Thursday, June 17, 2010, R. A. Centre, 2451 Riverside Drive, Ottawa

The Vista Centre is proud to host the Second Annual Brain Injury Awareness Day for Ottawa, and now, for all of Eastern Ontario. This day has been carefully designed to allow Brain Injury survivors, their families, and all those who work with BI populations to come together to exchange information, attend informative workshops, and be moved by the inspiring story of entrepreneur and brain injury survivor Val Lougheed.
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The Brain Injury Association of Alberta Invites YOU to Get Involved!
We are now accepting nominations for The Brain Injury Association of Alberta Board of Directors.
Nominations will be accepted, before end of business on May 19th 2010.
Contact our office for a nomination package.
Please include a brief resume with your application.
Email admin@biaa.ca or phone 403 309 0866, Toll Free 1888 533 5355

A promising future lies ahead for the Brain Injury Association of Alberta as we work; to provide continued support of regional brain injury organizations, to find new and exciting ways to help educate the public about prevention, and to be an advocate for all people who are affected by brain injury.

The Brain Injury Association of Alberta recognizes the power of a board with diverse experience and backgrounds, and encourages applications from individuals across the province.

We ask for your assistance in bringing this opportunity to the attention of other qualified prospects and invite you to recommend outstanding individuals that may be an asset to our organization.

Additional information can be found on the The Brain Injury Association of Alberta website

Deadline for submissions: Wednesday May 19th, 2010
Mail Submissions to: 4916 – 50 Street, Red Deer, AB T4N 1X7, CANADA, Tel: (403) 309-0866
Email Submission: admin@biaa.ca
Faxed Submission: (403) 342-3880
Telephone Inquiries: Arlana Tanner, (403) 309-0866, Toll Free (in Alberta) 1-888-533-5355

The Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative (VNI) in Melbourne/Geelong, Australia and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) in Toronto, Canada are pleased to announce the outcomes of an international collaboration to promote research and knowledge mobilization that will improve the quality of life for those living with a spinal cord or
traumatic brain injury.

“We are excited by the opportunity to work with researchers in both our countries and expand our capacity to address these complex issues” stated Melinda Rockell, Executive Officer of the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative. “Harnessing the collective expertise of our research communities is a significant accomplishment for our partnership.”
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Did You Know?
A new CDC report found that an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the U.S. each year. This is about 4,700 TBIs each day. 1
Fifty-two thousand people die each year from traumatic brain injuries, representing nearly one-third of all injury deaths. This equals the approximate number of people needed to fill Yankees Stadium. 1
The majority of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild TBI.

What is CDC Doing?
CDC understands that healthcare providers need the right information in order to provide the best care to their patients. CDC and the American College of Emergency
Physicians (ACEP) recently released Heads Up to Clinicians: Updated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Management Guideline for Adults, which includes:
Fact Sheet on the Guideline [PDF]
Pocket Card for Clinicians [PDF]
Discharge Instruction Sheet [PDF]
Wallet Card for Patients [PDF]
See also ACEP’s Revised Clinical Policy [PDF]

Where Can I Learn More?
Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002–2006, a recently updated report.
Get the Facts about Concussion and Brain Injury, brochure and fact sheet.
Download and share CDC’s new concussion podcast series:
Know the Facts About Concussions
Taking Care After A Concussion
What You Need to Know About Concussion

The Brain: The Final Frontier of Science, the latest Injury Center Director’s
CDC and NCAA concussion educational materials for colleges and universities, including fact sheets for coaches and student-athletes, as well posters for all NCAA sports.

See the latest CDC TBI information and free Heads Up educational resources.

1 Faul M, Xu L, Wald MM, Coronado VG. Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002–2006. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2010.

Questions or problems? Please contact support@govdelivery.com.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · 1600 Clifton Rd · Atlanta GA 30333 · 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)

Dr. Jong Rho to help children with injury and illness of the brain at the Alberta Children’s Hospital

Calgary, April 23, 2010 – The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute for Child and Maternal Health, the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and Alberta Health Services are pleased to announce that Dr. Jong Rho is first holder of the Dr. Robert Haslam Chair in Child Neurology.

Starting August 1, 2010, as the first appointee to this esteemed research position and new Division Chief for Pediatric Neurosciences in Calgary, Dr. Rho will lead research and clinical care for thousands of children facing injury and illness of the brain and spinal cord at the Alberta Children’s Hospital each year.

“We are thrilled that such an internationally-recognized expert has agreed to join our team,” says Dr. Jim Kellner, Head of Pediatrics for the University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone. “We are very grateful to the community for so generously supporting the Haslam Chair which was key to Dr. Rho’s recruitment.”

