Posts Tagged YEG

Dealing with Alberta Health Services especially at the Royal Alex Hospital (RAH) in Edmonton = ARGH!

March 2, 2013 at 00:31 · Filed under Community, Politics ·Tagged , , , , ,

Dealing with Alberta Health Services especially at the Royal Alex Hospital (RAH) in Edmonton = ARGH!

Time at the hospital with Mum today was um, what is the perfect word? Interesting(!), disheartening and going to end up costing us (Hubby#1 and me) more money if we want to ensure Mum does not become even more dehydrated or degenerate, period.

Since Dietary is fundamentally stupid I was told today that I should start bringing in juice for Mum (on top of the pudding) because no liquid ever comes up on the food tray and there is never any of the thickened juice that Mum can drink on the Ward. The nurses on Ward 53 will add the gross thickening powder to the juice we bring in so that Mum does not need to be on the IV fluids all day. Wow, are we lucky…

Of course no gravy has been seen for days with Mum’s dinner, fundamentally stupid is all I can say.

I wonder if there is anything else the hospital would like us to provide? FCOL, she is on the STROKE Ward and having her dietary and fluid requirements met seems as impossible for them as getting Mum on the Moon.

When I arrived Rosalie Gray was out and her Mom stepped away for a moment so of course a plastic surgeon came in to look at the open wounds on Jordan’s feet. The scab (deep) on his right foot came away and his feet are once again bandaged to allow healing. This twit (I call them as I see them) was talking to me until I introduced myself as Mum’s daughter when he started to talk to the young relatives of Jordan’s. Now I am older and have sat beside Jordan (as well as Mum) for over a month so I am somewhat familiar with what has been going on. This twit starts telling the girls how he will clean the dead tissue on Jordan’s right foot by debridement and how important the area be kept clean, blah, blah, blah. The girls have no idea what this is or means but I unfortunately do. Then this twit proceeds to RE-USE the same gauze and dressing on Jordan’s feet (he simply used tape to “seal” where he had cut them off). When I tried to question him (challenge) the twit he ignored me. Very unprofessional and oh I don’t know (yes, I do!) very UNHYGIENIC! I said there were some 2x4s behind him, I could ring the nurse etc. but no, this “professional” knows better. No, I am not family but on 53-07 we have all learned we have to speak up for everyone, related or not, alas we have learned that we will be ignored, told to mind our own business and the like too. The nurse came but after the exam and re-dressing. The nurse filled in Jordan’s Grandma (and this is one of the good ones) but got which foot would need treatment wrong. Yep, I opened up my big mouth and corrected her. 

I made sure Rosalie knew about this “lapse” in basic wound care.

As she filled me in some issues that Mum is having that the nurses have not bothered to mention to me even when asked specifically about them! ARGH!

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#YEG Twitter Hashtags and Hints – Addendums

February 10, 2012 at 13:58 · Filed under Community, Politics ·Tagged , , , ,

#ABHealth Alberta Health and Wellness is the provincial government department that oversees AHS
#yegmusic Great tips and discussions on the fantastic music scene in Edmonton

I have had suggestions such as #yegmediacamp but as there have only been two, I did not include the hashtag.

#yegdemocamp or #yegIdeaFest or even #yegGirlGeekDinners have been held many more times and could be added to the list as well.

Events such as Heritage Days, Folk Fest, Capital Ex (CapX), Taste of Edmonton (ToE) and the Fringe use updated hashtags every year and reflect the current year (so 2012) or how many years the event has been held especially if it is an anniversary type year or what this year’s event is being called.

#yegTweetup was also suggested but I made the decision to exclude it for the same reason as event listings – it is usually #hashtag specific such as #yegTweetupMay or #yegCoffeeTweetup or #yegTweetupCharityName.

Essentially the convention is to #yegEventOrIssueOrDate or #ABEventOrIssueOrDate. I say convention because these are hints not rules. I would simply recommend when making up your own hashtag to use the KISS method and ensure it makes sense to your target audience!

#yeghealth was suggested and I am open to comments. Since health and wellness is a provincial and then a zone issue, it was not a hashtag that I could see garnering a lot of traction.

