Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the funding of a new High River clinic, officials say it will benefit the community and area.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new clinic last week where officials from the MD of Foothills and Town of High River attended. While the MD is not usually involved in the financing of clinics, it was necessary in this case to replace a number of retiring local doctors according to reeve Roy McLean.
“It was evident that something should be done and we felt we could do some …

Foothills area clinics are prepared to deal with a new antibiotic-resistant superbug cropping up in Canadian hospitals, said Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services.
“Even though this is the latest one, we have been dealing with antibiotic resistance for a long period of time,” said Predy.
British researchers are being credited with the discovery of new bacteria with the gene allowing it to produce an enzyme called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1, or NDM-1.
NDM-1 allows bacteria to resist even the strongest antibiotics. Predy said all medical staff …

Oh how I wish I had money either in the form of bonuses or whatever. If only I could have been a Government of Alberta Health Department official. I would be rolling in dough — the dollar kind.
Has anyone ever told the supposed leaders in the Alberta Department of Health or Alberta Health or whatever they call themselves, that: 1. The recession just isn’t over. 2. It is the taxpayers’ money that they ‘shovel’ out of the department in the form of bonuses!
Dr. Duckett just received a bonus of $143,000. …

Officials with the Sheep River Health Trust were blown away when they received two donations totaling $75,000 from two long-time foothills residents.
The health trust has started a fundraising campaign, called Rural Roots Continue to Care, aiming to raise enough money over the next eight months to renovate the Rising Sun Long-Term care facility in Black Diamond and purchase a new bus for residents. Ed Poffenroth ($40,000) and Ruby Cole ($35,000), donated enough money to put the health trust halfway to their goal of $148,580.
Fundraising and communications officer for the health …

One of the first things Bruce and Sherri Mullen learned about raising chickens is that day-old chicks come in batches of 25.
After the chicks were delivered to their acreage northeast of Okotoks, they learned another lesson: there are several options for buying chickens, including buying single, adult, laying hens.
The city slickers have learned many lessons since then.
Four years ago the couple moved onto the four-acre property to get away from the city, grow a big garden, have some privacy and be able to offer a dog a big yard.
Four years …

A new treatment is providing renewed hope for those suffering with the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis.
In November Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni announced a connection between blocked veins in the neck and the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He demonstrated to an international audience through television reports that when the veins are opened, blood flow increases and people with MS experience relief from a variety of their symptoms.
Testing for blocked veins and angioplasty, which is inserting a sort of balloon into the vein to expand its diameter, is being offered in …

Eyes blue and strong, the elderly woman appeared confident and calm as she entered the spacious boardroom, but a walking cane and ginger steps betrayed her inner strength as she sat down in a cushy chair.
Soon it becomes clear a cane will not slow Joan North, a Calgary artist who is legally blind and trying to coping with the strange hallucinations that haunt her each day.
North retired from her counseling career at the University of Alberta in 1986 to pursue her love of painting and drawing. Less than 10 years …

Yellow and blue flags flap in the wind on a brisk Sunday morning, but these small flags symbolize a special future at the Foothills Country Hospice north of Okotoks.
This weekend volunteers will be helping to build a new labyrinth in the facility’s already breathtaking garden.
Monica Kilburn-Smith, spiritual care director at the hospice, said adding the labyrinth is a wonderful opportunity and a project they have been working on for almost a year.
She said building the labyrinth became an important project because it would be another source of healing for the …

A local children’s author and nurse has written a go-to guide of health tips for children.
Author Paula Glubish said that she feels it is important to educate the children themselves about illness prevention. She penned a book called Volie the Virus that is now available at local bookstores.
“The idea of this book came from my experience as both a mother and a nurse,” said Glubish. “I realized that there aren’t a lot of catchy books out there that kids can relate to on this topic and it’s hard for them …

When the regular nurse wasn’t available, she would toss and turn all night, never really sure everything was alright.
She couldn’t be sure mom was okay and without the usual nurse there, she just couldn’t be positive.
Those were the days when Oilfields High School senior Morgan Ptolemy took care of her mother, Marjorie, who was dying of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
“There were some nights when we would have a different nurse that was new or something and I wouldn’t be able to sleep because there was someone else taking care of …