With a dynamic plan and vision for the future of pediatric neurology at the children’s hospital and research institute, Dr. Rho believes Calgary can provide international leadership in pediatric neurosciences within the next five to 10 years. As a clinician-scientist, he is committed to ensuring that research and care are tied closely together so that each benefits the other in the development of better treatments and cures for children. Also a strong proponent of collaboration, Dr. Rho says he is looking forward to building bridges with the adult neurosciences team as well.

“Part of the reason I’m so excited about my new role is the real sense of unity and opportunity there is in Calgary,” says Dr. Rho. “Both the pediatric and adult neurosciences teams are strong. They have a solid connection with the community and everyone wants healthcare to improve. I know we can do great things to help children by building on existing strengths and working together on a common purpose.”

Dr. Rho is being recruited from Phoenix, Arizona where he is a Senior Staff Scientist and Director of Pediatric Epilepsy Research at the Barrow Neurological Institute, and Associate Director of Child Neurology at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

For More Information Contact :
Belinda Lamb
Office: (403) 955-8821
Mobile: (403) 803-3340
blamb@achf.com

A multi-party group of MPs spanning the political spectrum are pleased to announce the formation of a new, non-partisan Parliamentary group aimed at promoting awareness of glaring deficiencies in Canada’s palliative and compassionate care framework, fostering constructive dialogue and substantive research on an array of related subjects, and implementing policies to address this critical deficiency in the nation’s approach to long-term health.

The Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care (PCPCC) is an ad-hoc organization whose membership is open to any legislator who shares the pressing concerns of a growing number of Canadians about present levels of care available to an aging society and people with disabilities. Inspired by broad consultations undertaken in every region of Canada by Members of all parties, PCPCC will preoccupy itself with a series of distinct but related challenges including:
- A critical nationwide shortage of expertise and material resources in the fields of palliative, hospice, and home care;
- Suicide prevention, pain control and the implications of an ongoing mental health crisis;
- Elder abuse and;
- Disability issues.

The group’s founders include Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh), Harold Albrecht (Kitchener-Conestoga), Kelly Block (Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar), Michelle Simson (Scarborough Southwest) and Frank Valeriote (Guelph).

Each of the inaugural members has committed to conducting the Committee’s work in a spirit of cooperation and purpose, and to enhancing the group’s profile within their respective national caucuses and broader constituencies. United in a belief that Canada’s elected representatives should confront such contentious issues boldly and without recourse to partisanship, the group will circulate a formal invitation soliciting the participation of any interested colleagues in the House.

For further information, contact:

Office of Joe Comartin, MP: (613) 947-3445
Office of Michelle Simson, MP: (613) 995-0284
Office of Frank Valeriote, MP: (613) 996-4758
Office of Harold Albrecht, MP: (613) 992-4633
Office of Kelly Block, MP`: (613) 995-1551

Liberal MP Fry wins award for being a gay rights trailblazer
Wednesday evening got started with a reception at the Booth Building, on Sparks Street, where the underappreciated denizens of the cable TV landscape in Canada got to mix with Parliament Hill folk and tell them about what they do. Party Central learned that in the good old days of community television some MPs had their own cable shows where constituents would call in and ask their federal representative questions.

Cathy Edwards from the Canadian Association of Campus and Community Television User Groups and Stations (CACTUS) told Party Central that back in the day Tory MP Diane Ablonczy had her own show that aired in her Calgary riding. Someone from her riding association acted as host and would interview Ms. Ablonczy on select topics and then they would go to the phones.

After that, Party Central went a little further up Sparks Street to the Parliament Pub, an institution for nerdy followers of Canadian politics, where the Brain Injury Association of Canada was having its annual ‘Hawaiian Oyster Odyssey,’ which as you might expect, included lots of leis and oysters. According to Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett the event, now in its tenth year, was originally paired with oysters because it was first held in the Oyster Lounge of The Miller Tavern, in Toronto, although she couldn’t explain how the Hawaiian twist made it into the mix.

Ms. Bennett was a bit fired up after Tory MP and beacon of elevated debate Tom Lukiwski stood earlier that day in the House and accused her of pretending to be a minister of state when she made a presentation on healthcare in Chicago.

“We do not know if it was meant to be a job application or a slip of the mind to the days of the Liberal sponsorship scandal, but the member is clearly unhappy,” said Mr. Lukiwski.

