things?  Dr Miyasaki: Yes. I think that's the challenges of dealing with people who actually, over time, their care needs increase, is huge in neurology. I can't think of a single subspecialty where care actually gets easier. It's constantly getting harder. You know, having come from private practice, I completely understand my colleagues' challenges in the community. Some of the ways that other groups have managed this when they don't have government or university support in their center is actually to look at not-for-profits. There are a lot of not-for-profits that can help in terms of wayfinding for social services, explaining to the patients and the family what is available to them. And in fact, some of them can also provide some cognitive supports, as well as point them in the way of day programs. And many of them have very established caregiver support groups, as well as patient support groups for various stages of their illness. So, I think it requires for the individual or small or even a large group practice to be inventive, to look in your community and see what resources are available and free for your patients in order to establish that loose team without boundaries to help your patients. Of course, for those in academic centers, I know that times are tight for all of us, and if you haven't established a team, it is a challenge; and then learning how to write a business plan or a briefing note for your institution and to learn how to speak the love language of administrators, is really key to putting forward the needs of our patients. Which, compared to heart attack patients or hips and knees, they are very rare, and yet our patients can result in significant cost to the healthcare system. So, we do have an opportunity to make the case that putting a little bit of investment in the ambulatory setting can result in significant cost savings to the system when it comes to acute care hospitalization.  Dr Smyth: So, I was thinking, Janis, as you were talking about that, when you were talking about not-for-profit groups, it's really the MS societies in various countries that are very active in this and have a lot of resources available, especially for care partners.  Dr Grouse: Those are really great tips. Thank you for bringing those up as potential other resources we can take advantage of. I wanted to ask specifically about physician-assisted death and assisted suicide, which certainly does come up, especially in later-stage parts of the disease. How can palliative care specialists be helpful when patients do express interest in these types of interventions?  Dr Miyasaki: As you know, Katie, in Canada, we've had a legislative right to access to what we call medical assistance in dying. When the legislation passed, one of my other colleagues and I felt that these were the only conversations we were having with our patients. In all this experience, I have sort of developed in my mind a framework of people who are what we call MAID-curious. They want to know what their rights are and how it would look, when they feel the time is close, for them to exercise that right. And then there are those who are fearful of future suffering. And some of them may have a very unrealistic view of what the future will look like. And this may be in particular for multiple sclerosis because many of the public's view is based on what treatment was like thirty years ago. It may not be informed by more recent treatment where patients actually do quite well, and the majority never get to progressive MS. And so, to explore and be open to that request is the first thing that is important. And then if the person has unresolved symptoms that, traditionally, we can't care for, the palliative care specialist can be very helpful because they just have inventive ways of looking at things. They look at it outside the box, and they have a different toolkit available to them. I would not want all neurologists to just send all these patients requesting physician-assisted death to their palliative care colleagues. But I think for those who are having unaddressed symptoms, it can be very helpful. Certainly, if there is an acute event in the hospital, then this is a time of crisis. And often hospitals will have an in-hospital palliative care team who can come and speak to the patient about what is going on and address some of their needs. And I would also like to emphasize the importance of spiritual care, because for many of our patients, they are not just having the physical suffering, they are also having the spiritual suffering of hopelessness or of feeling that they are a burden or that they just are not seen because a lot of the symptoms in MS are invisible. To have that understanding by a spiritual care counselor is really helpful for the people to feel understood and to reduce some of that suffering.  Dr Grouse: That's a really great point, I think, to end on, and I think it really ties in a lot of the themes that we've been talking about today. Thank you so much for coming to talk with us today. It's been such a pleasure having you both here. Dr Smyth: Thank you. Dr Miyasaki: Thank you, Katie. Dr Grouse: Again, today I've been interviewing Drs Penelope Smyth and Janis Miyasaki about their article on palliative care in multiple sclerosis, which appears in the April 2026 Continuum issue on multiple sclerosis. Be sure to check out Continuum Audio episodes from this and other issues, and thank you to our listeners for joining today.  Dr Monteith: This is Dr. Teshamae Monteith, Associate Editor of Continuum Audio. If you've enjoyed this episode, you'll love the journal, which is full of in-depth and clinically relevant information important for neurology practitioners. Use the link in the episode notes to learn more and subscribe. AAN members, you can get CME for listening to this interview by completing the evaluation at continpub.com/audioCME. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio.

It began with a whistle-blower alleging government interference in Alberta Health Services' contracting process and its connections to a medical supply company, MHCare Medical. Alberta's government denies the allegations. But soon, the whistle-blower and others – and a Globe reporter who dug into the case – were subject to a campaign of harassment, threats and surveillance. Who was behind it all? Carrie Tait, a Globe reporter in Alberta, explains what it was like for her to be targeted. And Tu Thanh Ha, a long-time Globe staff reporter, explains how he went about reporting on who was involved in the intimidation campaign. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CTV's Mike LeCouteur keeps the hosting chair warm for the first two segments, as we react to a trio of federal byelections. Spoiler alert: Mark Carney and the Liberals took every single one of them, as they are officially granted majority rule in the House of Commons. Lending his expertise and reaction is CTV political commentator Scott Reid. Then, Vassy Kapelos steers the ship for the final 6 segments! On today's show: Effective next week, Prime Minister Carney will be pulling the plug on the federal gas tax. Well, at least for a little while. It's an effort to calm things down as the Iran War wages on. Will it stop the bleeding? Canadian economist Moshe Lander offers his two cents. Money Talk with John Klotz: When it comes to 'emergency funds', how much is enough in today's chaotic economy? The Daily Debrief Panel - featuring Laryssa Waller, Sharan Kaur, and Nojoud Al Mallees. A new study finds that adolescent cancer survivors are twice as likely to get new cancers later in life. We dig deeper with Dr. Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia, the senior author behind this study and a Cancer Epidemiologist with Alberta Health Services.

The scandals of Doug Ford and Danielle Smith continue to make headlines, but it appears to have little impact on them politically. Now, Ford is changing the rules around Freedom of Information to make it harder to hold him accountable. Smith has also been criticized for her government's approach to information requests. This clawback on the access of information is a trend in other governments across the country. How does the public and the media demand accountability when politicians dominate the messaging through their own channels and limit the availability of information? Host: San Grewal Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Kallan Lyons (Associate producer and Fact Checking), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)Guest: Max Fawcett Further reading: Ford government moves to make all premier, minister records secret | Globalnews.caInvestigation finds Alberta government broke its own freedom of information rules | CBC NewsCanadians say business and political corruption is common, but few trust government to address issue - Angus ReidLibrary and Archives planning deep cuts to access to information team, document shows - The Globe and MailA non-partisan, equal-opportunity scandal | Canada's National Observer: Climate NewsReport into Alberta Health Services contracts finds conflicts widely known | Globalnews.caNaheed Nenshi needs to step up — or step down - Canada's National ObserverThe inconvenient truth about the carbon tax and food prices | Toronto SunRoadsalt overuse is choking Peel's water — a salt-loving plant could be the solution | The Pointer Sponsors: Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.Fizz: Visit fizz.ca and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN25 to get 40$ off and 10GB of free data.Squarespace: Check out Squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.CarGurus: Buy your next car today with CarGurus at cargurus.ca If you value this podcast, Support us! You'll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You'll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you'll be a part of the solution to Canada's journalism crisis, you'll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Poilievre comms director Ben Woodfinden and former Notley cabinet minister Shannon Phillips respond to our exclusive with former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos (4:30), share their thoughts on the fatal ICE shooting in Minnesota (22:15), give a Canadian perspective on the Venezuela "situation" (37:15), debate the merits of dropping tariffs on Chinese EVs (45:30), and predict whether or not we'll see another federal election in 2026 (50:30) in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West.  THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY RapidEX FINANCIAL. THE CRYPTO WORLD MOVES FAST, BUT YOUR TRUST IN AN EXCHANGE SHOULDN'T BE A GAMBLE. RapidEX IS SECURE, FINTRAC-REGISTERED, AND NON-CUSTODIAL. SAVE 50% ON FEES ON ONLINE INTERAC E-TRANSFER TRADES WITH PROMO CODE RYAN50 AT https://rapidexfinancial.com/. 52:30 | We see what Real Talkers have to say about the Minneapolis tragedy in our Live Chat powered by Park Power. SAVE on INTERNET, ELECTRICITY, and NATURAL GAS: https://parkpower.ca/realtalk/ 1:07:30 | Real Talker Jim worked for Alberta Health Services for 13 years. He chimes in on what we heard from Athana Mentzelopoulos.  WATCH THE ATHANA INTERVIEW: https://rtrj.info/010826Athana 1:13:25 | Congratulations to the Apex Icebreakers, winners of the Real Talk Pond Hockey Classic Early Bird Prize! Make sure you register your team for the 2026 RTPHC before it sells out, and we'll see you in St. Albert on January 31!  SIGN UP TODAY: https://www.ryanjespersen.com/pond-hockey 1:19:30 | Denise is appalled by the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis, KP's thrilled to see the US in Venezuela, Don's bracing for WWIII, and Joe from Airdrie figures we should cap independence referendums at one per century. It's The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park!  FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com  WHEN YOU VISIT THE DQs IN PALISADES, NAMAO, NEWCASTLE, WESTMOUNT, or BASELINE ROAD, BE SURE TO TELL 'EM REAL TALK SENT YOU!  FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, X, INSTAGRAM, and LINKEDIN: @realtalkrj & @ryanjespersen  JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: @ryanjespersen  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: patreon.com/ryanjespersen THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

