Sunset Country Family Health Team
1-35 Wolsley St. P9N 0H8 Kenora, ON, Canada

Thank you so much to Upriver Media for beautifully capturing who we are and what we do

New year = new goals and resolutions. Is healthy eating part of your goals to work on this year? Our dietitians have shared this article: Getting a Healthy Body Starts with Healthier Thoughts - to encourage overall healthy living, and less focus on restrictive eating habits. Link: http://tiny.cc/4om7tz

The Canadian Mental Health Association - Kenora Branch is launching their Kick the Winter Blues Campaign January 2021 in partnership with The Best Music Q104 to help you make winter a little easier this year. For the month of January, they’ve teamed up with local businesses to get the word out about the winter blues and encourage you to complete a weekly challenge by submitting your photo of the challenge - with a chance to win great prizes! Further details on the Kick the Winter Blues Campaign (and to submit your photos!) can be found here: https://www.cmhak.on.ca/index.php/events

Happy New Year from the Sunset Country Family Health Team!

We are open 8:00am-4:00pm Tuesday, Dec 29 and Wednesday, Dec 30; open from 8:00am-12:00pm on New Year's Eve Thursday, Dec 31. We will remain open during the province-wide lockdown, adjusting our office hours to 8:00am - 4:00pm.

Wishing you a safe, healthy and happy holiday!

Please see our Holiday Hours of Operation for 2020. **Important: The SCFHT will remain OPEN during the province-wide shutdown. Our office hours will be changing to 8:00am 4:00pm during the lockdown (effective December 26, 2020 January 9, 2021). #PrimaryCareAlwaysThere... We understand that the holiday season is hard for many of us and this year will be different than usual. We have shared some resources for you if you need help during scheduled office closures, please reach out: - Telehealth Ontario: 1-866-797-0000 - CMHA Crisis Response Services: 1-866-888-8988 - Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 - Tele-Friend Support for Seniors: (807) 468-4454 Please call 911 if you have an emergency. Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday! -The Team at SCFHT

Job Opportunity: We are looking for a Foot care RPN to join our team. Please share!

The NWHU has recommended to avoid non-essential travel to Winnipeg and other parts of Manitoba, and to avoid non-essential travel outside of Northern Ontario. If you have traveled to Winnipeg, you should limit interacting with others as much as possible for 14 days upon returning home. If you have traveled outside of the NWO region and have an upcoming appointment with us, please call us at 468-6321 and we will help you make any adjustments or reschedule your appointment. Thank you for your patience and understanding - please stay safe!

Are you looking for ways to bring some mindfulness into your life during these stressful times? Sign up to take part in the NWHU's 12 Days of a Mindful Holiday ...Challenge, running Dec. 1-12. Even though we're in the middle of a pandemic, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't take care of ourselves! Visit www.nwhu.on.ca for more details. See more

Please read the latest media release from the Lake of the Woods District Hospital: COVID-19 Response Update. #LWDH #COVID19

Tomorrow is World Diabetes Day! A global event and official United Nation’s World Health Day that unites the global diabetes community. How will you be celebra...ting? Here are a few things you can do: - Snap a photo wearing BLUE & share it on social - Snap a photo of a landmark lit up in BLUE & share it on social - Share a story about diabetes - Share diabetes facts on social http://dbts.ca/j6Ue50ChUj6 - Donate to Diabetes Canada http://dbts.ca/KLWa50ChUjA Be sure to tag #EndDiabetes to keep the social conversation going! #WorldDiabetesDay #WDD #EndDiabetes #DiabetesAwarenessMonth

Job Opportunity: We are looking for a Footcare RPN Please share!

