WINNIPEG’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS MAGAZINE Nov/DEc 2012 6 MYTHS ABOUT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY What you need to know about staying fit 10 SECRETS TO HEALTHY EATING Tips for upping the veggies, cutting the sweets and keeping the portions under control PLUS When baby cries A time to be mindful Travel health insurance Nurse practitioners take on new roles What to discuss with your MD when you turn 50 SPECIAL REPORT MHRc MARKS 30 YEARS oF HEALTH RESEARcH IN MANIToBA SIMPLE CREMATION $850 +GST WINNIPEG AND MANITOBA’S BEST VALUE GUARANTEED!!! **Prices subject to change without notice** At Wojcik’s, we employ honest, sincere and professional Licensed Funeral Directors, who are paid by salary and comfortably guide our families through At-Need and Thoughtful Pre-Planning Arrangements. WE DO NOT SOLICIT NOR EMPLOY ANY HIGH PRESSURE COMMISSIONED SALES PEOPLE For well over 30 years, Richard Wojcik,owner of Wojcik’s All Beliefs & Faiths Funeral Chapel & Crematorium Inc., has worked in funeral service for many of Winnipeg’s funeral chapels including both international corporations and Beausejour,MB.Wojcik’s is a locally owned family business and for the past several years, Richard, Louise and their staff have served Winnipeg and rural Manitoba communities & cemeteries with the utmost pride and respect. “If You Want To Be Treated As Family - Choose The Wojcik Family” • Original Family Owned & Operated Funeral Chapels • • Privately Owned Crematorium • • Serving All Faiths & Beliefs, Places of Worship & Cemeteries In Winnipeg & Rural Manitoba • “We're Still Small Enough to Care” ALL BELIEFS & FAITHS FUNERAL CHAPEL & CREMATORIUM “Where care & compassion come from understanding” www.wojciksfuneralchapel.com Photo courtesy of Elcheshen Photography Richard A. Wojcik, Louise, Rachel & Ryan Located 1 block west of Deer Lodge Centre Located 4 blocks south of the Redwood Bridge 2157 Portage Avenue Serving 1020 Main Street @ Sharp Boulevard Beausejour, Manitoba @ Manitoba Avenue 204 - 897 - 4665 & 204 - 268 - 2263 & 204 - 586 - 8668 Stay active, eat healthy and ensure you have a coverage plan that suits your family’s needs. Whether it’s health, dental or travel, see what BLUE® can do for you! See your agent or visit us online at: www.mb.bluecross.ca This issue of is brought to you by the following major sponsors: Partners in building Canada’s Partners in building Canada’s healthiest community healthiest community 20 58 23 Table of contents Features 10 secrets to healthy eating Tips for upping veggies, cutting sweets and keeping portions under control 12 Half-century primer What to discuss with your MD when you turn 50 16 Travel insurance primer What you need to know before travelling 16 outside Manitoba 20 Special Report: A Healthy Investment Manitoba Health Research Council marks 30 years of service 23 54 Departments & Columns A Letter from the Winnipeg Health Region Better care, more efficiently 7 Health Beat Nurse practitioners take on new roles 8 Health Headlines A roundup of health research stories 10 Balance 12 A time to be mindful 54 In Motion 6 myths about physical activity 56 Ask a Nurse Hush, sweet baby 58 Recipes Banana bread 62 56 November/December 2012 5 YOUR GUIDE TO THE RISING TIDE OF HEALTH & WELLNESS INFORMATION November/December 2012 Volume 4 Issue 6 Publisher Winnipeg Regional Health Authority re inFormation please call President & CEO Arlene Wilgosh For mo Regional Director, Communications, Media, Public & Government Relations Jonathan Hildebrand Editor Brian Cole Contributing Writers Joel Schlesinger, Liz Katynski, Murray McNeill, Susie Strachan Columnists Audra Kolesar, Kristine Hayward Laurie McPherson Creative Director Krista Lawson Photography Marianne Helm Illustrator Krista Lawson On the Cover Joni Nikolou at the Rady Centre, photographed by Marianne Helm Editorial Advisory Board Réal J. Cloutier, Dr. Wayne Hildahl, Dr. Michael Routledge, Dr. Peter Nickerson, Lori Lamont, Dr. Michael Moffatt, Dr. Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg, Lynda Tjaden, Ilana Simon Wave is published six times a year by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in partnership with the University of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Free Press. It is available at newsstands, hospitals and clinics throughout Winnipeg, as well as McNally Robinson Books. Winnipeg Free Press Publisher Bob Cox Vice-President, Sales Laurie Finley Advertising/Marketing, Winnipeg Free Press Manager of Niche Products Edith Bonner Phone: 204-697-7389 e-mail: [email protected] Subscriptions Wave is available through subscription: One year (six issues) for $12.60 ($12+GST) Payment may be made by cheque, money order, VISA, or MasterCard. Did you miss the last To subscribe, phone: 204-697-7598 Or, send an e-mail to: [email protected] Wave Editorial Office ? Winnipeg Regional Health Authority 650 Main Street Pour une version française Winnipeg, MB R3B 1E2 téléphonez au 