Athana Mentzelopoulos is the former President and CEO of Alberta Health Services. She was fired by the Alberta government exactly one year ago for what the province calls "alarming incompetence" and an inability to carry out the mandates she was given. She says that's not true. In a $1.7M wrongful-dismissal lawsuit, Mentzelopoulos alleges she was fired because she refused to shut down an internal investigation into procurement practices at AHS, including concerns about contracts, private providers, and how public dollars were being spent. She also claims since her termination, she's faced an ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment tied to speaking up.  Until now, Athana Mentzelopoulos has not granted any interviews. In this episode of Real Talk, she speaks publicly (2:30) in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West.  THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY HANSEN DISTILLERY -- EDMONTON'S ORIGINAL DISTILLERY -- ROOTED IN PRAIRIE GRIT AND A REBELLIOUS SPIRIT. PROUDLY LOCAL, ALWAYS ORIGINAL. HANSEN DISTILLERY IS MADE RIGHT, RIGHT HERE. https://hansendistillery.com/ TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: talk@ryanjespersen.com  1:34:45 | Shout out to Canadian snowboarder Elizabeth Hosking, who just earned gold in the women's halfpipe at the Calgary stop of the FIS Snowboard World Cup! We feature Hosking's ground-breaking achievement in this edition of Alberta Wins proudly presented by Play Alberta.  THERE'S A MAJOR CASINO WINNER EVERY HOUR WITH PLAY ALBERTA, AND ALL REVENUE STAYS RIGHT HERE IN THE PROVINCE. DOWNLOAD THE PLAY ALBERTA APP TODAY TO GET STARTED WITH CASINO, SPORTS, AND LOTTERY ALL IN ONE APP. MUST BE 18+ TO PLAY. IF YOU GAMBLE, PLEASE USE YOUR GAMESENSE. https://playalberta.ca/ 1:39:00 | Jespo drops into the Real Talk Live Chat powered by Park Power to see what you have to say about the Mentzelopoulos interview.  SAVE on INTERNET, ELECTRICITY, and NATURAL GAS:  1:55:15 | Registration is open for the Real Talk Pond Hockey Classic on Saturday, January 31 in St. Albert!  SIGN UP TODAY: https://www.ryanjespersen.com/pond-hockey FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, X, INSTAGRAM, and LINKEDIN: @realtalkrj & @ryanjespersen  JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: @ryanjespersen  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: patreon.com/ryanjespersen THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

Length: 25 minutes With rising financial strain and food insecurity, dietitians face unique challenges in supporting health goals while acknowledging real-life circumstances. In this episode, host Kally Cheung sits down with Janine Whyte, a Registered Dietitian and Team Lead with Alberta Health Services, to explore practical strategies for navigating sensitive conversations about affordability, building trust, and meeting clients where they are at. Key Takeaways: • Why assumptions can harm care, and what to do instead • How thoughtful questions opens doors to meaningful dialogue • Understanding that other life challenges often take precedence and how flexibility builds trust Want to learn more? Discover tools and resources to support patients living with financial strain and food insecurity at www.ahs.ca/foodinsecurity. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/nutrition/Page18033.aspx

It's not unusual for business owners to forge ties with governments, but there are rules around conflicts of interest when it comes to procurement. In February, 2025, an Alberta senior public servant stepped forward with allegations of political interference in the awarding of large health contracts. These allegations prompted investigators, auditors and opposition politicians to look closely at the ties between Premier Danielle Smith's government and an Alberta businessman, Sam Mraiche.Mraiche's company, MHCare, had been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars worth of procurement contracts from Alberta Health Services. A Globe and Mail investigation found that the connections between Mr. Mraiche, purchasing officials, and senior Alberta political figures have existed longer – and are more extensive – than than previously reported.Today, Carrie Tait, a reporter with The Globe's Calgary bureau, and Tom Cardoso, an investigative reporter with The Globe, are on the show to talk about their investigation into the ties between a serial entrepreneur and the Alberta government.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Lisa Mowers, Provincial Practice Lead with Professional Education and Practice, and Shameem Kizar, a Registered Dietitian with Alberta Health Services explore the University of Alberta's culinary medicine elective for medical students and how it's shaping the future of healthcare. You'll learn: • What culinary medicine is and why it's important for future physicians • How medical students are gaining practical skills to turn nutrition science into everyday meals • Where culinary medicine is headed in the next 5–10 years • The unique role dietitians play in helping patients and colleagues put nutrition science into action Want to learn more? Watch this CBC video featuring the University of Alberta's culinary medicine elective: These future physicians are learning culinary medicine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA90vT4SBBo Did you know? The Alberta Health Services Wellness Kitchen offers online food and nutrition education classes accessible to all Albertans. Explore the Cooking, Food & Nutrition offerings in the SHC Wellness Centre Virtual Program Guide. These classes offer opportunities for Albertans to learn more about health food preparation, mindful eating and good nutrition.

0:11 - Is it too early to decorate for Christmas? 13:23 - Alberta Health Services and AUPE hospital workers back at table with the strike looming. 18:06 - We need to give more help to frontline workers in Alberta's drug crisis. 32:28 - We take your calls and texts on the drug crisis. 36:55 - With AI, you are now the product. 47:27 - Are toy stores dying? 57:56 - We take your calls and texts on your favorite toys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan Pike is having a hard time accepting the results of the Wyant Report detailing the incompetence of Alberta Health Services, Pike's employer. Pike has proven himself to be more than just a hack and a charlatan, as he is now in a state of denial as the newly released report fingers his bosses as the culprits in the COVID procurement story. Also, I am beginning to feel he has a crush on Danielle Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Raymond E. Wyant has completed his report into the procurement process by Alberta Health Services, and has determined that there were failures at all levels of AHS. The report is sure to raise the ire of media types and progressives in Alberta, but will it result in a public inquiry, or is this issue now closed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No gold stars this week for either the Government of Alberta or the Alberta Teachers' Association, as both sides have failed to strike a potential deal on a labour dispute that has kept around 750,000 students out of class for the foreseeable future. This week on West of Centre, host Rob Brown, along with University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young, Evan Menzies of Crestview Strategy and Cheryl Oates of The Discourse podcast delve into why this is not a normal strike, but is ultimately about the future of public education in Alberta. Also, a newly-released third-party investigation into procurement at Alberta Health Services has found no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone in government. But the judge who wrote the report acknowledged he couldn't make any definitive statements based on the restrictions limiting the scope of his probe, and the panel believes there are still some outstanding questions. Finally, the panel weighs in on Alberta's plans to leave Wild Rose Country in the dust in favour of the motto "Strong and Free" as it redesigns its licence plates, and whether this move is a matter of provincial pride or is steering attention away from bigger issues.Host: Rob Brown | Producer & editor: Diane Yanko | Guests: Cheryl Oates, Evan Menzies, Lisa Young

