Alanna Smith
@alannasmith.bsky.social
National health reporter with The Globe and Mail. Based in Calgary. Formerly with the Canadian Press, Calgary Herald. DM for Signal/Whatsapp or email alannasmith@globeandmail.com 🔗: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/alanna-smith/
More than a dozen emergency room nurses have resigned from a hospital in the Greater Toronto Area over the past two months, owing to unmanageable patient volumes and an unsafe work environment, according to a provincial union. #onpoli @theglobeandmail.com
Fifteen ER nurses leave Ontario hospital citing overcrowding, safety issues, union says
Resignations at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital highlight a health care system under pressure across the country
theglobeandmail.com
The number of older Ontarians living with opioid use disorder has more than doubled over the past decade, according to new research that highlights how the country is not currently equipped to support this growing population. @theglobeandmail.com
Opioid addiction among older Ontarians more than doubled over past decade, study finds
Researchers warn the health care system is ill-equipped to meet the growing needs of an aging population struggling with addiction
theglobeandmail.com
How a woman’s kidney donation saved her sister – as part of a nationwide transplant chain. Kim Chow donated one of her organs through the Kidney Paired Donation Program setting off a chain reaction, by @alannasmith.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com
How a woman’s kidney donation saved her sister – as part of a nationwide transplant chain
Kim Chow donated one of her organs through the Kidney Paired Donation Program
theglobeandmail.com
Ottawa should invest in intensive housing for Canadians w/ severe cognitive impairment, a uniquely visible and costly subgroup in the homeless population that no current housing model is designed to serve, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness argues. @theglobeandmail.com
Ottawa urged to fund intensive housing for homeless Canadians with cognitive impairments
The proposed model would be secure or semi-secure units with 24-7 staff, including nurses and health care aides, similar to a dementia unit
theglobeandmail.com
Freedom of information? We filed an FOI for refused FOIs to find out what Ontario's government doesn't want you to know. ijb.utoronto.ca/news/freedom...
Freedom of information? Here’s what Ontario’s government doesn’t want you to know - Investigative Journalism Bureau
We filed an FOI for refused FOIs. Here’s what we found.
ijb.utoronto.ca
Leading cancer organizations, in an open letter, are calling on a national panel on preventative health to immediately review its guidance for prostate cancer, which has not been updated for more than a decade. @theglobeandmail.com
Cancer organizations urge national panel to review outdated testing advice for prostate cancer
Signatories say current guideline is out of step with clinical practice, and must be updated to advance detection and prevention
theglobeandmail.com
After revolutionizing weight loss, GLP-1s show promise on another front: opioid addiction. Here's our in-depth look at what the research shows so far. @theglobeandmail.com
After revolutionizing weight loss, GLP-1s show promise on another front: opioid addiction
Researchers test whether drugs to reduce food cravings can help people with substance-use disorders, but urge a cautious approach
theglobeandmail.com
Quebec no longer offering free flu shots to entire population, a year after it ended no cost COVID-19 vaccinations. Other provinces are maintaining universal flu shot coverage, by @tuthanhha.bsky.social @alannasmith.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com
Quebec will not administer free flu shots this fall
Quebec was the second province after Alberta to stop providing free COVID-19 vaccines to its population last year
theglobeandmail.com
For our final piece in the Care Between the Lines summer series, I profiled a volunteer who provides comfort to patients without loved ones in their final moments. #cdnhealth
Volunteer program aims to comfort patients without loved ones in their final moments
No One Dies Alone pairs those who are nearing death and have no family or close friends available to sit with them with trained volunteers
theglobeandmail.com
Emergency physicians in major cities across Canada say they can usually catch their breath during the summer months. But this year has been unlike any other. “This is the end state of what people have been warning everybody about for years." @theglobeandmail.com #cdnhealth
Emergency physicians say this summer’s patient levels are unprecedented
Health care system is no longer on the brink of collapse but caving in before our eyes, an ER doctor says
theglobeandmail.com
Excellent piece by @andreawoo.bsky.social on the many costs of wildfire, particular to our health: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
The metrics that reveal the human cost of a wildfire season
Calculations should include health effects and socioeconomic costs, researchers say
theglobeandmail.com
Breaking: Private blood-plasma collector Grifols, which has for months faced intense scrutiny after the death of two donors, is temporarily pausing plasma collection at all of its donation centres across Canada. W/ @hannay.bsky.social #cdnhealth @theglobeandmail.com
Grifols pauses plasma collection at Canada donation centres
Private blood-plasma collector has been under scrutiny for months after the deaths of two donors
theglobeandmail.com
The Manitoba government opened its first supervised drug-use site on Tuesday after a lengthy delay and community pushback, charting a path opposite to other Canadian provinces. @theglobeandmail.com #cdnhealth
Manitoba opens first supervised drug-use site in Winnipeg after prolonged delay
Province partnered with Indigenous health non-profit to establish the facility, which faced community pushback and political opposition
theglobeandmail.com
