A Tribute to Dr. Henrique Rigatto 1937-2019

Sunday September 15, I attended a celebration of the life of Dr. Henrique Rigatto. Dr. Rigatto was a colleague who worked at the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg for many years. He came to Winnipeg from Brazil in the early 1970s, established the neonatal intensive care unit, and did extensive clinical and basic research which looked at the mechanism by which the brain controls breathing and how such control develops in utero and after birth. His research was world leading and helped greatly in the understanding of how breathing is controlled very early in life. As part of his work in the neonatal intensive care unit with newborn babies he helped develop the newborn transport team which was able to bring many sick infants from all over Manitoba to Winnipeg to get help. In 1986, recognizing that the time for transport of an infant is critical he was successful in urging the province to get a jet airplane which could land on the small northern runways to reduce the time it took to get the infant to Winnipeg and to help ensure the best care possible for these infants. The jet plane made a dramatic difference and was instrumental in helping improve the chances of many children doing well.

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Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March. South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory. The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions. This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14. Manitoba ( red line ) started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then. South Dakota ( blue line ) has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4. Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations

Pushing for safe consumption sites and safe supply to reduce overdose deaths

On Monday June 20th, Thomas Linner of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Arlene Last-Kolb Regional Director of Moms Stop the Harm and Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins were at the Manitoba Legislature to advocate for better measures to reduce deaths from drug overdoses, most particularly for safe consumption sites and for a safe supply, measures which can reduce overdose deaths.

There is an imperative to have a provincial plan to ensure every child learns to read

Too many Manitoba children with learning disabilities like dyslexia are not being identified and helped early on starting in Kindergarten and grades 1 and 2. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that it is the provinces responsibility to ensure that every child learns to read, and even when, in the case of a child with dyslexia intensive intervention is needed. In 12 years Manitoba has failed to produce a provincial plan to address this issue. We are holding a Forum (see below) on this subject. Please come out to the Forum. There is no cost. Everyone is welcome. To learn more about the need to do better helping children, youth and adults with a learning disability click on this link

The Gerrard Report

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