In this episode, host Kim Young, Provincial Practice Lead with Professional Education & Practice, has a conversation with Carlene Johnson Stoklossa, a Registered Dietitian and Team Lead with Alberta Health Services. Together, they explore Carlene's professional journey as a dietitian and researcher, and insights into the importance of recognizing sarcopenia obesity in chronic disease management. Topics include: • The benefits and challenges of getting involved with research and moving evidence into practice. • Being curious and open to opportunities throughout one's professional journey. • Insights into how sarcopenic obesity may be identified in a variety of chronic or metabolic diseases. Carlene's recent publication: Sarcopenic Obesity in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: A Scoping Review - Vieira - Obesity Reviews - Wiley Online Library https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.13973

Send us a textShe's back! In this long-awaited return to Sirens, Slammers, and Service, Advanced Care Paramedic Sheila Farrell reconnects with host Nikki Cloutier to share what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what it really means to serve in one of the most demanding roles in public safety. Now three years into her ACP career, Sheila walks us through her newest adventure as an Incident Response Paramedic (IRP)—a high-stakes, high-impact position supporting Alberta Health Services during mass casualty events, burn emergencies, poisonings, and more. 

In this episode, Jennifer Alexander, Program Director with Nutrition Services, sits down with Heidi Bates, Director of the Integrated Dietetic Internship Program at the University of Alberta. Heidi shares: • her journey to become a leader in field of dietetics, • what it means to be “fierce” in our profession, and • the exciting changes taking place at University of Alberta. She also explains how the partnership with Alberta Health Services has enriched the training of students and offers pearls of wisdom for dietitians eager to shape the next generation. Get ready for an inspiring, fun, and candid conversation that's sure to spark new ideas and energy in your own professional journey! Learn more about careers as a Registered Dietitian in Alberta: • Dietetics Specialization | Undergraduate Program www.ualberta.ca/en/undergraduate-programs/bachelor-of-science-in-nutrition-and-food-science-dietetics-specialization.html • Dietitian | Alberta Health Services www.albertahealthservices.ca/careers/Page11759.aspx

Allegations of political interference involving Alberta Health Services have been swirling around the provincial government for weeks. The former CEO of Alberta Health Services. Athana Mentzelopoulos, is suing the province for wrongful dismissal, saying she was fired in January for looking into the overpays on contracts with private surgical providers. As the province continues to be hit by allegations of corruption and political interference, a new report from the Parkland Institute reveals how privatization has dramatically increased costs, undermined public hospitals, and prolonged wait times for critical surgeries. We speak with Andrew Longhurst, health policy researcher and the author of the report, Operation Profit.

Premier Danielle Smith has removed her government's deputy minister of health in the latest move in response to corruption allegations involving Alberta Health Services. Erika Barootes is an academic and formerly involved with the UCP. She reacts to the latest move and looks ahead to what else may be coming. Alberta entered the new year as a standout in the housing market. Records are being broken in terms of starts and rental construction, but will it last? Scott Fash with BILD Alberta Association fills us in on the challenges that lie ahead. It's always important to support the next generation. One to help with that is investing in post-secondary education. Stuart Cullum is president of Red Deer Polytechnic and shares his vision. For more of the Shaye Ganam Show, subscribe to the podcast. https://globalnews.ca/calgary/program/shaye-ganam/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is facing scrutiny after serious allegations were in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit launched by Alberta Health Services' former CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos. The lawsuit alleges that government officials interfered with the health system on behalf of private firms. It also claims that Mentzelopoulos was fired because of “an internal investigation,” she was launched into how Alberta Health Services' contracts are procured. Carrie Tait, one of The Globe's reporters covering Alberta, broke this story. She explains the allegations made against the government, their ties to for-profit medical companies and what Smith's government has said publicly so far. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.comEnter this Decibel survey: https://thedecibelsurvey.ca/ and share your thoughts for a chance to win $100 grocery gift cards

U.S. President Donald Trump calls Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator. Zelenskyy says Trump is living in a Russian-made disinformation space. The barbs are another sign of the deterioration of the relationship between them. Trump's words and willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin are a dramatic reversal of U.S. foreign policy.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa has reached another stage in a plan to build high speed rail between Toronto and Quebec City. The next phase is expected to cost $3.9 billion. The project has been promised for decades and is still years away. Trudeau used the announcement as an opportunity to tout it as the largest infrastructure project in the country's history, promising it will bring jobs, and use Canadian suppliers.The Indian city of Pune is facing an outbreak of Guillan-Barre Syndrome. It's a rare disorder where the immune system attacks nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and paralysis. It could be a sign of infrastructure not keeping up with urbanization. Health officials say a contaminated well on the outskirts of the city is likely to blame.Plus: Runways still closed at Pearson, Danielle Smith on Alberta Health Services controversy, CAF recruiting, and more.

Emergency rooms are over capacity. Major surgeries are being delayed or cancelled. Allegations of shady government dealings are being investigated (or are they?). Health care in Alberta is an absolute mess.  6:25 | AMA past president Dr. Paul Parks understands the assignment - Real Talk - as he diagnoses the root of the rot in Alberta Health Services.  TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: talk@ryanjespersen.com  1:13:00 | Canada will square off against the Americans for 4 Nations Face-Off supremacy in a couple days. We recap a WILD showdown between the two countries over the weekend, and fantastic turnout for a PWHL game in Edmonton.  1:35:25 | Crazy scene at Toronto Pearson, as a flight arriving from Minneapolis crashed in flames sending 20+ people to hospital. It's the fourth aviation disaster in the past few weeks. What's going on?  1:44:20 | Our faces hurt from smiling thanks to Real Talker Stefanie, who passed along this week's Positive Reflections presented by Kuby Renewable Energy.  CHECK OUT THE VIDEO: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFi9GufOkvM/?igsh=eWo1ZmdocGVteXo4 SUBMIT YOUR POSITIVE REFLECTION: talk@ryanjespersen.com  GET A FREE SOLAR QUOTE TODAY: https://kuby.ca/ FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, X, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj & @ryanjespersen  JOIN US ON FACEBOOK & LINKEDIN: @ryanjespersen  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: patreon.com/ryanjespersen THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

On today's show: we have the latest on the procurement controversy at Alberta Health Services. Carrie Tait from the Globe and Mail joins us; what 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. mean for Alberta; your old skinny jeans might be cool again! We learn all about the slow return of the once popular style.