Homelessness is growing the fastest in Canadian communities where rental prices have spiked and vacancy rates have tightened for low-cost rental units, according to a first-of-its-kind national analysis. @theglobeandmail.com #cdnhealth www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Rising cost of low-end rental units driving increase in homelessness, report shows
Findings challenge assumption that other factors, such as mental health or substance use, are the reason rates have surged in Canada
theglobeandmail.com
A brave face: Alberta volunteer's painted radiotherapy masks bring comfort to pediatric cancer patients and their families. @theglobeandmail.com #yeg #abhealth
The volunteer turning children’s radiation masks into works of art
By transforming the rigid thermoplastic shells into animated masks, Marilyn Kimura’s designs are bringing comfort to what can otherwise be a scary experience
theglobeandmail.com
Less invasive heart bypass technique developed by Canadian cardiac surgeon Dr. Marc Ruel shows promising results, study finds, by @alannasmith.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com @heartinstitute.bsky.social
Less invasive heart bypass technique developed by Canadian shows promising results, study finds
Ottawa surgeon led research across six countries that shows there is an alternative to the traditional method used for decades
theglobeandmail.com
Here's the latest in our series, Care Between the Lines, highlighting health care volunteers who fill gaps in the system. Driven to help: A non-profit in southern Saskatchewan helps bridge vast distances for patients seeking medical care. @theglobeandmail.com #cdnhealth
In Saskatchewan, volunteer drivers go the distance to bridge rural health care’s transportation gap
A non-profit helps patients get to medical appointments that would otherwise be out of reach
theglobeandmail.com
One in 10 patients spent more than 14 hours waiting for care in Canadian ERs, and those requiring admission to hospital sometimes waited more than three times longer, according to new research. @theglobeandmail.com
Emergency room wait times continue to climb as more medically complex patients seek care
Lack of primary and long-term care is driving more patients to overcrowded hospitals, report says
theglobeandmail.com
How Bad Could the Ebola Outbreak Get? Here Are 5 Key Factors. Contact tracing is improving. Treatments may be months away. Here’s what could determine whether a fast-expanding outbreak can be slowed down. www.nytimes.com/interactive/... via @nytimes.com @stephanienolen.bsky.social
How Bad Could the Ebola Outbreak Get? Latest on Testing, Tracing and Vaccines
Contact tracing is improving. Treatments may be months away. Here’s what could determine whether a fast-expanding outbreak can be slowed down.
nytimes.com
Moncton has seen a sustained surge in suspected overdoses in the past few weeks, with officials warning that the drug supply is tainted with a notorious veterinary tranquilizer. w/ Lindsay Jones @theglobeandmail.com
Surge in suspected Moncton overdoses caused by drugs tainted with veterinary tranquilizer, officials say
Fire department deployed new rapid-response vehicle with extra firefighters to attend more overdose calls than usual
theglobeandmail.com
“We poisoned our community to make cases,” DEA Special Agent David Howell told AP in a series of interviews in New Mexico. “Through our own willful blindness, we get to say, ‘We don’t really know what happened to the drugs.’ But we 100% got people killed.” @apnews.com
Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as the DEA watched and took no action, records show
According to current and former DEA agents and records reviewed by The Associated Press, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of ...
apnews.com
Access to free naloxone in B.C. preventing 4 out of 5 potentially fatal overdoses, BCCDC report finds. However, 12,356 lives were lost to the toxic drug crisis in B.C. from 2019 to 2024, by @thatemfagan.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... via @cbcnews.ca @bccdc.bsky.social
Access to free naloxone in B.C. preventing 4 out of 5 potentially fatal overdoses, report finds | CBC News
Thousands of people have died due to the toxic drug crisis in the decade since B.C. declared it a public health emergency. But a new study shows that many more could have died if not for the province'...
cbc.ca
The faces of MAID: A decade after medical assistance in dying became legal in Canada, family and friends of people who chose to die tell the stories of their loved ones, by @kkirkup.bsky.social @mikehager.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com
The faces of MAID
A decade after medical assistance in dying became legal in Canada, family and friends of people who chose to die tell the stories of their loved ones
theglobeandmail.com
An Alberta judge has dismissed an injunction application to halt the closing of supervised drug-use sites in Calgary and Lethbridge, effectively clearing the path for the province to shutter the life-saving services at the end of this month. #ableg #yyc
Alberta judge dismisses bid to halt closure of supervised drug-use sites
Justice Jason Wilkins’ dismissal of injunction application effectively clears path for provincial government to shutter sites in Calgary and Lethbridge
theglobeandmail.com
SCOOP: Alberta Health Services received a court order to hand over documents to law enforcement, according to an exec at the agency: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... w @tomcardoso.bsky.social
Alberta Health Services ordered to hand over documents to authorities, senior executive confirms
The health agency received a production order, indicating law enforcement is directly probing an arm of Premier Danielle Smith’s government
theglobeandmail.com
Ebola one month on: will the latest outbreak in DRC become the most deadly yet? With more than 670 confirmed cases and over 135 deaths, the disease has yet to be contained amid funding shortfalls, fear and disinformation, by @katlay.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... @theguardian.com
Ebola one month on: will the latest outbreak in DRC become the most deadly yet?
With more than 670 confirmed cases and over 135 deaths, the disease has yet to be contained amid funding shortfalls, fear and disinformation
theguardian.com
