In the healthcare industry, no one joins without a deep sense of caring and a genuine desire to help others. The challenges of long hours, low wages, and both emotional and physical stress quickly weed out those not committed to making a real difference for their patients.  “Not everything that can be counted counts,   and not everything that counts can be counted.”  However, alongside this altruism, we must confront the harsh reality of the infrastructure and numbers that can push our compassion to its limits. Whether in the ER, hospitals, long-term care facilities, or home care, the lack of resources, support, and system efficiency leads to burnout and stress for healthcare workers. This, in turn, leads to patients perceiving poor care, creating a vicious cycle that further strains the system.  The Numbers Game: Understanding the 1/31 Problem  Let’s delve into some critical numbers, starting with the 1/31 problem. Among the

In today’s noisy, contentious world, there’s a lot of concern about Canada’s healthcare system. Not surprising given we are the top spender on healthcare among the 38 OECD countries but rank 31st in healthcare outcomes. Policymakers and our fragmented healthcare system are hyper-aware there is a problem and are attempting to make changes, along with pronouncements.  But amidst the cacophony of news, politics, and system redefinition, we must ask ourselves: Are we truly listening to our seniors and those marginalized by medical issues or chronic conditions?  Surveys and studies consistently provide feedback and show that people prefer to age gracefully or manage medical recovery at home. A study by the Canadian Medical Association and the National Institute on Ageing revealed that 96% of people would rather stay in their own homes as they age or deal with medical issues.  Despite this, 80% of elder care budgets go to institutionalized care, which is 18% higher

What Direction Should We Take? “We are all in this together”… could not be a more appropriate phrase for our healthcare situation.  Whether it is our partner, our parents, our child, or ourselves, we will eventually be faced with ageing, or a chronic condition, or recovering from a medical issue.    For those of us in Canada we will be experiencing this eventuality in a country that is ranked as the highest spending country as a percentage of GDP amongst OECD countries, but is ranked 31 out of 38 in terms of health outcomes in the same group.  This situation will get worse. Consider these astounding stats from the just-published (Feb. 2024) McMaster University whitepaper “The Impact of Ontario’s Aging Population on the Home Care Sector”:  This is an unprecedented demographic bulge, with massive implications for our healthcare system, and for our own respective healthcare experiences.  With an already over-stretched healthcare system how will we deal