Stephen Carter and Corey Hogan talk about the allegations of major scandal at Alberta Health Services. What's to be made of Smith's statement on the matter? What's to be made of the NDP response? Can Carter avoid "false, baseless and defamatory" commentary? Zain Velji isn't here and neither is Annalise Klingbeil. Giddy up. Get Thursday episodes, access to hundreds of old episodes, and bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Premier Danielle Smith says reports tying her to alleged wrongdoing related to Alberta Health Services' procurement and contracting are "false, baseless and defamatory". Meantime, Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is calling for an RCMP investigation into allegations Smith's government dismissed the head of AHS two days before she was scheduled to meet with the province's Auditor-General to discuss her investigation into procurement contracts and deals for private surgical facilities. We get into what's at stake in this episode of Real Talk.  3:30 | Journalist Carrie Tate takes us into her exclusive story in The Globe and Mail. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: talk@ryanjespersen.com  28:00 | Real Talkers have their say in our Live Chat powered by Park Power.  52:00 | What a bizarre Super Bowl. Jespo and Johnny recap the game, Kendrick Lamar's halftime show, and the party at On the Rocks.  1:00:00 | Whatever happened to pausing tariffs for a month? U.S. President Donald Trump says he's hitting steel and aluminum right now.  1:10:30 | Speaking of Trump, more Canadians want Mark Carney negotiating with POTUS, not Pierre Poilievre. So says a new Nanos Research poll. Do you buy it?  1:15:30 | Ryan reads more of your thoughts on the AHS story, including an insider insight into demand for surgical facilities in Alberta.  1:25:00 | A Jasper business will be back in the water (in a good way!) this spring thanks to an amazing group of people who got together over the weekend to Raise the Raft. Positive Reflections is presented weekly on Real Talk by our friends at Kuby Energy.  GET A FREE SOLAR QUOTE: https://kuby.ca/ FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, X, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj & @ryanjespersen  JOIN US ON FACEBOOK & LINKEDIN: @ryanjespersen  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: patreon.com/ryanjespersen THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

For years, Canadians have listened to Trump supporters boasting: “Make America great again.” And most have sat quietly and done nothing. Not anymore. Threats of U.S. tariffs and annexation have sparked a wave of patriotism across Canada. Former Alberta premier and federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney joins West of Centre to reflect on this moment, discussing with host Jason Markusoff what it reveals about nation-building, national security, Canada's economic strengths, and the steps needed to make the country more resilient and independent.Later, a panel featuring journalist Alex Boyd, conservative strategist Evan Menzies, and former NDP aide Shannon Greer unpacks the ongoing shakeup at Alberta Health Services and the Alberta auditor general's investigation into procurement and contracting practices related to the dismissal of former CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos.

Send us a textIn this action-packed episode of Sirens, Slammers, and Service, we sit down with Tactical Advanced Care Paramedic Kat Campbell. Kat shares her incredible journey, beginning as a rural firefighter and evolving into her current role as a tactical paramedic with Alberta Health Services alongside the Edmonton Police Tactical Team.Kat provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to provide advanced medical care in high-stakes situations, responding to emergencies alongside one of the most elite units in law enforcement. From the rigorous training required to make the team to the split-second decisions in the field, Kat's story is a testament to courage, adaptability, and dedication.Don't miss this fascinating look into the world of tactical paramedicine on Sirens, Slammers, and Service – streaming now on all major podcast platforms.

We have a good long chat about the Gun Grabbin' in Canada, and the opaque slush fund worth 102B Canadian. That is 102,000 Million dollars going to all sorts of legit and maybe non legit causes.   We also chat about the drones/orbs/UAP's in NJ and the contradicting US Gov statements, Justin Trudeau and climate change lies, the postal strike for climate change, Bovaer, and cougar hunting changes in Alberta, Canada's emergency department situation.   In the last part we get into Makis and his accusations of the Alberta Health Services and Danielle Smith and some of his cancer treatment protocols, the new evidence of shedding from the jabs, personal stories, heart issue comparisons, WHC highlighting that we should be suing over lies about the jabs, and Alberta NDP vs star UCP who was cancelled in court.   Join us. We chat about the latest Canadian Gun Grab, a massive Canadian Opaque Slush fund, and much more. For second half of video (when applicable and audio) go to our Substack and Subscribe. https://grimericaoutlawed.substack.com/ or to our Locals  https://grimericaoutlawed.locals.com/ or Rokfin www.Rokfin.com/Grimerica Patreon https://www.patreon.com/grimericaoutlawed   Support the show directly: https://grimerica.ca/support-2/ Outlawed Canadians YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlawedCanadians Our Adultbrain Audiobook Podcast and Website: www.adultbrain.ca Our Audiobook Youtube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@adultbrainaudiobookpublishing/videos Darren's book www.acanadianshame.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com Other affiliated shows: www.grimerica.ca The OG Grimerica Show www.Rokfin.com/Grimerica Our channel on free speech Rokfin Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans  Https://t.me.grimerica https://www.guilded.gg/chat/b7af7266-771d-427f-978c-872a7962a6c2?messageId=c1e1c7cd-c6e9-4eaf-abc9-e6ec0be89ff3   Leave a review on iTunes and/or Stitcher: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter http://www.grimerica.ca/news SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com InstaGRAM https://www.instagram.com/the_grimerica_show_podcast/  Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show www.grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter http://www.grimerica.ca/contact/ ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/  MUSIC Tru Northperception, Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com    Links to topics that we chatted about: https://worldcouncilforhealth.substack.com/p/covid-jabs-new-legal-grounds-for?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1135210&post_id=151884457&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=24pqe&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-mayor-who-stood-up-to-pride-group-has-bank-account-garnished https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZF9BdZgr8 https://x.com/realpeteyb123/status/1866706246516215911 https://x.com/Grail_Whale/status/1866645171800350985 https://x.com/Tablesalt13/status/1865947347089227950 https://x.com/KirkLubimov/status/1865110290603659409 https://x.com/NyaPfanner/status/1861758397953069116 https://x.com/CountryGardener/status/1863329193313935760 https://x.com/TaraBull808/status/1864423619830665364   Links to Darren's topics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWVfLct1jqc https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/government-documents-project-liberals-gun-buyback-to-cost-nearly-2b-double-ministers-estimates https://www.dunnandassociates.ca/news/legally-registered-guns-rarely-used-to-commit-criminal-acts/#:~:text=Crimes%20involving%20firearms%20are%20increasing,or%20shotguns%2C%E2%80%9D%20it%20states. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2023058-eng.htm https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/12/government-of-canada-extends-list-of-prohibited-assault-style-firearms-and-moves-forward-on-regulatory-changes-to-strengthen-gun-control0.html https://globalnews.ca/news/10901429/alberta-cougar-hunting-areas/ https://x.com/govt_corrupt/status/1866171720056418308?s=43 https://x.com/truenorthcentre/status/1866250524087005213?s=43 https://globalnews.ca/news/10908407/canada-post-workers-stroke-job-toll-bodies/ https://makismd.substack.com/p/breaking-news-my-family-was-threatened?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=2at6hc&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email https://vigilantfox.news/p/another-covid-conspiracy-theory-becomes?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=975571&post_id=152863035&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2at6hc&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email https://dailysceptic.org/2024/12/11/revealed-the-full-hidden-pfizer-report-that-shows-heart-conditions-in-the-vaccinated-getting-worse-over-time/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email   If you would rather watch: https://rumble.com/v5yes7h-outlawed-round-up-12.11.24-gun-grabbin-opaque-slush-fund.html https://rokfin.com/stream/55267 https://grimericaoutlawed.locals.com/post/6453544/outlawed-round-up-12-11-24-gun-grabbin-opaque-slush-fund https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShW15CiGthc

What's Alberta's top political story for 2024? Who's been Alberta's Best MLA? How about the top-performing UCP cabinet minister? And what about the most effective Opposition NDP MLA?  2:30 | Daveberta unveils the winners of his annual Best of Alberta Politics survey.  CHECK OUT DAVEBERTA'S SUBSTACK: https://daveberta.substack.com/ 51:00 | Is Alberta making the right move, outlawing up to 70% of existing photo radar locations?  1:03:00 | How's that Alberta Health Services overhaul coming along?  1:22:00 | Is ChatGPT transforming the way you live and work? We see what Real Talkers are saying in our Live Chat powered by Park Power.  BUSTING CHATGPT - EDWARD TIAN ON REAL TALK: https://rtrj.info/011023TianGPT FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj JOIN US ON FACEBOOK & LINKEDIN: @ryanjespersen  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON:    / ryanjespersen   THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