In addition, the question was asked if #yegmedia was used (tracked) by the dailies, radio or TV (so media!) or was it more a public relations or communications types specific hashtag? Please weigh in on this!

Please use hashtags, however, in moderation! Do not subscribe to hashtag soup or condense so much it is hard to figure out your tweet.

So no [#YEG #yegmedia #yegtraffic #yegfood #yegcoffeetweetup 4 #yegCharityName on #March132012 @ #NAIT pls #RT & pls #Share w/ #Edmonton#peeps & #StAlbert & #AB …]

Most of all have fun with Twitter! Engage with people and if you are following a specific hashtag and notice a Tweep with many good posts please follow them as this illustrates why using hashtags is useful!

Thanks to everyone who have made corrections to my lists (#pcaa NOT #pcca and #UAlberta NOT #UOfAlberta) think the University of Alberta would have been a no-brainer for me since they keep the roof over my and Hubby#1’s heads!

Keep them coming and if you have suggestions or comments please, please let me know!

Thanks Peeps!

Now let the fun continue…

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#yeg Twitter Hashtags and Hints

February 9, 2012 at 22:01 · Filed under Community, Politics ·Tagged , , , , ,

The #yeg Twitter community is an active and engaging one and here are some hints to help “Newbies” or gentle reminders to the more seasoned Twit!

Try to get into the habit of using Hashtags when tweeting. Hashtags are preceded by the pound sign # and these allow aggregating and searching of/for tweets. While  the hash # has no defined function within Twitter, Twitterers and some 3rd.-party utilities use hashtags (remember a  hashtag is ANY word preceded by a #) as keywords to help index and track particular themes on Twitter.

Some hints:

  • Numbers in a hashtag are okay (ok) such as #Run4TheCure but punctuation does not work (it breaks the sequence) for example #St.Albert will only show as #St use #StAlbert or even #StAb (beware that this can be confused with ‘stab’) if space is really limited.
  • Use #yeg or #YEG (I am a purist and love my capitalization) but not #Edmonton as this is not in common usage and takes up valuable space.
  • Please (pls) remember people (ppl) you (U) only have 140 characters in a Tweet and (&) that includes your name! Brevity as long as message is clear is a great (gr8) thing especially if you have information you want other to re-tweet (RT). Want that post shared? ASK! Pls RT or Pls share. If you have more information (info) for (4) your Followers to see than do a blog post and insert the URL in your Tweet. If you really need to conserve space than remove vowels for shorten words to something that is readily apparent for example deets for details or RQ for request(ed).
  • Be respectful of other Twitter users Tweets. Always acknowledge the Tweet originator like this RT @DebraWard or via: @DebraWard Correct spelling if mistake(s) make the message (msg) unclear or to condense BUT MT if changes have occurred.
  • Do not do the hashtag hustle! Do not use #yegtraffic or #yegwx if your post has nothing to do with traffic or weather as polluting a particular twitter feed stream (especially if you are selling something) will have the exact opposite response. Peeps will unfollow, mute, block, report you for spam, or simply ignore you. It will be like the “boy who cried wolf” when you have a legitimate #yegtraffic or #yegwx post.
  • According to statistics compiled by Mack Male @Mastermaq the busiest time on the #yeg feed is 16:00-18:00. Something to keep in mind if you want to ensure maximum readability or engagement. Alternatively, some Twitter users will repeat a post for the AM or PM crowd (if duplicating a post it is good form to indicate it such as #ForThePMCrowd or #InCaseUMissedIt or #FYI.)

Some popular hashtags for Edmonton, Alberta, Canada or #YEG and area plus some miscellaneous ones that are used regularly!