926.7000 Phone: 204.926.8144 Rendez vous à notre site Web: e-mail: [email protected] www.wrha.mb.ca/lecourant A French-language version of this magazine is available online One year (six issues): $12.60 at www.wrha.mb.ca/lecourant. For information, call 204-926-7000. The information in this magazine is not meant to be a substitute for Call 697-7122 or professional medical advice. Always seek advice from your physi- send an e-mail to [email protected] cian or another health professional regarding any medical condi- tion or treatment. Opinions and views expressed in this publication do not always represent those of the Winnipeg Health Region. This publication may not be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the Winnipeg Health Region. 6 WAVE Better care, more efficiently A Letter from the Winnipeg Health Region Arlene Wilgosh, President & CEO he global economic recovery is uncertain, and the costly to provide, to reduce reliance on Tprovincial government’s budget is tight. more costly hospital care. Let me explain why this last point is an important one. But even though we are facing some year, we will continue to be guided by Here at the Region, spending is allocated economic and fiscal challenges, the the things that matter most to our patients. along the following lines: public’s expectations of their health This means working to: • About 69 per cent is for acute care. system, and those who run it, remain very • Improve access to our services. • About 16 per cent is for long-term care. high. And rightfully so. • Ensure services are safe and of high • About 15 per cent is for community care. Our job here at the Winnipeg Health quality. Hospital-based care will never, ever Region is to deliver high-quality care as • Reduce wait times for services. vanish. A health system needs hospitals. efficiently as possible. But before I explain • Improve transition among services. However, I believe some services how we are going to continue doing just • Strengthen patient choice. traditionally provided in hospitals can be that, let me provide a bit of background. Safety, access, wait time, transition, and moved into community settings where As I noted at our annual general choice. All of these things are key to a they can be delivered more inexpensively. meeting last month, the Winnipeg Health well-functioning, high-performing health- A recent pilot project illustrates the Region spent just under $2.5 billion to care system, and it’s not unreasonable for point. It involved redirecting patients in provide health care in 2011/12. the public to expect the most from us in need of intravenous antibiotic therapy Of course, much of that money, about this regard. Equally important, however, from Emergency rooms to a community 75 per cent, went to wages and benefits is the need to demonstrate value in the facility for the service. As a result, the for the nurses, doctors, health-care aides, services we provide. We need to ensure average number of scheduled IV visits allied health staff, cleaning staff, security that patients and taxpayers are getting in Emergency rooms decreased 88 per guards, and others who keep the system good, or better, value for their dollar. cent. That freed up time, space, and staff operating. About seven per cent went Essentially, that means finding ways to for Emergency departments to deal with to medical supplies, and about six per deliver safer, higher-quality or additional emergency cases. cent was spent on direct patient support services at the same or lower cost. The Bell Hotel on Main Street is items, such as linens, laundry and food. To achieve this goal, we must first look another example of where we’ve been Other costs include pharmaceuticals, for ways to improve the operation of the able to provide care in the community amortization, and other assorted costs. system while reducing waste, through that reduced pressure on hospitals and The Region’s administrative costs, business process re-engineering and Emergency rooms. With our partners at which are among the lowest in the the application of LEAN management CentreVenture, the Main Street Project country, according to the Canadian practices. In other words, we must make and Manitoba Family Services and Institute for Health Information, amounted our services better and cheaper, but not at Housing, we helped turn the Bell into a to 4.22 per cent in 2011/12. That the expense of patient care or staff. home for a dozen or so of our most at-risk includes corporate costs of about 2.24 per Second, we must be innovative in clients. Since moving into the Bell, there’s cent, which are well below the 2.99 per looking for ways to do things better been a 70 to 80 per cent drop in their cent corporate cost ceiling legislated by at lower cost, taking advantage of use of ambulances, Emergency services the province. opportunities to maximize the talents and encounters with police under the What does $2.5 billion buy in terms of and skills of our workforce.