Hi everyone,

It has been just over two years since the world-wide pandemic was announced and Nova Scotia went into a state of emergency. On Sunday, March 20, 2022, that state of emergency ended and all public restrictions were lifted including masking (except in schools); however, Nova Scotia Health is maintaining its current restrictions at all its facilities.

While the public mandates have lifted, the recommendations have not changed. Dr. Strang and our leaders at Public Health are still highly recommending donning of masks in public indoor and outdoor spaces when you cannot socially distance. As well, they are still recommending us to keep our social bubbles small and consistent, stay home when we are sick and if we become sick or test positive for COVID to let our close contacts know. This is a really important time for us, as leaders in healthcare, to model these important behaviors and to continue to educate our communities that COVID is real, still here and there are excellent ways to prevent spread of the disease. Dr. Shelly McNeil (Division Head Infectious Diseases and Senior Medical Director of the COVID Network for NSH) said it very well in a recent tweet “it’s not numbers, it’s people…masks save lives”@ShellyMcNeillD. Masks and full vaccinations do save lives. People are dying from COVID and COVID does discriminate against the most vulnerable people in our care.

It is not just the direct deaths from the disease itself; people are experiencing delays for life-saving surgeries, treatments and assessments because of the impact COVID is having on our healthcare system. So, don your mask, keep your distance, keep your bubbles small, test regularly as a healthcare worker and stay home when you are sick to keep our colleagues in healthcare and most importantly our patients and loved ones as safe as possible. We do need to learn how to live with this virus in our world and we need to respect it. 

Since our last newsletter Russia invaded Ukraine. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people affected by this senseless conflict and all war related conflicts throughout our world. I know there is more good in the world than bad. In the coming days, be intentional about spreading peace, positivity and inclusion; even a small act of kindness makes a difference. In our jobs, we have opportunities to be kind, relieve suffering, heal and offer hope every day. We are so very lucky.

There are some great items in our newsletter this month and I hope you will take some time to enjoy them. Don’t forget to send us your stories and ideas for next month. 

Take care of yourselves,

Christine

Christine Short, MD, FRCP(C), FACP

"Dr. Morrison is very enthusiastic about doing this research,” said Dale. “She’s excited for us to be on the national and international radar, and have people know that we’re here, we’re a great site to work with, and we deliver the goods."

...

"Andrea Dale is responsible for coordinating and conducting the study visits with all of the Vertex patients. She works with Dr. Nancy Morrison, who has been one of the principal investigators for the trials."

March 1, 2022

Congratulations to Rachel Sullivan, PGY4 Gastroenterology Resident, on winning the #GRIT 2022 Abstract Presentation Award.

Equity in Access to Colorectal Cancer Screening in Nova Scotia

Rachel Sullivan, Jennifer Jones, Chadwick Williams, Eileen Kilfoil, Donald MacIntosh, Michael J Stewart

Microvascular Pathology as a Therapeutic Target for Epilepsy

Friedman, Alon; Beyea, Steven; Bowen, Chris; Clarke, David B; Kamintsky, Lyna; Kureshi, Nelofar; MacLean, Mark A; Schmidt, Matthias H; Volders, David; Whatley, Benjamin

Amount: $849,150