Ms. Bennett was minister of state for public health from 2003 until 2006, and she said it was made clear to the audience that she was no longer a minister of state. She added that the Harper government forbade Canada’s consul general in Chicago from going to watch her presentation.

The main event was a gala at The Exchange Pub & Restaurant celebrating the fifth anniversary of Jer’s Vision, an organization founded by gay rights and anti-bullying activist Jeremy Dias.

Wednesday was National Anti-Bullying Day, which was started when a Nova Scotia boy was bullied for wearing a pink shirt and to show their support for him the next day many of his classmates defiantly donned pink. Many MPs, although not Mr. Lukiwski, wore pink shirts, ties, and scarves, and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains sported a pink turban.

While Party Central was initially distressed by the lack of free wine at the gala, the fun event was packed to the gills and had many touching moments. Global National anchor Kevin Newman, who is the proud father of a gay son, served as MC for the evening.

“My son came out to my wife and I when he was 17, probably one of the gutsiest things I’ve ever witnessed. I was so proud of him and I continue to be enormously proud of him to this day,” Mr. Newman told the crowd, as his son Alex Newman, who is now 22 and just graduated from university, looked on.

He said he and his wife, who were living in Vancouver at the time, went looking for resources through which he could support his son and he stumbled upon Mr. Dias and in turn did an “Everyday Hero” profile on him for Global National.

Liberal MP and longtime friend of the gays Hedy Fry was presented with the Youth Role Model of the Year Award. Ms. Fry, a physician, said she first became passionate about gay rights while practicing medicine.

“As a physician I saw in my own practice how gay and lesbian and transgender people were treated, how unequal they were under the law of this land, how as a Liberal whose leader Pierre Trudeau had brought in the Charter or Rights and Freedoms and Section 15, minority rights, and here was a minority group in our country who was still unequal under the law,” she said.

Dr. Fry, who was wearing leopard that day in the House of Commons but had made a costume change into pink for the gala, first arrived in Ottawa after unseating former prime minister Kim Campbell, in 1993.

“When Mr. Chrétien asked me to run in 1992, against Ms. Campbell in Vancouver Centre I said I would run under one condition, and that was that he amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to add sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination,” she told the audience to loud cheers.

She said Mr. Chrétien, who was then leader of the opposition, simply responded, “We can do dat.” But Ms. Fry said she was leery of politicians in those days, so she made him put it in writing before she agreed to run.

hmacleod@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times
©Copyright 2010 Hill Times Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.

Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Location: Bethune Ballroom, Bethune Building, 1276 South Park Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Agenda
9:00 am Registration and Ice Breaker
9:30 am – 10:30 am Annual General Meeting – Session One
10:30 am – 10:45 am Nutrition Break
10:45 am – 11:15 am Annual General Meeting – Session Two, Strategic Planning, Presented by John Delaney
11:15 am – 11:35 Small groups for question and answer session prior to voting on the Strategic Plan
11:35 am – 11:45 am Voting for Strategic Plan
11:45 am – 12:30 pm Luncheon, Sponsored by: Desmond Cahill, CLU CHFC EPC, Chartered Financial Consultant, Investment Planning Counsel of Canada, with BMO Guardian Group of Funds
11:45 pm – 12:30 pm BIANS Provincial Board Meeting
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm Presentation on Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), Presented by Desmond Cahill and Bank of Montreal
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm Survivors’ Forum, Sharing Our Success Stories and Caregivers and Family Members, Small Round Table Discussions on a Variety of Topics
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm Nutrition Break
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm Development of an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Outpatient Program, Presented by Nova Scotia Rehab Centre Staff
2:45 pm – 3:30 pm Chapter Presentations, South Shore Chapter, Halifax Chapter, Valley Chapter, Truro Chapter
3:30 pm Thank You and Closing

Newsletter

Please review the opportunity below currently posted on the HRSDC website regarding the Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security Review Tribunal:

Applications are being sought for the position(s) of Part-Time Legal Member(s) (Chairperson), Part-Time Medical Member(s), Part-Time Community Member(s). An inventory resulting from this process will be compiled and may be used to fill current and future vacancies. Applications will remain available for consideration for one year following the date of receipt.

How to Apply
Step 1 – Review the Notice of Vacancy
Step 2 – Review the Selection Criteria and Conditions of Appointment
Step 3 – Complete and print the Application Form. If the space provided is not sufficient, you may attach additional pages.
Step 4 – Return the completed Application Form along with your curriculum vitae and other material to:

Governor in Council Appointments Unit
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage
Phase IV, 13th floor
Gatineau (Quebec)
K1A 0J9