Our guest today is Dr. William Makis, a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Dr. Makis is currently under attack from Alberta Health Services who want to put him in jail. Dr. William Makis: https://makismd.substack.com/ Richardson Nutritional Center: https://tinyurl.com/mudzzy3n Zstack Protocol: https://zstacklife.com/?ref=LAURALYNN Antibiotics at: Sales@larxmedical.com Promo code: LLTT Need some Ivermectin or Hydroxychloroquine? Fast shipping with guaranteed delivery in Canada and the US. Contact Mia for more information. SozoHealth@proton.me        ☆ We no longer can trust our mainstream media, which is why independent journalists such as myself are the new way to receive accurate information about our world. Thank you for supporting us – your generosity and kindness to help us keep information like this coming! ☆ ~ L I N K S ~                                      ➞ DONATE AT: https://www.lauralynn.tv/ or lauralynnlive@protonmail.com ➞ TWITTER: @LauraLynnTT ➞ FACEBOOK: Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson ➞ RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/LauraLynnTylerThompson ➞ BITCHUTE: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/BodlXs2IF22h/ ➞ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/LauraLynnTyler ➞ BRIGHTEON: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/lauralynntv ➞ DLIVE: https://dlive.tv/Laura-Lynn ➞ ODYSEE: https://odysee.com/@LauraLynnTT:9 ➞ GETTR: https://www.gettr.com/user/lauralynn ➞ LIBRTI: https://librti.com/laura-lynn-tyler-thompson

This podcast will give you an updated approach to the original podcast on the evaluation of stridor. In this episode, listeners will 1) define stridor and the pathophysiology causing stridor, 2) create a differential diagnosis based on a patient's presenting signs and symptoms, 3) differentiate benign causes of stridor from those that are life-threatening, 4) describe common pathogens involved in infectious etiologies of stridor, and 5) outline a basic management plan for a patient with stridor based on the differential diagnoses and investigative findings. The podcast was created by Taylor Dennison, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Saskatchewan, in collaboration with Dr. Gerdung, a pediatric respirologist and sleep specialist for Alberta Health Services, and Dr. Melanie Lewis, a general pediatrician at the Stollery Children's Hospital and professor of pediatrics and chief wellness officer for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

In this podcast, JPEN Editor-in-Chief Dr. Kenneth Christopher, interviews Fabio Araujo, a registered dietitian specializing in critical care nutrition with a research focus on critical care nutrition support protein and malnutrition at the Alberta Health Services' Peter Lougheed Centre ICU in Clagary, Alberta. Araujo is the first author of the JPEN original research article “Association Between Protein Intake and Functional Capacity in Critically Ill Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study”. Business Corporate by Alex Menco | alexmenco.net Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US October 2024

As part of Premier Danielle Smith's plan to dismantle the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services, the first of four new replacement agencies began operating this week.Last month, Smith also talked about transferring some hospitals away from AHS to third-party health services. And with a government grant, a private company is developing a business case for a health services “campus” in Airdrie.So why does Smith want to divide up the health care system when other provinces are struggling to unify theirs? What role does she see for private companies in the system? And is her vision of “competition” in health a solution or threat for Canadian care?CBC Calgary producer and writer Jason Markusoff is back to explain.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The news broke last week, sort of. It turned out that last month Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had told a United Conservative Party town hall in August that the government had transferred control of a northern Alberta hospital away from Alberta Health Services and turned it over to Convenant Health, a private, Catholic healthcare provider, and that further hospitals would follow.The story raised many questions—everything from why this was announced in this way, to which services Convenant Health might refuse to perform on faith-based grounds—and so far many of them have yet to be answered. So where do things stand now? Why is the government making this move? And in the bigger picture, what form is the decentralization of Alberta's health care system likely to take?GUEST: Lauryn Heintz, reporter, CityNews Calgary We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

The Kevin J. Johnston Show is Every Tuesday and Thursday at 9PM Eastern Time LIVE ON:www.FreedomReport.ca &www.x.com/KevinJJohnstonX  &x.com/KJJTV13 andx.com/KevinTheJackal  Tonight's story is one that is incredibly sad but it has to be told. In the Province  of Alberta, the healthcare system murders children and then blames the parents. In order to cover their own asses after the healthcare system has murdered your children they will have you charged criminally so you do prison time and then use their government media outlets to slander you so that they do not have to be held to account. Tonight we bring our special guest in whose child was murdered by Alberta Health Services. Please make sure everyone you know watches this video. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/contra-radio-network/support

The Kevin J. Johnston Show is Every Tuesday and Thursday at 9PM Eastern Time LIVE ON: www.FreedomReport.ca  & www.x.com/KevinJJohnstonX   & x.com/KJJTV13  and x.com/KevinTheJackal  Tonight's story is one that is incredibly sad but it has to be told. In the Province  of Alberta, the healthcare system murders children and then blames the parents. In order to cover their own asses after the healthcare system has murdered your children they will have you charged criminally so you do prison time and then use their government media outlets to slander you so that they do not have to be held to account. Tonight we bring our special guest in whose child was murdered by Alberta Health Services. Please make sure everyone you know watches this video.

In this Mental Wellness Moment, Dr. Nicholas Mitchell — Provincial Medical Director for Addiction and Mental Health with Alberta Health Services — explains why more adults are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and how ADHD differs in adults compared to in children.

The Richard Syrett Show, February 8th, 2024 Only a third of Canadians rate news media trustworthy and balanced - Tom Korski, Managing Editor Blacklock's Reporter - blacklocks.ca Keeping An Eye on Your Money with Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of The Canadian Taxpayers Federation - ArriveCAN execs got $340,000 in bonuses In Defense of Women - Linda Blade – Women's Declaration International (WDI), Women's Sports Performance Coach and Co-Author of “Unsporting: How Trans Activism and Science Denial Are Destroying Sport.”  Shocking! Pedophilia, child sex crimes & child pornography at Alberta Health Services - Dr. William Makis - Chief of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology for The Wellness Company Canada twc.health/liberty Canada nearly quadruples coal exports despite pledge to ban coal - Alex Dhaliwal, Rebel News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pastor Artur Pawlowski is here today and we are going to talk about his decision to sue the Alberta Government, Alberta Health Services, the Calgary Police, the RCMP, Canada Post and unknown parties, alleging that in the past three years, they have engaged in malicious prosecution, abuse of process and other unlawful behaviour.   Pastor Artur Legal Fundraiser: www.streetchurch.ca/news/legal-fund/ Sun City Silver and Gold: sovereignize@protonmail.com Zstack Protocol: https://zstacklife.com/?ref=LAURALYNN   We no longer can trust our mainstream media, which is why independent journalists such as myself are the new way to receive accurate information about our world. Thank you for supporting us, your generosity and kindness to help us keep information like this coming!   L I N K S                                              DONATE AT: https://www.lauralynn.tv/ or lauralynnlive@protonmail.com SHOP: https://teespring.com/stores/laura-lynns-store-2 TWITTER: @LauraLynnTT FACEBOOK: Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/LauraLynnTylerThompson BITCHUTE: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/BodlXs2IF22h/ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/LauraLynnTyler TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/lauralynnthompson BRIGHTEON: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/lauralynntv DLIVE: https://dlive.tv/Laura-Lynn ODYSEE: https://odysee.com/@LauraLynnTT:9 GETTR: https://www.gettr.com/user/lauralynn LIBRTI: https://librti.com/laura-lynn-tyler-thompson

Dr. Willam Makis from Covid Intel joins us today and we will talk about outing some of the pedophiles at Alberta Health Services, the Alberta Government and the BC Government. Dr. William Makis Substack: https://t.co/SBv9DfCcFx Sun City Silver and Gold: sovereignize@protonmail.com Zstack Protocol: https://zstacklife.com/?ref=LAURALYNN      ☆ We no longer can trust our mainstream media, which is why independent journalists such as myself are the new way to receive accurate information about our world. Thank you for supporting us – your generosity and kindness to help us keep information like this coming! ☆ ~ L I N K S ~                                      ➞ DONATE AT: https://www.lauralynn.tv/ or lauralynnlive@protonmail.com ➞ SHOP: https://teespring.com/stores/laura-lynns-store-2 ➞ TWITTER: @LauraLynnTT ➞ FACEBOOK: Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson ➞ RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/LauraLynnTylerThompson ➞ BITCHUTE: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/BodlXs2IF22h/ ➞ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/LauraLynnTyler ➞ TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/lauralynnthompson ➞ BRIGHTEON: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/lauralynntv ➞ DLIVE: https://dlive.tv/Laura-Lynn ➞ ODYSEE: https://odysee.com/@LauraLynnTT:9 ➞ GETTR: https://www.gettr.com/user/lauralynn ➞ LIBRTI: https://librti.com/laura-lynn-tyler-thompson