#yeg or #YEG Edmonton
#yegtraffic Anything to do with Edmonton traffic, accidents and construction
#yegfood Great restaurant, horrible restaurant, food truck events
#yegmedia A call out to all Edmonton Media
#yegwx Edmonton weather
#yegdt Edmonton downtown
#yegcc Edmonton City Council
#yegarts Edmonton Arts Scene
#yegcensus Edmonton’s Spring Census
#yegRV Edmonton’s River Valley (not commonly used)
#yegWoD Edmonton YWCA’s Women of Distinction Awards
#ableg Alberta Legislature info
#TEDxEdmonton Edmonton’s TEDx talks and saloon series
#AB Alberta
#EPS Edmonton Police Service
#EFD Edmonton Fire Department
#EMS Edmonton Medical Services (paramedics, ambulances)
#ETS Edmonton Transit Service (can include LRT but usually refers to busses or bus operators, delays)
#EPL Edmonton Public Library
#EFR Edmonton Fire Radio
#NLRT or #SLRT North or South Edmonton Light Rail Transit discussions
#LRT Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit
#yegarena Edmonton downtown arena discussions
#Sq or #SQ Prefaced with “The” and meaning Sir Winston Churchill Square
#Arena This is also used for Edmonton downtown arena discussions
#Oilers Edmonton NHL Hockey Oilers discussions
#Esks and #Eskimos See both in reference to the CFL Football team
#ShPk Sherwood Park
#StrathCo Strathcona County
#StAlbert or #StAb St. Albert
#RHW / #SPR Rice Howard Way / Stony Plain Road
#SPR Stony Plain Road
#FtSask Fort Saskatchewan
#Tweetup An event spread on Twitter but usually open to anyone
#AHS Alberta Health Services
#pcaa Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
#CdnPoli or #cdnpoli Canadian political discussions
#MentalHealthMatters Mental Health Matters
#EIA Edmonton International Airport
#STARS Alberta Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service
#Air1 EPSs helicopter(s)
#Global1 Global and 630 CHEDs Edmonton’s Helicopter (Traffic & Edmonton –area shots)
#BVJ Big Valley Jamboree held in Camrose the August long weekend
#smbyeg Social Media Breakfasts held the last Friday of the month
#PKN[insert number – next one in Edmonton will be ##] Pecha Kucha events – 20 x 20 presentations
#ABRoads Traffic, accidents updates on highways and roads throughout Alberta
#FF or #FollowFriday A shout out recommendation on someone great to follow. Has more meaning if the tweet says WHY others should follow this person or company such as they are very engaging, knowledgeable about such and such…
#yyc or #YYC Calgary
#yyj or #YYJ Victoria (has a VERY active Twitter community!)
#CoE City of Edmonton
#GoA Government of Alberta
#GoC Government of Canada
#Canada Canada for non-official Canadian discussions
#AbEd or #abed Alberta Education discussions
#TW Twitter
#FB Facebook
#LI LinkedIn
#LetsTalk Bell’s Mental Health “Let’s Talk” campaign
#UAlberta University of Alberta (U of A is too confusing)
#abvote Alberta Elections
#2012Oly 2012 Summer Olympics in London
#GP (some people use the airport code of #yqu (#YQU) but rarely) Grande Prairie, Alberta
#ymm or #YMM Fort McMurray / Ft. Mac
#Census Federal Census

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Slave Lake Fundraiser @ Bunkers Sports Pub

May 20, 2011 at 00:11 · Filed under Community ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Slave Lake Fundraiser this weekend (May 20 – 22, 2011) at Bunkers Sports Pub – 615 Hermitage Road, Edmonton

            Entertainers Relief Fund for Slave Lake Victims

Rising funds and collecting donations to life the spirits and assist the many residents displaced and devastated by the Slave Lake fire.

For more information: http://bunkerssportspub.com/ (Check back regularly as this event is very fluid and gathering momentum moment to moment.)

 For the Kids: During the day, there will be numerous fun events.

For the older “Kids”: This is a three day event which will feature live bands, barbeques, breakfast, silent auctions for example bid on an opportunity for a ride in Chopper One courtesy of Canadian Traffic Network (CTN), signed sports memorabilia, a 50/50 Draw and much more!

**THIS IS A 3 DAY EVENT**

STARTING FRIDAY,MAY 20TH 7:00 P.M. TIL 2 A.M.

SATURDAY 11 A.M. TIL 2 A.M.

SUNDAY 11 A.M. TIL 2 A.M.(DAYTIME PERFORMANCES ARE DONATION WATCHEABLE, EVENING PERFORMANCES ARE TICKETED SEATING, $10 PER TICKET)

As a result of the devastating and horrific fire In Slave Lake, which has left a third of that community homeless and countless businesses destroyed, entertainers from across Alberta are banding together to raise funds and collect clothing donations this long weekend.

