CONVERGEDCITIZEN
NOVEMBER 22,2013
FEATURE
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Safety week raises awareness about prescriptions
Photo By: Y. Murad Erzinclioglu
Catherine Bonnette, pharmacist at Royal Windsor Pharmacy in downtown Windsor, explains importance of prescription drug awareness on November 6, 2013 Y. Murad Erzinclioglu Citizen Staff Reproter
Senior citizens are being encouraged to re-check their medications. The Canadian Safety Council’s Senior Safety Awareness week runs Nov. 6 to 12. The time is used to raise awareness about life-saving prescription drugs that are potentially dangerous if used FROM MARINE PAGE 6
cent in the three years since the recession’s lowest point. Barker said although the industry has improved, it has not yet returned to the prosperity it had before the recession. “We are not back to our prerecession levels, but autos are doing well, that means steel does well. That means cargo is moving, so all and all I think Great Lakes shipping is doing well,” said Barker. Windsor’s port also saw an increase of 11 per cent in total tonnage from the end of the recession until 2012. Cree said the port has rebounded tremendously and 2013 is likely to be the best year in the port authority’s history. “This year we’ll do a little over six million (tons),” said Cree. “We’re having a very good year this year because of what’s happening with the parkway and the huge amount of stone and construction aggregate.” Cree said he expects 2014’s numbers to be similar to this year’s as the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway wraps up construction. He said he expects marine shipping to remain a stable and important industry for the region for the foreseeable future. “We see ourselves leveling off now. We’ve hit a pretty good peak last year, this year and 2014, but we hope it’ll level off in that 5.5 million ton range and that’ll be a good bounce back from the recession.”
incorrectly. The council reports that nearly two thirds of citizens aged 65 and over are taking five or more medications, one in five are taking 10 or more and one in 20 are taking 15 or more. The more medications a patient uses increases the risk of an undesired reaction. Catherine Bonnette is a pharmacist at the Royal
Windsor Pharmacy downtown. Bonnette said using a combination of drugs can cause adverse effects and it’s wise to take precautions. “The first thing I recommend is sticking to one doctor and sticking to one pharmacy,” Bonnette said. “By going to one pharmacy all of the medications are always being dispensed together so the pharmacist can always run interaction checks.” Timothy Gregorian has been a pharmacist for more than 20 years. He manages the University of Windsor pharmacy as well as serving as continuing education co-ordinator for the Ontario College of Pharmacists Windsor Region. He said it’s important for seniors to take advantage of government services that inform them about their prescriptions. The Meds Check program sends pharmacists into patients’ homes for a con-
sultation about the drugs they are taking. “It creates a complete picture of all medications,” said Gregorian. “The government pays pharmacies to do that. It’s an invaluable service for the patients and anybody who has three or more chronic medications can have that service done for free.” Community Care Access Centre Nurse, Natalie Westfall, has been a nurse for nine years. She said throughout her career she has seen many adverse drug interactions, but it’s not just seniors who should be informing themselves about prescription drugs. “When I worked at the Teen Health Centre we’d often see interactions, not necessarily adverse effects, but a weakening of drug effect,” Westfall said. “Some girls will get a prescription for strep throat and their pharmacist may not
be aware they are on birth control. Certain drugs can lower the effects of birth control and result in a higher risk of unplanned pregnancy.” The safety council encourages seniors to get more information by visiting www.knowledgeisthebestmedicine.org and www.safemedicationuse.ca. SCRIP TIPS Using a combination of drugs can cause adverse effects and it’s wise to take precautions. Here are some quick tips on prescription drug use. 1.Always keep an updated list of all your medications, their dosages and why they are being used. 2.The pharmacist is your friend. Always using the same pharmacist ensures they can serve you better. 3.Don’t get into bad habits and routines. They could be deadly. Always be sure to check labels every time a medicine is used.
Windsor hospitals refuse to lose thoracic surgeries
and her family. “The day of (his) surgery, there was 12 of us,” said Boynton. “Could you imagine all of us traveling down the highway in three cars; gas, food, the stress? Unbelievable. I can’t even imagine to do all this the day of.” Windsor Regional has requested to be designated as a level two surgical centre. According to the CCO website, this would require the hospital to have a minimum of one thoracic surgeon and per-
form at least 50 lung and seven esophageal surgeries. According to Windsor Regional’s Vice President of Public Affairs Ron Foster, Windsor meets the standard, doing 50 lung and nine esophageal surgeries a year. Dr. Michael Coughlin, a general thoracic surgeon in Windsor, said the potential cut of thoracic surgery is not the first type of treatment that’s been removed from Windsor hospitals. “This is a second cut. We’ve lost hepatobiliary (and) pancreatic surgery, and that is a direct loss because of CCO,” said Coughlin. Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital lost funding for their hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery program earlier this year. The hepatobiliary system refers to the liver, gall bladder and bile ducts area of the body. NDP-MPP for Essex, Taras Natyshak, who was running the town hall meeting with Masse and MPP for WindsorTecumseh, Percy Hatfield, said the decision handed down by CCO has brought the community together.
“Cancer has touched everyone’s lives in one way or another and when a threat comes down to say that we’re not going to have access to cancer treatment any longer in our community, that threat has to be matched with an equal level of frustration and resistance and that’s what happened tonight,” said Natyshak. “Our community has come together like no other. We have thousands of people who have signed the petition and the decision is unacceptable. This is only the beginning of a really strong community-based campaign.” Masse asked residents at the meeting to work together to change the government’s mind. “We need to be unified, Windsor and Essex County together, our friends, our family. Make sure you spread the word. We can do this, we have to do this and we have to be more unified as a region than ever before. Let’s use that as a core strength to make sure we actually get this stopped.”
film the way he wanted it to be heard. “I saw everything that was wrong with it, but other than that it was pretty nice seeing myself up (on the screen),” said Hewitt. “I think everything stems from where the
audio was bad. That was the main problem.” Other winners at the 48Hour FlickFest included: Best Use of Prop – Knut Hanson’s Throwaway Gesture; Best Sound Design – Static Wreck; Best Score – Pending; Best
Editing – Artificial Serenity; Best Cinematography – Artificial Serenity; Best Writing – Lack of Attractiveness; and Best Directing – Knut Hanson’s Throwaway Gesture.
Photo by Sean Previl
MPP Percy Hatfield (NDP – Windsor-Tecumseh), speaks at the town hall meeting on thoracic surgery at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle, Nov. 12. FROM THORACIC PAGE 1
icantly and we will not go away silently.” Many of the attendees were concerned that if WRH were to cut the thoracic surgery program, it would result in cancer patients and their families having to travel to London or Toronto to receive treatment. Carol Boynton, whose husband Jack was operated on for esophageal cancer in May, said moving treatment centres out of Windsor would cause more stress for her FROM FLICK FEST PAGE 2
bles with his film during the production weekend, said his audio quality could have been better in the film. Hewitt said because of his audio people in the theatre couldn’t hear the