Got feedback about this episode? Send Carolyn a text Dr. Nese Yuksel is a full Professor with the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta. She also holds a cross-appointment with Alberta Health Services and has been practicing in the areas of menopause and osteoporosis ... more »

Dr. Nese Yuksel is a full Professor with the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta. She also holds a cross-appointment with Alberta Health Services and has been practicing in the areas of menopause and osteoporosis for nearly 25 years. She is passionate about bringing her clinical experience to inform her research and teaching. Dr. Yuksel is a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner (MSCP, formerly NCMP) and the current president for the Canadian Menopause Society. Basically, she is very qualified to be here talking Menopause 101 with us but she brings more than her brains to this conversation. Nese is an experienced runner and her résumé includes not only several half marathons & marathons, but a 50k ultramarathon as well! She's also a postmenopausal woman and generously sprinkles stories from her own menopause transition into this chat. We begin by defining the terms menopause, perimenopause and postmenopause, discussing common symptoms and why those might occur, and reviewing some of the treatment options available. Then we touch on best practices for having a healthy menopause, some of the new osteoporosis guidelines recently released by Osteoporosis Canada, and what women can get excited about during this stage of life!Sponsor: Canadian Masters AthleticsWebsite: canadianmasters.caJoin the CMA Facebook Group: @cma.vca is the best place to continue the menopause conversation!Instagram: @canadianmastersathletics35Previous episodes in this series:Jill Moreash | Thriving in PostmenopauseSasha Gollish | Perimenopause & the Competitive AthleteCarrie Oswald | Medically-Induced MenopauseResources discussed in this episode:Canadian Resources:Canadian Menopause Society (CMS) - https://www.sigmamenopause.com/consumers/publicationsMenopause Foundation of Canada - https://menopausefoundationcanada.ca/MQ6 website - https://mq6.ca/ (useful info including algorithm and treatment options)SOGC menopauseandu - https://www.menopauseandu.ca/Osteoporosis Canada - https://osteoporosis.ca/ (info on osteoporosis and bone health)North American Resources:The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS) - https://www.menopause.org/International Resources:International Menopause Society - https://www.imsociety.org/Connect with Carolyn & Kim:Inspired Soles InstagramWe love hearing from you! Connect with us on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to inspiredsolescast@gmail.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, subscribe or leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

The Alberta government is about to change health care like never before. It's taking what's been administered exclusively by Alberta Health Services and breaking it up into four independent parts: acute care, primary care, continuing care and mental health and addiction. Doctors and nurses, patients and experts are worried what this new healthcare system could look like for patient care. One health economist calls it a "train wreck."

There's no "quick fix" for the issues leading the headlines. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia is on the rise, news outlets are dying on the vine, and politics are infiltrating your pension plan. Senator Paula Simons and Tasha Kheiriddin share potential solutions in this thought-provoking episode of Real Talk.  3:00 | Senator Paula Simons explains why the Liberals' Online News Act is such a disaster, why an Alberta Pension Plan might be an even bigger disaster, what she makes of rampant anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Canada, and her annual Yegquest initiative.  READ PAULA'S PENSION COLUMN: https://albertaviews.ca/pension-folly/ PARTICIPATE IN YEGQUEST: https://www.instagram.com/hendayyegchick/ 45:00 | Real Talker Rob is riled up over Alberta's threat to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan.  EMAIL US: talk@ryanjespersen.com  48:30 | Real Talker Robb has a theory around the UCP's changes to Alberta Health Services. 51:35 | Ryan touches on the Red Deer Catholic School Board turfing controversial (former) trustee Monique LaGrange.  55:45 | We love hearing from our haters! Ryan and Johnny have some fun with a message from Don after our November 15 chat with Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur.  59:25 | Political analyst, author, and lawyer Tasha Kheiriddin says Gen Z has "nothing to remember" about the Holocaust. We talk about the rise of anti-Semitism in Canada, and the international community's role in pursuing peace in the Middle East.  READ TASHA'S OP/ED: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/we-said-wed-never-forget-the-holocaust-but-gen-z-has-nothing-to-remember 1:21:05 | Real Talker Crystal says she's never been more scared to be Jewish.  1:26:50 | Ryan responds to criticism around Real Talk's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.  BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/ryanjespersen WEBSITE: https://ryanjespersen.com/ FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

This episode of Real Talk includes updates on two people we've featured in past. One international, one closer to home - both are tough pills to swallow, but are important stories to be told. 3:20 | Ryan opens the Charles Adler interview with an update on Vivian Silver, who was believed to be taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Later, Charles tells us why he was so put off by Piers Morgan's interview with Jeremy Corbyn about the terrorist group. Before signing off, Adler explains why he was so impacted by recent ageism aimed at the Princess of Wales. 20:50 | Real Talker Chris wonders what "old school Conservatives" were *actually* like. Ryan reads his email to Charles, who answers without hesitation.   48:00 | At just 35 years of age, family physician (and Real Talker) Dr. Bradley Martin is walking away from his rural clinic. He tells us why he made the difficult decision, what might have changed his mind, and what he thinks of the UCP's overhaul of Alberta Health Services.  1:30:00 | We feature the wonderful story of Annie the dog, shared by Real Talker Brayden from Coquitlam, in this week's Positive Reflections presented by Kuby Renewable Energy.  SEND US YOUR POSITIVE REFLECTION: talk@ryanjespersen.com  GET A FREE SOLAR QUOTE TODAY: https://kubyenergy.ca/ BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/ryanjespersen   WEBSITE: https://ryanjespersen.com/ FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

It's happening: the Danielle Smith government is completely overhauling Alberta Health Services, starting from the top all the way down. While nobody can claim the current system is working flawlessly, there are a million different concerns around how the changes may affect frontline workers and the millions of patients that rely on the system every year.  2:28 | Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange takes questions on expert policy consultation, recruiting and retaining healthcare workers, preserving system integration, service delivery beyond acute care, privatization, and political ideology influencing health policy.  19:17 | Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Paul Parks tells us how Alberta doctors feel about the UCP's plan to overhaul healthcare delivery.  CHECK OUT THE AMA ONLINE: https://www.albertadoctors.org/ 45:27 | Is Alberta's renewables landscape really as "Wild West" as the province would have us believe? Is the moratorium on new wind and solar projects defensible, or is the regulator (AUC) already doing its job? Dr. Ian Urquhart takes us into his Alberta Views feature "Where to Put a Solar Farm".  REAL TALKERS: KNOCK 50% OFF A ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO ALBERTA VIEWS WITH THE PROMO CODE "AVRJ" -- https://albertaviews.ca/ BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/ryanjespersen  EMAIL THE SHOW: talk@ryanjespersen.com  WEBSITE: https://ryanjespersen.com/ FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

Beckler & Seanna talk about mammograms, the breakup of Alberta Health Services, and Gooch.

