Spinal cord rehab patient Alex Dritsas receiving respiratory therapy. (Photo: CBC)
It's a series on a day in the life of Canada's healthcare system – and UHN plays a starring role.
A half dozen camera crews visited UHN hospitals on May 6, 2015 to capture six healthcare stories as they unfolded within a 24-hour period.
It was part of a CBC documentary series:
Keeping Canada Alive, which makes its digital debut Monday and airs on television beginning next month.
Camera crews followed several healthcare providers and patients from across Canada on a single day to provide viewers with a snapshot of the Canadian healthcare system.
Watch a preview of the television series
here.
On Monday, CBC released a selection of the stories digitally on the
Keeping Canada Alive website.
The following UHN stories are featured:
Gynecology surgery: Dr. Joan Murphy performs
minimally invasive laparoscopic removal of a pelvic mass through a 1-cm keyhole incision, using 3-monitor video system and surgical team wearing 3D glasses. With this technique, the patient goes home same day/next day (vs. traditional open abdominal surgery and longer stay).
ELLICSR: Dietitian Christy Brissette and chef Geremy Capone lead weekly cooking classes in the
ELLICSR Kitchen for cancer patients, survivors and family members.
Cardiac surgery: Dr. Viv Rao, Chief,
Cardiovascular Surgery at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, performs a quadruple bypass and aortic valve replacement surgery within a multi-disciplinary team environment.
Prostate health: The documentary follows urologic surgeon Dr. Dean Elterman and his patient Barry Stork to shed light on the topic of
prostate health. With new technology, such as the laser surgery for enlarged prostates and health advocates like Dr. Elterman, male patients are improving their health and quality of life.
The six-part CBC TV series premieres on Oct 4 at 9 p.m. It features the following UHN stories:
Spinal Cord Rehab: A day-in-the-life of
spinal cord rehab for newly-admitted Toronto Rehab patient, Alex, who due to a hockey injury was left unable to walk. The documentary captures Alex's nursing care, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy.
This will air on Oct 4.
A 'day-in-the-life': From practicing her personal heart health regimen to helping heart failure patients improve their quality of life to effecting change in cardiovascular health policy and practice across Canada, crews capture a day in the life of Dr. Heather Ross, cardiologist at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and world-leading
heart transplant physician.
This will air on Oct 11.
