People at this P.E.I. long-term care home are excited about province's new mobile X-ray program
Instead of sending people to a hospital for follow-ups, a new mobile X-ray program is bringing much-needed diagnostics right to the doorstep of P.E.I. seniors living in long-term care. CBC's Cody MacKay spoke to the first person on P.E.I. that was scanned using it, Whisperwood Villa resident Edna MacInnis, and the folks who say it cuts down on hospital trips while improving care for seniors.
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CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Island runner pushing to qualify for Boston Marathon, despite diabetes diagnosis
Social Sharing After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year, Islander Mike Hogan started to really prioritize his health. Part of that includes preparing for the P.E.I. Marathon, with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Having been an avid runner before, Hogan's renewed health journey started in July 2024, when he said he felt the worst he had ever felt in his life. "I had lost a bunch of weight, I was sweating, I was having to get up to use the washroom four, five times at night," he said. "I was constantly thirsty. I really didn't know what was going on at all." He soon discovered what the issue was, after accidentally injuring himself at work. His pinky finger was crushed by a heavy plate at work. "I was like, 'I should have been able to lift that no problem, like what's going on with me?'" he said. That's when he decided to go to the doctor. After a blood test that morning, his doctor called him at home that evening. She told him he needed to go to the hospital because his blood sugar was "sky high." Following more tests and waiting hours at the emergency room, he got his results at 5 a.m. — he had diabetes. "I was totally sleep deprived and completely shocked at finding that out," he said. "Quickly over the next couple of weeks, they determined it was Type 1 diabetes that requires insulin." Switching priorities Hogan, 45, said his diagnosis made him switch his priorities, from being focused on business to health. "I've been a business owner for 10 years and for a long time that has been like almost the complete focus in my life I would say, and I would say I just kind of did a 180 that Friday morning I found out I had diabetes and made a commitment to put my health first." After the diagnosis, Hogan was told he needed to get 150 minutes of exercise a week so he decided to start running a few times a week, something he used to do. He also started taking insulin, which can be challenging as a runner. "What's different about exercising, is that when you exercise, you need carbs for fuelling that exercise, and then your insulin resistance, it's called, goes way down," he said. "It's like your body is holding you back from exerting its full potential, so it's like you're stuck in the wrong gear of your car or something like that." Now, Hogan has to make calculations before exercising. "You want to have carbs for exercise and you want to take a little bit of insulin so that your body can process those carbs while you're exercising, but you don't want to take too much and you don't want to take too little." He said it's even more challenging running long distances. "I'm not only training my body to run the marathon, but I'm also like training my process for doing these calculations and figuring that out." Persevering through the diagnosis In October, a few months after his diagnosis, Hogan registered in the P.E.I. Marathon relay with a few co-workers. He had run the marathon before, marking his best time in 2015, which he came close to this time around. "I was probably four, five minutes off of that time, but it still felt like a win," he said. That's when he decided to up his goal. He would run through the winter and try a half marathon next. Having done a half marathon before, he knew it was possible, he said, but it would be more difficult as a diabetic. He entered into the 2025 Bath Half Marathon, which is hosted in England every March. Unexpected setback But only a few days before the half marathon, he hit an unexpected setback. "I got pickpocketed. My phone got stolen and so I basically lost access to having that real-time blood sugar data," he said. Hogan wears a continuous glucose monitor on this arm that connects to his phone to monitor his blood sugar, which he uses while running. He said losing his phone affected the way he had to approach the half marathon. "During the run, I had to actually physically pause on the side to check my blood sugar and make sure that it was OK," he said. "And it's so funny I had spent so many months training for the run and I had a particular time goal in mind, but I had to abandon that goal, and my new goal was just to try to complete it as best as I could, knowing I was going to have to pause and take some extra time." He completed the half marathon, but didn't reach his goal, which he still aspires to hit. While he was there, he also raised $800 Cad for Breakthrough T1D, an organization that funds diabetes research. Hogan said now, about a year from when he felt the worse he had in his life, he feels like he has never been healthier. "I do feel really proud of that and again of making that switch, like flipping that and making health my priority." Looking forward, Hogan said he's going to do a full marathon on this Island this fall, something he hasn't done since 2018. And this time, he has a big goal: a time of three hours and 10 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Health P.E.I. not imposing a minimum number of patients on family doctors, says CEO