Information leaked to the NDP put Albertans on notice: the province is overhauling Alberta Health Services in dramatic fashion. Hours later, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange confirmed the UCP is replacing executive leadership, redirecting oversight and accountability, and considering foundational changes across the board.  0:25 | Ryan opens the show with his own thoughts on the UCP plan to blow up and rebuild AHS, and what it means for you. EMAIL THE SHOW: talk@ryanjespersen.com  UPDATE: Minister LaGrange joins Ryan on Thursday's show. Watch or listen live at 8:30am MT or later on demand.  16:00 | Filmmaker Nisreen Baker tells us why she made "Arab Women Say What?!," and explains its relevance to the Israel-Hamas war.  SEE THE FILM ON NOV. 9 IN EDMONTON: https://www.metrocinema.org/production/arab-women-say-what/ LEARN MORE: https://www.nfb.ca/film/arab-women-say-what/ 41:30 | MLA David Shepherd, Opposition Critic for Health, tells us what troubles him most about the government's plan for AHS.  1:00:50 | Jasper's Veterans Appreciation Event is underway, with events all the way through 'til November 12. We highlight the many different ways you can thank Canadian veterans in this week's #MyJasper Memories presented by Tourism Jasper. DETAILS & ITINERARY: https://www.jaspervetfest.com/ BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/ryanjespersen  WEBSITE: https://ryanjespersen.com/ FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

Coach Valerie is dedicated to serving women who want to experience progress towards their life and business goals through effective time management Coach Valerie is passionate about mothers  being empowered to be in control of their time, so they can create progress and the lives they want Join Dr Dunni and Coach Valerie and be part of the revolution of mothers who are mindful of  self-care and time management and hear about how to S.H.I.N.E KEY TAKEAWAYS Being a mother and motherhood never ends it just changes on the journey You have to be on the top of your game to be able to be the best mother you can be for your children The next day really starts the day before with your evening routine Implement a morning routine that prepares your mind for the day along with movement to prepare your body Block your day into your non-negotiables, relationships and buffer time for a successful day S.H.I.N.E is about saying yes to yourself and giving yourself grace Be a positive role model for your children, and be mindful of your nutrition Commit to having some sacred time with a higher being Despite the chaos choose joy We are created to move and it's a natural way to remove stress and release happy hormones BEST MOMENTS ‘My baby daughter taught me about scheduling my time' ‘It's important to wind down and release the tension of the day ‘You need to have self-care to be able to perform' RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE KEY TAKE AWAY Nurture yourself in order to S.H.I.N.E. S - saying yes to self - practice self-care and put yourself on your priority list; H - connect to a higher power - commit to sacred time with a higher being; I – be a positive influence in your home, despite the chaos - choose joy; N – eating well - be mindful of what goes into your body and how it can affect you up to 72 hours or more later; E – exercising regularly - we are created to move and it is a natural way to release happy hormones to boost our mood. Social media link https://www.facebook.com/valerie.arbeau.5 FREE GIFT https://mailchi.mp/280c4dd2373e/podcast-gift ABOUT THE GUEST Coach Valerie is dedicated to serving women who want to experience progress towards their life and business goals through effective time management by “Investing Their Time Wisely so they can be at their optimum.” Coach Valerie Anne graduated from the Health Coach Institute with a Health and Life Coaching certification, completed a coaching is course through Alberta Health Services focused on fostering relationships and collaboration. Over the last 20 years, Coach Valerie has learned many tips and tricks to manage her time and reached goals as she juggled being a wife, mother of two special needs children, volunteer work, and a physiotherapist for over 30 years who transitioned to becoming a coach. Coach Valerie  is in process of authoring a book and is collaborating with two other coaches on a book as well as facilitating with these coaches in an Academy for women 50+. Valerie speaks at conferences and summits and is passionate about her audience being empowered to be in control of their time, to create progress, instead of time controlling them. ABOUT THE HOST Your host Dr Dunni is the award-winning mum empowerment coach, Family doctor, International speaker, Best-selling author of the book ‘Every Mum is a super mum' and a mum herself who is passionate about health and wellbeing. She is proficient in using natural, scientific, and medical well-being concepts to explain in simple terms practical ways and strategies to avoid ill health and promote the overall well-being of body, mind, soul, and spirit. This is made available by the provision of online courses, books, coaching and regular events where well-being strategies and tactics are shared to enhance holistic well-being. Learn more athttps://www.drdunni.com CONTACT METHODS Ig- https://www.instagram.com/druwa.lifecoach/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9C1oJwHyISEuqiX8USaYKg CH- https://www.clubhouse.com/@drdunni-druwa FB- https://www.facebook.com/druwaacademy Twitter- https://twitter.com/Druwa8 Patreon - https://patreon.com/wellbeing4mothers                           This show was brought to you by Progressive Media

Today, we're looking at a pair of Pride Month endorsements, with one you might expect from Justin Trudeau and one you might not expect from Danielle Smith. Plus, we'll take a look at rumours that are circulating online, claiming Alberta Health Services has rehired its former COVID overlord, Deena Hinshaw. And finally, prominent NDP member of Parliament Charlie Angus posted a video criticizing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for living a rich, elitist lifestle. Hey, has anyone reminded Mr. Angus who's at the helm of the party he represents?

Video: Commentary   Niall Ferguson – Woke Totalitarianism) (18:14) 13 stillborns in one hospital in 24 hours (1:54) Nurse blows whistle: C19 Shots and Spike in Baby issues; Refuses to inject poison. (1:30)   Asthma Can Be Reduced By Increasing Vitamin D Levels And Consuming Ginger Tel Aviv University (Israel) & Columbia University, November 13, 2022 According to research published in the journal Allergy, Dr Ronit Confino-Cohen and colleagues at Tel Aviv University analysed data from more than four million Israeli's that are members of the nation's largest healthcare provider — finding that of the 21,000 with asthma, those with a vitamin D deficiency were 25% more likely than other asthmatics to have had at least one flare-up in the recent past.

