Janet Kushner-Kow

Contributor

Dr. Janet Kushner-Kow is the physician program director of elder care at Providence Health Care and division head of geriatric medicine at the University of British Columbia.

3197 Contributions
by Laurie Proulx

Breathing for both of us

I walked into the obstetrics unit – 36 weeks pregnant, out of breath and scared. I had been here before, but this time was different.
by Peter Downs

Constant recruiting, training makes it harder for Monarch to provide client support

“It seems like we are continuously posting for new people because we really are viewed as a stepping stone,” says Roxane Zuck, Monarch Recovery Services' Chief Executive Officer.
by Peter Downs

Municipal funding helps but staffing challenges remain

Michelle Spencer gets emotional when she speaks about the passion of the team she works with at the District of Kenora Homes and Community Support Services.
by Peter Downs

‘The pressure is on the recruitment side’: Wage gap a challenge for Algonquin Family Health Team

Chief Executive Officer Janine van den Heuvel says the Algonquin Family Health Teams' has largely managed to avert staffing shortages and turmoil caused by a steep wage gap in the community health sector – so far.
by Peter Downs

‘It’s not about greed, it’s about need’: Wage gap reduces patient access at primary care clinic

Amanda Rainville, a nurse practitioner and executive director at a rural primary care clinic in Capreol, Ont., says she feels the impact of the wage gap in the community health sector on a daily basis.
by Peter Downs

Wage gap boosts ‘make it that much harder to recruit’

Competition for qualified staff willing to work on the front lines of the community support services is growing fiercer, says Janet Williams, Vice President of Human Resources, CHATS-Community & Home Assistance to Seniors.
by Peter Downs

Closing the gap: The urgent need to support Ontario’s community health workers

Without action, we will see services cut, wait times grow longer, and more overcrowding in our emergency departments and hospitals – all at a time when the impact of the trade war could increase demand for community health services, including mental health supports.
by Sarah Hobbs

Community oversight essential to improving primary care in Ontario

It’s time to roll up our sleeves and choose to build a primary care system that can truly stand as the foundation for Ontario’s health and social systems.
by Jasmine Ryu Won Kang

HPV vaccination more than just women’s health issue

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination historically has been framed as a women’s health topic, but a gender-neutral approach to prevention may boost health benefits for both females and males.
by Kathy Kastner

‘I want to pat dogs until I die’: End-of-life planning should be more than just Living Wills

Flipping the script on Advance Care Planning doesn’t mean I don’t agree with it. But what my approach has done is to take note of what makes up a “good day” and try to incorporate as many as possible.
by Maddi Dellplain

LifeLabs strike highlights risks of foreign ownership in Canadian health care

The months-long strike at British Columbia’s LifeLabs has raised questions about foreign ownership of medical services and Canadians’ health data.
by Eberechukwu Peace Akadinma Breanna Barker Ola Abanta Thomas Obewu

Changes to the Canada Health Act could help address Ontario’s health system issues. Will the province be on board?

The successful implementation of the Canadian Health Act (CHA) reform due to take place in April 2026 will depend on provincial cooperation rather than competition between health-care professionals.
by Indu Subramanian

More than just words: Record-setting speech gives hope to Parkinson’s community

As a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s disease, I was profoundly touched by Sen. Cory Booker’s emotional, record-setting speech to the U.S. Senate on March 31.
by Graham Dickson Phil Cady Bill Tholl John Van Aerde

Has health care leadership become a bloodsport?

"Who knew that getting into health-care management and health-care leadership would be such a blood sport?”
by Margaret McGregor

Harms from fossil fuel expansion are absent from this election campaign. Why we need to worry

Calls for rapid scaling of fossil fuel projects not only ignore the impacts of these industries on atmospheric warming but fail to consider their direct effects on human health.
by Lyne Filiatrault Arijit Chakravarty David Fisman

Who’ll be Canada’s next Chief Public Health Officer? You should care

We need someone who learns from the past, applies the precautionary principle, engages with evolving science from multiple disciplines, and earns public trust by speaking hard truths.
by Kate Mattocks

Canada’s next government must prioritize perinatal mental health

Perinatal mental health should remain a political priority for the next government. There is substantial urgency to act so that people at risk can get the help they need.

by Margaret McGregor Amira Aker Willow Thickson Julia Robson Brittany Bingham

Integrating environmental justice into environmental health research. How are we doing?

The journey of embedding of environmental justice principles in health research has only just begun. But it is more important now than ever for researchers to undertake this work.

by Kevin Zhao

DEI dying: Why sex/gender in health research should matter to us all

As the U.S. disengages with sex differences research, Canada must double down on its own research program. Science takes years to bear fruit – the research we invest in today are the therapies we have tomorrow.
by Laura Targownik

My birth sex is part of my medical history; it should be as private as the rest of my medical history

Insisting on primary birth sex identification for trans people does little to improve the health of trans and gender diverse persons; it merely exchanges one theoretical set of adverse health care outcomes for others that are definite and far more impactful.

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