No Doctor In The House

In the end, it was neither Government programs, an online search nor dumb luck that landed Carisa Morison one of the hottest commodities in Ottawa: a family doctor. Rather, having exhausted those options, the 29-year-old did it old school and networked with a half a dozen friends. Eventually, one of them called in a favour with a GP friend, who agreed to take on the pregnant Morison and her young family as patients. “I felt like I’d won the lottery,” says Morison, who recently moved to Barrhaven from Hamilton. “Unfortunately, she’s 25 minutes away and that’s not convenient, especially at rush hour. But I don’t mind, because I have a doctor I really like. I just don’t understand why I had to work so hard to find one.” She’s not alone. According to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), one in five Ontarians—including those with chronic and acute conditions--are without a family physician. In the meantime, doctors face a crunch themselves.

Posted in Health on 02/10/2009 - 0 Comments

Treating SAD...naturally

It creeps up on you like salt stains on your pant legs -- short winter days coupled with depression.

Affecting two-thirds of Canadians, and three to four times more women than men, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is triggered by short daylight hours and a lack of sun exposure and can leave sufferers in a serious slump.

But according to Jonathan Prousky, associate professor of clinical nutrition at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and author of Naturopathic Nutrition (CCNM Press, 2006), SAD doesn't have to...

Posted in Alternative on 12/16/2008 - 0 Comments