The effect of the vitamin is strongest in people with asthma and other lung diseases who are predisposed to respiratory infections. People with the worst vitamin D deficiency were 36 percent more likely to suffer respiratory infections than those with sufficient levels, according to research in Archives of Internal Medicine. “Vitamin D has significant immunomodulatory effects and, as such, was believed to have an effect on asthma — an immunologically mediated disease,” said Confino-Cohen. “But most of the existing data regarding vitamin D and asthma came from the pediatric population and was inconsistent. Our present study is unique because the study population of young adults is very large and ‘uncontaminated' by other diseases.” Professor Catherine Hawrylowicz from King's College London explained that findings already suggest that supplementation with vitamin D may one day be used not only to treat people who don't respond to medications but also to reduce the doses of dangerous steroids in other asthma patients – thus reducing the risk of harmful side effects. Of the 21,000 asthmatics studied, the team reported that those with vitamin D deficiency were at a higher risk of an asthma attack. Meanwhile, a team of US-based researchers have suggested that ginger compounds could also be effective in reducing the symptoms of asthma. The study, led by Elizabeth Townsend from Columbia University, investigated whether purified extracts of ginger that contained specific components of the spicy root could help enhance the relaxing effects of bronchodilators in asthmatic people. The research team explained that they studied the effects of three separate components of ginger: 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol or 6-shogaol when exposed to airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissue samples that were caused to contract by exposing them to acetylcholine. “We demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with Beta-agonists to relax ASM,” said Townsend – adding that tissues treated with the combination of purified ginger components and isoproterenol showed significantly greater relaxation than those treated only with isoprotereno. Indeed, one of the three ginger components, 6-shogaol appeared most effective in increasing the relaxing effects of the Beta-agonist. (NEXT) Natural matcha green tea extract found to effectively kill breast cancer cells University of Salford (UK), November 05, 2022 A recent study carried out by the University of Salford has found that one kind of green tea in particular, matcha, can kill breast cancer cells effectively. The scientists at the university's Biomedical Research Center used a process known as metabolism phenotyping on breast cancer stem cell lines. They discovered that matcha “shifted cancer cells towards a quiescent metabolic state” while stopping them from spreading. Best of all, this was achieved using a rather low concentration of just 0.2 mg/mL. In addition, they discovered evidence that matcha affects the signaling pathways that promote cancer stem cells in a way that may make it a viable alternative to chemical cancer drugs like rapamycin. The scientist explained that the tea essentially suppresses oxidative mitochondral metabolism, preventing these cells from refueling. This causes them to become inactive and eventually die. University of Salford Professor of Translational Medicine Michael Lisanti said: “Our results are consistent with the idea that Matcha may have significant therapeutic potential, mediating the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells.” (NEXT) Inflammation in midlife linked to brain shrinkage later Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, November 11, 2022 People who show signs of inflammation in middle age are more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage later in life, a possible precursor to dementia or Alzheimer's disease, researchers said Wednesday. The findings in the journal Neurology are the latest to uncover an association between dementia and inflammation, in which the body's immune cells rev up in response to harms like smoking, stress, illness or poor diet. However, the findings stopped short of proving any cause-and-effect relationship. “These results suggest that inflammation in mid-life may be an early contributor to the brain changes that are associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia,” said study author Keenan Walker of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Because the processes that lead to brain cell loss begin decades before people start showing any symptoms, it is vital that we figure out how these processes that happen in middle age affect people many years later.” The study was based on 1,633 people with an average age of 53. Researchers tested their blood for levels of five markers of inflammation—not in any specific part of the body but rather throughout it—including the white blood cell count. An average of 24 years later, participants took a memory test and underwent brain scans. Those who had higher levels of inflammation at midlife on three or more biomarkers had an average five percent lower brain volume in the hippocampus and other areas associated with Alzheimer's disease, said the report. The effect was similar to having one copy of a gene—called apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4—that predisposes people to Alzheimer's, researchers said. People with higher inflammation also performed slightly worse on a memory test, remembering on average five of 10 words they were asked to recall, compared to 5.5 in the non-inflammation group. Outside experts described the study as large and rigorously conducted, but stressed that it did not study whether patients went on to develop Alzheimer's disease, only that some showed signs of brain shrinkage and memory loss. “This research points to inflammation as a potential early indicator of later brain degeneration, but we cannot say whether inflammation could be causing brain shrinkage or if it is a response to other damaging processes that might already be underway,” said Carol Routledge, director of Research at Alzheimer's Research UK. (NEXT) Adult ADHD has become epidemic—experts explain why University of California at Berkeley, November 7, 2022 Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is growing up. Stephen Hinshaw and Katherine Ellison authors of ADHD: What Everyone Needs to Know, confirm that adults—and particularly women—are reporting to clinics in record numbers, becoming the fastest-growing part of the population receiving diagnoses and prescriptions for stimulant medications. “ADHD was never just for kids, and today many adults are getting the help they've needed for years,” says Hinshaw, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and a respected global expert on ADHD. Ellison, a Pultizer-prize winning journalist, notes, “At least half of all children diagnosed with ADHD will continue to be impaired by their symptoms as adults, suggesting that approximately 10 million U.S. adults qualify for the diagnosis. Adult ADHD can lead to suffering through commonly accompanying disorders such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and gambling or Internet addictions. Social ties may well be frayed, with high risk of difficulties in intimate relationships. And, people with ADHD are also more likely to have a bitter history of academic and professional failures.” Indeed, researchers have found that adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD are up to 14 percent less likely than their peers to have a job. On average they also earn 33 percent less compared with people in similar lines of work and are 15 percent more likely to be receiving some form of government aid. The bottom line is that adult ADHD is not only real but has potentially devastating consequences, the experts agree. Hinshaw and Ellison also reveal a recent rapid rise in adult prescriptions for ADHD medication. One of the biggest surprises is that women of child-bearing age have become the fastest-growing group of consumers of ADHD medications. The number of annual prescriptions of generic and brand-name forms of Adderall surged among women over 26 years old, from a total of roughly 800,000 to some 5.4 million. (NEXT) Study shows clear new evidence for mind-body connection University of Calgary Department of Oncology, November 3, 2022 Impact of meditation, support groups seen at cellular level in breast cancer survivors For the first time, researchers have shown that practising mindfulness meditation or being involved in a support group has a positive physical impact at the cellular level in breast cancer survivors. A group working out of Alberta Health Services' Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the University of Calgary Department of Oncology has demonstrated that telomeres – protein complexes at the end of chromosomes – maintain their length in breast cancer survivors who practise meditation or are involved in support groups, while they shorten in a comparison group without any intervention. “We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology,” says Dr. Linda E. Carlson, PhD, principal investigator and director of research in the Psychosocial Resources Department at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. “It was surprising that we could see any difference in telomere length at all over the three-month period studied,” says Dr. Carlson, who is also a U of C professor in the Faculty of Arts and the Cumming School of Medicine, and a member of the Southern Alberta Cancer Institute. “Further research is needed to better quantify these potential health benefits, but this is an exciting discovery that provides encouraging news.” The study was published online in the journal Cancer. A total of 88 breast cancer survivors who had completed their treatments for at least three months were involved for the duration of the study. The average age was 55 and most participants had ended treatment two years prior. To be eligible, they also had to be experiencing significant levels of emotional distress. In the Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery group, participants attended eight weekly, 90-minute group sessions that provided instruction on mindfulness meditation and gentle Hatha yoga, with the goal of cultivating non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. Participants were also asked to practise meditation and yoga at home for 45 minutes daily. In the Supportive Expressive Therapy group, participants met for 90 minutes weekly for 12 weeks and were encouraged to talk openly about their concerns and their feelings. The objectives were to build mutual support and to guide women in expressing a wide range of both difficult and positive emotions, rather than suppressing or repressing them. The participants randomly placed in the control group attended one, six-hour stress management seminar. All study participants had their blood analysed and telomere length measured before and after the interventions. Scientists have shown a short-term effect of these interventions on telomere length compared to a control group, but it's not known if the effects are lasting. Dr. Carlson says another avenue for further research is to see if the psychosocial interventions have a positive impact beyond the three months of the study period. (NEXT) Lion's Mane Mushroom for Your Brain and Neuronal Health Green Med Info, November 8th 2022 Lion's mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus), with their shaggy, mane-like spines, stand out among fungi not only for their appearance but for their mild, sweet, seafood-like flavor. Like other mushrooms, lion's mane are multi-faceted healers, with antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and wound healing properties among their many therapeutic properties. Of the 68 diseases and conditions that lion's mane mushroom may support, many of them relate to the nervous system, including cognitive function, memory, dementia, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. Lion's mane mushroom contains more than 35 beneficial polysaccharides that may help prevent or treat cancer, gastric ulcers, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, liver injury and neurodegenerative diseases, according to a review published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. With a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine, including for brain and neurological health, it's now known that two terpenoid compounds– hericenones and erinacines — in these mushrooms and their mycelia may stimulate the synthesis of nerve growth factor (NGF). Active compounds in lion's mane mushrooms may also delay neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases, including ischemic stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and depression, while promoting nerve regeneration in cases of neuropathic pain or age-related hearing loss (presbycusis). Some of their top therapeutic benefits include: Regenerate Damaged Nerves – Lion's mane has been shown to trigger neurite outgrowth in brain, spinal cord and retinal cells. It also stimulates the activity of nerve growth factor, which is important for the growth and differentiation of neurons. Boost Cognitive Function – In adults with mild cognitive impairment , those who took lion's mane powder three times a day for 16 weeks significantly increased their scores on a cognitive function scale compared with those who took a placebo. Hericenones in lion's mane are believed to be responsible for some of the mushroom's beneficial effects on brain neural networks and improvements to cognitive function. This brain-boosting mushroom has also been found to improve memory in mice.[xi] Fight Depression – Lion's mane may ameliorate depressive disorder through a variety of mechanisms, including neurogenic/neurotrophic and anti-inflammatory pathways. Animal studies suggest that lion's mane may reverse depressive behaviors caused by stress by modulating monoamine neurotransmitters and regulating BDNF pathways. Support for Neurodegenerative Disease – neurotrophic compounds are known to pass through the blood-brain barrier and have been used to treat cognitive impairments, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In a study of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease, those who took lion's mane mycelia capsules for 49 weeks had improvements in their ability to carry out daily activities, such as personal hygiene and preparing food. Improve Mood and Sleep Disorders – Among overweight or obese people with sleep disorders or mood disorders, lion's mane was effective in relieving symptoms. Eight weeks of lion's mane supplementation decreased depression, anxiety and sleep disorders in the study, while also improving mood disorders of a “depressive-anxious nature” and boosting the quality of sleep at night.