CHANGE IN VENUE!!!!!!!!!!! 

To do this they are staging a marathon variety show at  BUNKERS SPORTS PUB, 615 Hermitage Road, Edmonton.

Musicians like Colleen Rae, etc and comics like Tim Koslo, Sebastian Steel, and many more, are donating their time for the cause.

A BBQ will be held outside Bunkers in the parking lot, and donations of clothing and toiletries or cash if you prefer will be accepted. Two small men with big hearts moving company is parking a moving truck in Bunkers parking lot all weekend so we can “stuff the truck” with donations!

Come, enjoy a weekend full of entertainment, food, and drink specials.

Former CTV Weatherman and ACT Telerama host John Berry will be your MC.

$10 cover charge. All proceeds raised this weekend will go to the victims of Slave Lake. There will also be a 50/50 draw.

Breakfast will be served on Sunday with proceeds from the breakfast also being donated to the Slave Lake Relief Fund.

Acts on board so far: hypnotist sebastian steel, country singer colleen rae, rock band swarm, comedian tim koslo, dj naZty, motley crue tribute band the dirt, musician mark mcgarrigle ,musician wayne alchin, musician/comedian paul sveen, musician anthony poirier ,rock band drt comedienne dar germin,comedian james ross, musical artist paula quilty perro, rock band looking east, dan the balloon man, world reknown photographer/artist con boland will be photographing one of the nights.

Please note we need more entertainers! Singers ,dj’s, comedians, musicians, improv troupes, buskers, get in touch with me via the number provided.

SHOW SCHEDULE

FRIDAY – 7:00 TICKETED SEATING BEGINS
8:00 COMEDIAN/MUSICIAN PAUL SVEEN
8:30 COUNTRY ARTIST COLLEEN RAE
9:00 COMEDIANTIM KOSLO
9:45 COMEDIAN JAMES ROSS
10:00 HYPNOTIST SEBASTIAN STEEL
11:30 COMEDIENNE DAR GERMIN
MIDNIGHT ROCK BAND LOOKING EAST
12:45 DJ
1:00 ROCK BAND THE SWARM

SATURDAY

11:00 MUSICIAN MARK MCGARRIGLE
12:00 COMEDIAN JAMES ROSS
12:30 (OPEN SLOT)
1:00 OPEN SLOT
2:00 COMEDIENNE DAR GERMIN
2:30 COMEDIAN LARS CALLIEOU
3:00 ROCK BAND THE SWARM
4:00 HYPNOTIST SEBASTIAN STEEL
5:30 MARK MCGARRIGLE
6:30 MUSICAL ARTISTS VISHUDDHA
7:00 TICKETED SEATING BEGINS-MUSICIAN ATHONY POIRIER
8:00 MUSICIAN/COMEDIAN PAUL SVEEN
9:00 ROCK AND ELECTRIC BLUES BAND TALL DARK N DIRTY
10:00 HYPNOTIST SEBASTIAN STEEL
11:30 THE SWARM
12:30 DJ NAZTY

Thanks and see you there!

For more information, call Sebastian Steel at 780-641-4973

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Congratulations to the YWCA Edmonton 2011 Women of Distinction (WoD) Nominees

May 19, 2011 at 23:16 · Filed under Community ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Congratulations to the YWCA Edmonton 2011 Women of Distinction (WoD) Nominees

* Editors Note: The following was written two years ago during an extremely difficult time in my life with Hubby#1 having a medical crisis which required emergency surgery for the weeks leading up to the Gala (he was released from the hospital the day before) in other words a tumultuous and whirlwind time.

The category I was nominated in was “Turning Point” –a category I did not feel I had fully done in 2009 and definitely something I know I have yet to do in 2011.That is okay.

To me life is not about awards, becoming stagnant, or being too comfortable in my place in this big wonderful world. Life is about always changing — always turning a corner, turning challenges into opportunities and taking those small leaps of faith every day. I like always being at a turning point in my life; I do all I can to ensure that the direction is a positive one and that on the journey I do my best.

Congratulations to all the 2011 nominees – I am certain you are all extremely deserving of this honour and I am certain that everyone of you are winners –where it matter most—in life!