'We're not asking the physicians to take on a larger panel than they've ever had' A gap is developing between what Health P.E.I. says and what the Medical Society of P.E.I. insists is the case when it comes to the patient roster benchmarks the province is asking family doctors to meet. Earlier this month, the society announced it planned to sue the health agency for breach of contract over proposed targets saying a full-time family physician should have 1,600 people on the roster and see 24 patients a day. The medical society said at the time that the proposed "minimum" workloads for doctors would lead to burnout and drive physicians from the province. But on Thursday, Health P.E.I. CEO Melanie Fraser told CBC News those targets are "maximums," and said they would be scaled back if doctors perform other duties — like emergency room work and other hospital shifts. There would also be different expectations for doctors who practice on their own versus those who work in a team-based patient medical home, Fraser said. "We're not asking the physicians to take on a larger panel than they've ever had — 1,600 was the maximum benchmark, it remains the maximum benchmark," she said in an interview. "At the same time, we do need to have some measure to understand how many patients [we can] affiliate to a particular physician." Last August, the government, Health P.E.I. and the medical society together announced a new physician services agreement. It saw the Island become the first province in Canada to recognize family medicine as a specialty and promised a 35 per cent boost to doctors' pay over the next five years. New agreement for P.E.I. doctors expected to boost recruitment and retention But then last month, Health P.E.I. introduced a draft version of its new operational guide, which included a requirement that each family doctor see two dozen patients a day, based on an average appointment being 15 minutes long. The guide also said each full-time family doctor's practice should have a panel of 1,600 patients, with penalties imposed if that target isn't met. We do value our doctors, we do want to retain all the physicians that we have…. I'm confident that we can get through these concerns. — Melanie Fraser, Health P.E.I. CEO The draft guide clearly states that the targets were minimum standards. "Physicians will be expected to maintain a minimum panel size as described within the Family Physician Panel Policy," says a section on page 24 of the guide. "The resulting FTE [full-time equivalent] is then used to calculate a physician's assigned panel benchmark, based on a reference point of 1,600 patients per 1.0 FTE." 'That is not possible to do' Fraser's language on Thursday told a different story. She said a 1,600-patient panel has been the maximum since 2016; it hasn't changed since then; and Health P.E.I. is not intending to change it. Family doctors who spoke to CBC News over the past week seemed to be of the understanding that they would have to meet the benchmarks as minimums, however. "This is not possible to do, what they're asking," Summerside family physician Dr. David Antle said in a June 15 interview. "People, including me, are already teetering on burnout and this will send us over the edge." Antle said he has 900 patients on his roster and sees about 20 of them each day when working at the Summerside Medical Centre. That's in addition to emergency room shifts, and the time it takes to review patient test results and consult with other doctors about care. "If this goes through — and it's going to be forced upon us with threats of potential punishment if you don't meet it — I can't provide the care that's needed for the patients I have. Full-stop," he said. "There's no way I can do it and there's no way my colleagues can do it." Fraser acknowledged Thursday that the talks between Health P.E.I. and doctors have broken down, but said she's confident negotiations on operating guide will be resolved. WATCH | Why some family doctors believe new Health P.E.I. targets will drive physicians away: Media Video | Why some family doctors believe new Health P.E.I. targets will drive physicians away Caption: Family doctors on P.E.I. are worried about physician burnout and the quality of care they can provide. Health P.E.I. is proposing doctors should have at least 1,600 patients, and see 24 of them every day. Two family doctors, including Dr. Jeannette Verleun, weigh in about their fears and how they think the changes might impact Islanders. CBC's Connor Lamont reports. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. The consultation process is scheduled to continue into July. "We're really hoping to have the input and feedback brought back to the process so that we can consider it and move forward," Fraser said. "We do value our doctors, we do want to retain all the physicians that we have, all the staff that we have…. I'm confident that we can get through these concerns, through the process that we have." The CEO also noted that three more family doctors have been hired for P.E.I. in the last three weeks, but wouldn't say where in the province they are expected to work.
CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
Health PEI, CUPE workers reach tentative three-year agreement
Health PEI and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have reached a tentative three-year collective agreement that includes wage increases and service retention premiums. The agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2023 and will run until March 31, 2026, according to a news release from Health PEI. Members from CUPE Locals 805, 1051, 1778 and 1779 will vote on the agreement next Tuesday. Combined, the four CUPE Locals represent more than 1,300 health-care workers in P.E.I. They work in laundry, maintenance, dietary, housekeeping and more. 'It has been a very difficult five years for our members. We went through COVID-19, rising living costs, staff shortages, and more than two years without a contract,' said Robyn Sharpe, president of CUPE Local 1051, in the release. 'This investment recognizes the critical role our members play in the health system and gives them the respect and support they deserve.' The agreement includes: general wage increases of 10.5 per cent across three years a $5.50/hour wage grid reset to improve competitiveness and address wage compression service retention premiums of two per cent after 10 years of service and an additional two per cent after 15 years increased shift premiums a $500 retiree return incentive a full-time commitment pay of $1.07/hour worked 'This was one of the most difficult rounds of negotiations we've faced, but it resulted in a historic agreement that our members have earned,' said John MacKenzie, chief shop steward for Local 805. 'I am not the only one who feels that this deal will be life-changing for workers. It's an exceptionally good deal, and I'm happy to see that Health PEI and the Province are investing in their front-line staff.' For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