November 12, 2020 Update: This has been a tough week for many people in the struggles related to the Covid Pandemic. I think it is finally clear to a good ch...unk of the worlds population that we are entering a point of no return with the way we respond to the spread and the threat of infection. Vaccines are currently in the spotlight, and perhaps this will be the way forward if we can make it to the time where they are available. I will devote one of the upcoming blogs to the various issues relating to vaccines as they are complex and the knowledge around COVID vaccines is rapidly evolving. 1. World - Currently there have been 52.6 million test confirmed COVID positive cases, with 16 million currently active (1/3 are active). In the USA, there have been 10 million cases so far, 250,000 of them have died and there are still so many active cases that the deaths will surely rise significantly in the coming 3 weeks. A total of 500,000 people in the US have been hospitalized and there are 65,000 in hospital there right now. That puts the death rate fairly constant at around 2.3% and that is underestimating given the delay in mortality. 150,000 new cases in the USA means that approximately 3-5000 people will die from this cohort in the next while. European nations now have a resurgence and deaths have surpassed the first wave and continue to ramp up. Remember that in countries like the US, 3% of the population have had this. Add the impact of 30 times the current numbers if we are unable to stop the transmission or vaccinate. If the other 97% of the USA followed with current rates, there would be 10 million dead in the US alone, with all of the chronic disease for those who lived. The lag between testing positive and deaths results in people only really appreciating the seriousness somewhat late (policymakers and the news need to project forward by a few weeks). Nurses and physicians in the ER and ICU are sounding the whistle in the USA and the other hardest hit countries. They are full. I was reading about Florida, Texas and other states where the situation is dire. It is getting there in Manitoba and they are going to be even harder hit in the coming 2-3 weeks in all of these places.The interventions touted by public health work - strategies that include hand washing, masks, and physical distance stop much of the spread. There is increasing evidence that coughing aerosolizes viral particles, but that droplets comprise the majority of the transmission. Countries like Australia have been proactive and creative with their measures have dramatically impacted the spread there, while countries like the US where the measures are scattered and haphazard are feeling the impacts right now. We are somewhere in the middle - many of our strategies worked, and the current lack of serious actions on a national level do not appear to be working and we are nearing the tipping point. 2. Canada - We are at the precipice and need to act quickly to avoid a big surge in most of Canada. New modelling suggests that in 4 weeks time, we will hit 6500 new cases every day. That translates to 300 deaths per day given current trends in Canada, so that would be a disaster. In Quebec 324 schools closed in the last 2 days. Nobody wants to close schools, but it is looking more like that is the only safe strategy to avoid excess transmission once the numbers soar like this. In Canada, we are adding 4981 cases per day (think 250 deaths per day a month from now if this continues. There have now been 282,000 cases with 50,000 active cases right now. 3. Local - We are seeing the spillover from cases in hotspots and now the Northwestern Health Unit has reported 5 active cases. Very simply, we need to all behave and modify our choices now that COVID is in our community. This response right now amidst the raging numbers in Manitoba will define our tragectory. Our population is 100 times smaller than Manitoba's... 5 cases is roughly equivalent to 500 cases in Manitoba. We are going to have to do a good job dealing with our cases and reducing new infections if we are to avoid disaster. The increases in Manitoba now have over 6030 active cases, with 227 in hospital and 34 in ICU. Dr. Roussin stated emphatically today that public health direction has not changed in Manitoba: The message is stay home. The message is do not socialize outside of your household. The public health orders themselves are simply just a tool. They cannot always be identical to public health’s strong recommendations. If anyone from the Kenora region travels to Winnipeg for an essential reason, after returning home, they should limit interacting with others as much as possible for 14 days. If you must travel to Winnipeg, avoid visiting anyone for 14 days upon your return, especially anyone who is at high risk of complications or death from COVID-19. This would include not visiting long term care homes, people aged 60 years or over, immunocompromised individuals, and those with underlying health conditions, explains Dr. Kit Young Hoon, Medical Officer of Health at NWHU. Stay in northern Ontario and avoid any travel to Manitoba that isn’t absolutely essential. We hope that the new public health orders put in place today will help reduce the current spike in cases that our neighbours are seeing, Dr. Young Hoon says. 4. Focus - The emotional toll on all of us is huge. Life is stressful at the best of times, with the demands of work, finances, relationships, school, health issues, and COVID impacts every part of these stressors. New research from the Lancet yesterday showed that the increased anxiety, sleep disorders, Mood Disorders, and psychotic disorders all occur from COVID. (Taquet M Luciano S Geddes JR Harrison PJ Bidirectional associations between COVID-19 and psychiatric disorder: retrospective cohort studies of 62 354 COVID-19 cases in the USA. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 Nov 9.) Basically, Covid is highly associated with increased psychiatric illness and psychiatric illness was found to be robustly an independent risk factor for getting COVID. 1.65 x higher even when you factor out the other risk factors like comorbid illnesses, housing circumstances, economic hardship, and any age. Be kind, and watch out for our most vulnerable. Happy Endings - Stay safe everyone. We need to do this right now.