YWCA Women of Distinction (WoD) 2009 was a wonderful honour and experience

Debra is a lifelong learner, passionate community volunteer and supporter. Although she is not originally from Edmonton she is proud to call Edmonton home “by love and by choice.” While recovering from serious personal and professional ordeals, Debra became a tireless worker for women’s rights and an educator at the ground level. She exemplifies the willingness to tutor, educate and empower women, and volunteers with the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE) to help other women recover from traumatic events. Debra plans to never grow up, never stop learning and dreaming and believes that life is too short to just do a job. Family, friends, volunteering, mentoring, contributing and fun is her motto. Debra loves and lives this motto every day and in any way she can.

This was my bio in tonight’s program. It is factually correct but in my obviously biased view it does not fully convey my “Turning Point”, which was the category I was nominated in.

Five years ago when I was functionally catatonic, when I was so mired in pain and in the acute/crisis stage of my post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) I did not know how I was going to survive let alone thrive ever again.

What I knew then and what I never lost sight of was that by being a part of the community, that volunteering and mentoring was the only way I was ever going to see any hope or good in the world ever again.

I am humbled to be nominated. That anyone would think I have made any difference in the community is incredible.

Tammy MacDonald who started Hair Massacre when her youngest daughter was diagnosed with cancer was who I was cheering for in my category and I am truly glad she won as I felt she deserved it. To Tammy (and ALL the other nominees, winners all of us) I say congratulations and thank you for making such huge differences in the community. The world is a better place because of you, because you care and have the willingness and determination to make life better for others.

These are my personal most favourite accolades that I have received in the last few years.

From my first mentee/little sister “Thank you Debra for being my friend.”

From some of the people I have spoken to on the SACE crisis line, “thank you” and “thank you, when I called I did not know how I was going to go on, I had no hope. Now I realize that things are bad but that I am not a victim but a survivor. That being a survivor is something to be proud of.”

Yes, thank you means more to me than anything. Certainly it is wonderful to be acknowledged but I am most proud of being a friend and of being a survivor.

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Envision Edmonton is pleased to host a special dinner to honour long standing Edmonton Businessman, Don Hamilton.

April 5, 2011 at 16:46 · Filed under Community, Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For Immediate Release                                                                                    April 04, 2011

Envision Edmonton is pleased to host a special dinner to honour long standing  Edmonton Businessman, Don Hamilton.  

EDMONTON, AB: Envision Edmonton is pleased to host a dinner to honour long-standing Edmonton Businessman, Don Hamilton, founder of Air Spray Ltd on Tuesday, April 5th.

Hamilton is a 2011 inductee into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. Don will be formally inducted in Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame later this spring. Don started Air Spray Ltd in 1967 specializing in air tanker forest fire suppression. The company started its business with one air tanker, one bird dog aircraft and a contract for one season with the Alberta Provincial Government to fight forest fires from the air. Don Hamilton, the founder had been an aviator since 1943 flying in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Event Details:

Date: Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Location: Matrix Hotel; (10640 – 100 AVE NW, Edmonton)

Schedule: Cocktails: 5:30 pm; Dinner 6:45 pm; Program to follow.

Guest Speakers to include:

John Lovelace; creator of the television series “The Aviators”

Danielle Smith; leader of the Wildrose Alliance party.

There will be other special presentations as well.

— More —

For additional information contact:  

Eugene Strilchuk

Infinity Flight Services Ltd.  

Phone: 780-447-5920

Toll Free: 877-VIP-7900

Cell: 780-974-1303

Email: eugene.strilchuk@infinitair.ca 

Website: www.infinitair.ca 

                            XXX

Since 1967, Air Spray Aviation Services has been providing exceptional services. For more information please contact them at: 201, 63 Airport Road Edmonton, AB  T5G 0W6 Phone: 780.453.1737 E-mail: office@airspray.com Website: www.airspray.com 

Envision Edmonton, is an independent community organization formed specifically to develop a suitable and economically viable plan to revitalize Edmonton’s City Centre airport. If you have questions or would like more information contact us at: Hangar 39 12009 121 ST NW Edmonton, AB  T5L 4H7 780. 454.1634 Website: www.demandthevote.ca

 

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