© Copyright 2009, Whistler Question – Published November 13, 2009 – LOCAL NEWS – David Burke dburke@whistlerquestion.com

Richard Kinar
A West Vancouverite who has been leading the charge for increased helmet use in the snowsports industry and improved brain injury prevention programs nationwide this week received a prestigious award recognizing contributions in the field.

Richard Kinar, a regular Whistler visitor and skier, on Saturday (Nov. 14) was to receive the Dr. Tom Pashby Safety Fund Award, which has been awarded annually since 2004 to “a Canadian who has made an outstanding contribution in the prevention of injuries in sports and recreation,” Pashby Fund officials said in a statement issued Friday (Nov. 13).

Kinar is a member of the board of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, which works to educate the public about the dangers of brain injuries and advocate initiatives and programs that help prevent them. He is also a member of the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) Ski Helmet Committee.

Kinar became involved in the initiative after he was told that the helmet his son was wearing at the time of a bicycle crash had saved his life.

A former professional freestyle skier, Kinar has been especially active in calling for the mandatory use of helmets by all skiers and snowboarders. Over the past few years Whistler Blackcomb and other resorts have stepped up helmet use — this season all children and youth participants in WB ski and snowboard school programs will be required to wear them, for example. Kinar, though, has persisted in his calls for helmets to be mandatory for all mountain users.

In an interview on Thursday (Nov. 12), Kinar pointed out that head injury is the No. 1 killer of males under the age of 35 in Canada and that preventable injury is the leading killer of young people. Canada ranks 27th out of the 29 Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) countries in terms of money spent per capita injury prevention programs, he said.

Earlier this year, partly as a result of Kinar’s efforts, CSA officials released a set of design standards for snowsports helmets. But despite his efforts and those of others, the federal government has yet to enact Bill C-289, put forward by B.C. MP Dr. Hedy Fry. It would ban the sale of snowsports helmets that don’t meet CSA specifications.

“(Kinar) was most influential in getting the ski helmet standards passed,” said Dr. Pat Bishop, who chairs the CSA committee on safety equipment. “He convinced the British Columbia government to provide the funding for the CSA to develop the CSA standard.”

In addition to the cost human suffering, better helmet standards and more effective injury prevention programs could help save much of the $14.7 billion Canada’s health-care systems spend annually on treating preventable head injuries, Kinar said.

“It’s just so frustrating trying to get the message across that 90 per cent of this is preventable and predictable and that programs and initiatives need to be put in place to improve our standing in the world and protect our young people from these injuries,” he said.

“The political system here has completely ignored the leading killer of our kids, and parents don’t know it.”

The Pashby Award, which comes with a $10,000 cheque, is “recognition for all the work I’ve been doing for all these years, and it recognizes that I’m bringing in the right message to our political leaders,” Kinar said.

“This, hopefully, will help leverage some more opportunities to talk about sports injury prevention.”

© Copyright 2009, Whistler Question
Story URL

From: LTC Global Canada
Canadians Living Longer
The good news is that Canadians are living longer thanks to healthier lifestyles and dramatic improvements in the detection and treatment of disease.

However, the longer people live, the more likely they will need help with caring for themselves at some stage due to an accident, chronic illness, the aging process and/or a cognitive impairment.

As a result of our aging population and increased longevity, the demand for long term care has risen significantly over the last decade and will continue to grow as the boomers enter into their retirement years.

In the past, Canadian families were relatively larger and thus there were a number of family members to share the responsibility of looking after aging parents. Today, the family structure in Canada has changed. Canadians are having fewer children. More women are working and are having children later in life. Increased labour mobility means that family members are more geographically dispersed and therefore less likely to be located near their parents when care is required. The end result of these changes is a major reduction in the traditional sources of care giving.

