Throwing Away the Baby With the Bath Water

The conditions that patients in our mental health system are being subjected to during the pandemic is well below the radar.  When we are looking at the support network that is in place to help people in need, it is important that we first realize how compromised that support may be and that we consider what can be done to assist in remedying the problem.

Currently at the Grey Nuns hospital, their senior director of Addiction and Mental Health has suspended all visitors to mental health patients on top of the restrictions that have been in place since the pandemic began eight months ago. Some patients have lived with those restrictions almost since the beginning of the pandemic. 

This means that people who are struggling with coping on their own and do not have the support or ability to control their thoughts, are now locked down for months at a time without any enrichment activities, no live group therapy sessions, no social activities, and now no visitors. In essence, most standard therapeutic interventions have been compromised by the COVID protocols in place leaving very little treatment options.

The Grey Nuns COVID response has compromised the care of all its mental health patients. While their protocols are framed as a temporary response to the pandemic, they have been in place for eight months and the province’s infection rate is now at an all-time high. Without compassionate leadership that acknowledges what their front line staff have been saying since the start of the pandemic, this temporary response is in effect permanent, leaving our mental health patients with limited effective critical care in times of crisis. 

The driving force behind this issue is the management team behind these decisions. The front line staff and patient care teams are doing a phenomenal job despite the limitations that these short-sighted restrictions have imposed upon them. Unfortunately patient advocacy systems, such as Patient Relations, are setup to address problems perpetuated by front line staff, not managers. Therefore any complaints into this system about management or care systems, get caught in an endless feedback loop. However, the more people that get involved, a louder voice is created. https://www.alberta.ca/make-a-complaint-to-the-health-advocate-offices.aspx

The big takeaway from this is that many of our most vulnerable citizens have long been ignored and while this pandemic has put extra stress on our social safety nets, it has also identified long standing systemic issues that need addressing. While we continue to provide guidance so people can get the help they need, it is important that we acknowledge that a lot of that help is not as helpful as we think it is or that it should be.

"It is an odd paradox that a society, which can now speak openly and unabashedly about topics that were once unspeakable, still remains largely silent when it comes to mental illness." - Glenn Close (b. 1947)

Rights and Responsibilities

My business is currently enduring its second shutdown of this pandemic. I get to go first but everyone else in the province will be following very shortly unless something miraculous happens to take the pressure off of our healthcare system. 

The latest polarizing incident to happen this week was the arrest of an individual who refused to wear a mask in an Edmonton Costco. Watching people’s extreme reactions to the incident just confirms the need for another flipping of the switch. We are not responsible enough to be trusted to make the correct decisions when it comes to controlling the outbreak. Control needs to be taken out of our hands. 

We’re very quick to point out our rights as free citizens of a free country. We’re very slow to recognize the responsibilities that go with those rights. Cause and effect guys, that is what is at play. Nothing is for free. 

We have the ability to avoid a shutdown but that is not something that can be done without universal cooperation. Wear a mask and maintain social distancing or have the government step in and shut everything down. Your choice. If you feel you should have the right to both ways, then don’t expect to have access to a hospital bed if you need one in the near future. If you feel you should have access regardless of the situation, stop complaining when taxes have to be raised in order to expand the healthcare system to cater to your demanded rights. Cause and effect.

We have freedom and safety as a society because we work together for the common good. Those of us who are in a vulnerable state requiring the empathy and support of the rest of us may be the same people who are reaching back to lend you a hand when you need it in the future. The only certainty in this life is change is inevitable - nothing is permanent. Your actions today are a preview of your future world. You create your karma.

“Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty." - John D. Rockefeller (1839 - 1937)

COVID Fatigue

Eight months after the provincial shutdown and four months after reopening, we begin the second shutdown of this pandemic with the provincial infection rate at an all time high. 

Silent River Kung Fu’s classes continue but for the next two weeks, all of our students will be using the online option to attend their classes. This means more one on one time with the instructors, more access to downloadable content, and continued connection with their kung fu community. With every change comes opportunity and as we proved in the last shutdown, leaning into change can lead to exponential growth. Moving forward we will continue to adapt to ensure our classes remain accessible, efficacious, and fulfilling. 

This pandemic has been raging on for so long that many of us are suffering from COVID fatigue. If we get careless and relax our vigilance, this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We have complete control of where this pandemic ultimately takes us. We can make things worse or we can make them better.  Your leadership and the example you set will save lives. Something as simple as a mask can make a huge difference. Remember: my mask protects you - your mask protects me. It has never been about you, it is about those you might infect.

It is important that we do not lose sight of what is truly important here. We’re in this together and the only way out of this is together. Please respect the pandemic.

“Knock it off!” - Jason Kenney (b. 1968)

Leadership

With the US election indicating a change is coming, I am breathing a sigh of relief. The past four years of chaotic leadership coming out of that country has caused a lot of damage that is going to take years, if not decades, to repair.

Sometimes when we are getting something we want, we don’t take the time to consider the consequences. When a government is supposed to represent 100% of its citizens, there has to be more leadership coming from them beyond stimulating the economy. Continuous growth is not possible. Our resources are finite and at some point even the wealthy will come to realize they cannot eat their cash.

I am hopeful that stable leadership will reverse the ‘me first’ attitude that prevails in our society. There is more that brings us together than divides us. We need to recognize that we’re stronger and better off together than apart.

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” — Caesar Chavez (1927 - 1993)