Happy National Nurse Practitioner Week!

All Nations Health Partners KENORA DISTRICT COVID-19 UPDATE for October 2, 2020.

Celebrating National Breastfeeding Week, Oct 1-7!

Job Opportunity - we are hiring a Full-time Registered Practical Nurse. Join our team! Monday to Friday shifts. Please share!

The Northwestern Health Unit will have the flu shot available later this fall - book your flu shot appointment today!

30th September 2020 Update: Since last week, there have been some important changes across Canada and locally. As we are 4 weeks into the start of the school... year and after the Labour Day weekend, we are now seeing the increase in cases as was broadly predicted by almost everyone. In Northwestern Ontario, we again have active cases, and both the federal and provincial governments are working to find acceptable responses and aid to for the next step in the COVID response. 1. World - There are currently more than 34,000,000 cases of COVID, and over 1 million people have died from COVID-19. We are seeing a levelling out of reported deaths at around 5,000 people every day and about 1,000 in the US alone. The new cases continue to rise, with new records every day of confirmed cases. Currently about 290,000 new cases are reported each day. The deaths have been concentrated in the US, Brazil, India, Mexico, and the UK having 1/2 of the deaths so far, but with many of South and Central American countries surging right now. Covid continues to accelerate and surges are occurring in many parts of the US and the World. 2. Canada - Canada appears to be at an important juncture. We have seen a dramatic increase in the numbers across Canada and close to home. We are still 20th in the world for deaths, and now 33rd in the world for deaths / 1 million people. This puts us at double the World average for deaths / million. Our next response will see whether we can do better than those averages. The past 6 months have been difficult for the major centres of Canada with Montreal and Toronto having the majority of deaths, but this could easily spin out of control across the country. Right now, our Ontario second wave is seeing predictions that will be the highest of any time of COVID so far. If we don't get control, then this surge may overwhelm the medical system as it has in the US and several other countries. My immediate area of concern is Manitoba which has seen outbreaks in Winnipeg with 40 cases / day reported and specific areas of concern in Long Term Care homes, daycares, and 18 schools. This means that less restrictive measures are not working in Manitoba and that there is a distinct possibility that we will see things out of control within the next 4-8 weeks. And what happens in Winnipeg is very very likely to happen in Kenora shortly thereafter, as we are so closely tied to and interwoven with Winnipeg. 3. Local - As predicted, we have started seeing pockets of active cases in every region including Dryden, Red Lake, Kenora, Rainy River, and Sioux Lookout. Kenora has its 10th case with its newest active case reported today. Our NWO total is 53 to date with 6 active cases at this time. If we can limit new cases here quickly, we may be able to avoid a surge locally. If it gets into long term care, schools or daycares, we will see a surge. I feel like it is so important to keep vigilant during the next 4 weeks if we are to continue to have the results that we have had for the last 6 months. 4. Focus - Today, I will keep things short. We have got this Kenora. We can continue to have it. Please dig deep and know that these next 4 weeks are super important. Physical distancing of 6 feet, hand washing, masks, and try to limit exposure. Let's keep our vulnerable populations safe. We have a great deal of at risk people here, and the once of prevention is so very important as we have no cure. Vaccine research is going full bore ahead and has some promise. 5. Happy endings - I want to personally thank Tom Kurtz for his seemingly endless stream of Memes that I’m poaching for my posts. His posts are always so funny and smart, I'm going to ride his coattails for a while! And for you grammar freaks (like me) ... I share my favourite one.... and apologize in advance for those of you who don't get it. Stay safe everyone!

Happening tomorrow! There's still time to register - contact us!!

Today is #worldheartday - let's be mindful of the healthy lifestyles and actions that we can take to maintain a healthy heart - find out more at - Heart Disease in Canada - Canada.ca https://ecs.page.link/iApS4

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 All Nations Health Partners KENORA DISTRICT COVID-19 WEEKLY UPDATE.