Due to spiraling health care costs as a result of an aging population, publicly funded long term care services have been frozen or even reduced in recent years. Many Canadians who assist a family member in need of long term care are shocked to discover that Provincial Health Insurance Plans and private supplementary health insurance essentially does not cover long term care and that the cost of care is very expensive, whether that care is provided at home or in a facility. Unfortunately, most people learn about long term care the hard way – when they or a family member needs extended care. Long term care expenses can quickly deplete savings that took a lifetime to accumulate.

Long term care insurance programs have been established to allow individuals to reduce the risk of financial hardship, avoid burdening loved ones, protecting assets from the high costs of long term care; and to provide peace of mind.

In May 2004, Ian Young lived in Calgary, was active in the arts, music and culture. A general feeling of unwellness brought him to seek medical attention. Little did he know the diagnosis would be life altering as well as awakening. A rare disorder was growing lesions on his cerebellum. His condition deteriorated and he suffered several strokes leaving him incapable of many independent functions and with an unknown outcome.

Learn more about Ian Young and follow his Brain Train Ride.
Please donate generously to support Ian Young’s Brain Train Ride.

Provided by: The Canadian Press
Written by: Peter Rakobowchuk, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Apr. 30, 2009

MONTREAL – The Canadians Standards Association can’t say if Natasha Richardson would have survived if she had been wearing a CSA-approved helmet during her fatal ski accident last month.

The actress died from a brain injury she sustained after a fall while skiing at Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant ski resort.

“There’s no way of knowing whether it (a helmet) would have protected her,” association spokesman Anthony Toderian said Thursday.
Read the rest of this entry »

January 15, 2009

Do you have questions about traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other psychological health issues involving yourself or a loved one?

You’ve come to the right place to find answers.

Welcome to the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center.

The Outreach Center answers questions about psychological health and traumatic brain injury around the clock and every day of the year from members of all the military services (including the National Guard and Reserve), veterans, families, healthcare providers, military leaders, and employers.

Call in your questions to the Outreach Center at 866-966-1020 toll-free or send an e-mail inquiry to resources@dcoeoutreach.org.

The Outreach Center provides valuable tools, tips, and resources. It is staffed by health consultants and nurses with advanced degrees and expertise in psychological health and traumatic brain injury issues.

In addition to answering questions, our consultants refer callers to centers in other parts of the Department of Defense, other federal agencies and outside organizations when appropriate.

DCoE, which is part of the Department of Defense Military Health System, promotes resilience, recovery and reintegration of service members facing psychological health and traumatic brain injury issues. DCoE also works to advance research, education, diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.

You’ll never find answers if you don’t ask questions. Remember, seeking support is an act of courage and strength. You are not alone.

The Bulkey Valley Brain Injury Association requires a part-time Executive Director.

This position is 15 hr/wk for direct client service provision with 7 hr/wk for development and operational management of the Association and BVBIA programs
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Saturday afternoon and we’re just starting to recover from the Tri The World Sweet 16 party, and are preparing for our last long run before Clearwater.

We think it’s safe to say that the party was a huge success and once again we are overwhelmed with the support we’ve received from our family and friends and the tri\running community as a whole. Many thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with us – special thanks to Soundcheck for the fantastic music; we wish we could have done a little more dancing…

With ticket sales, proceeds from the silent auction and a very generous donation from Morley Hoppner Construction, Tri The World raised over $3500 for each of our charities: Brain Injury Association of Canada and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Again, we are overwhelmed and speechless. We truly are blessed.

Now we’re setting our sights for the final race in Clearwater on November 8th, and are looking forward to being down there with some family and friends. Hard to believe we’re almost done. It’s been quite the journey.

Stay tuned for Clearwater talk in a week or so!!!

Heather & Brian

Tri-The-World Website

Starting March 29th, 2008, Brian and Heather will be racing in 16 Half Ironman Triathlons in 11 countries, on 4 continents in 8 months to raise AWARENESS about both Testicular Cancer and Acquired Brain Injury.
Learn More