Celebrating National Breastfeeding Week, October 1-7, 2020: La Leche League Canada is hosting a 7-Day Virtual Conference recognizing breastfeeding all across Canada!

This Thursday, October 1st, 2020! Contact us to RSVP - [email protected] or [email protected]

FIREFLY - Physical, Emotional, Developmental & Community Services is looking for volunteer Board Members. Please reach out to Tammy if you're interested or would like to know more!

The Sunset Country Family Health Team would like to welcome and announce our newest team members: Addyson is working full-time as our new Receptionist. Becky Shorrock and Jen Carlson are Registered Nurses who will be working at the Primary Care Outreach Program, in partnership with the Kenora District Services Board.... We are excited to have these professional and hard-working individuals join our team!

Celebrate National Breastfeeding Week: we are hosting a FREE Virtual Event (via Zoom) on Thursday, October 1, 2020 starting at 10:30am. Contact us to register and please share with anyone interested in attending!

September 22, 2020 Update: With kids back at school, some relaxing of physical distancing in many areas of the country, and the increase in gatherings recently,... we are seeing a spike in cases in Canada. Public Helath will be meeting and providing updates live in the next few hours. There haven't been any major breakthroughs with treatment, vaccines or any big changes in the predictions over the past month, but we are seeing a steady marching on of cases. 1. World - Regions and countries that are not following basics of physical distancing, masks, and hand washing are seeing consistent spread. Those that re-impose these measures see a decline of cases. The US is back up to alarming new case levels, and the total numbers of new cases in the world continues to climb - new records are set with each passing day. The reported world death rates are somewhat consistent at over 5000 per day. Currently the US has now passed the 200,000 deaths mark, and the world will have had 1 million deaths in approximately 1 week. Again, the numbers are staggering and still increasing. Most of the world has still not been exposed to COVID, and the death rate from those who get it seems to be around 3-8% (In Canada is 6.3% so far). Globally it is around 3% total deaths. This does not necessarily mean we are doing worse than other countries. It could represent differences in our population, lack of testing or reporting or attributing deaths in other countries, difference in strains, etc etc. 2. Canada - As a nation, we have had 146,000 cases and 9232 deaths so far. Our new cases are spiking with the most cases since May 3, 2020. In areas who have looked at the reasons for cases, it appears that large gatherings, and individuals that have large numbers of contacts are the places that we see COVID outbreaks getting out of control. What does this mean? It means that the measures to limit spread work. Don't gather in large groups, mask when contact under 2m may happen, wash hands and limit contact to keep contact tracing as a possibility. 3. Local - Northwestern Ontario is also seeing new cases over the past few days. With the 50th case in Northwestern Ontario today, we have managed to keep our numbers low, but will likely see more in the next 2 weeks as holidays and back to school will likely lead to some hot spots. There are 3 active cases in the Red Lake and Sioux Lookout regions. Manitoba has had important spikes in COVID with 22 new cases yesterday. Remaining careful and following public health advice is more important than ever. Our schools and teachers have been amazing at learning how to educate our kids. They are trying to find solutions and pivoting when needed. Schools across Canada have recently been closed, many are providing hybrid on-line, and all of us fully expect that we will be asked to be flexible. Education during this pandemic is proving one of the most challenging aspects of life. Thank you to our teachers, teaching assistants, administration, nurses, janitors, administration assistants, coaches, guidance counsellors, and those who I missed mentioning. All of you are keeping it together for our kids and your efforts are really really appreciated! 4. Focus - I know that people are struggling with the marathon of physical distancing, masks, and the uncertainty of figuring out how to go through this time as we wait for possible vaccines or treatments that works. We need to remember that our efforts have been working. We are going to see steady spread of COVID, and the mortality appears to be steady at 5-7% of cases in Canada. We have not overwhelmed the hospital / ICU systems so far because of Canadians' efforts. I appreciate all of the efforts of our community, and am thankful for everyone's patience in going through these times with all of its challenges. 5. Happy Endings - Stay Safe everyone and thank you for your efforts!

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 All Nations Health Partners COVID-19 KENORA DISTRICT UPDATE.

Join our virtual Bariatric Support Group! No referral needed. Contact us to sign up!