Monsoon Journal

Special delivery showcases expertise of Maternal Newborn Department

The Maternal Newborn Department had an unexpected delivery recently when it was asked by doctors at Mt. Sinai to accept a patient in labour with premature triplets.

“This is a huge compliment for us,” says Dr. Cramer, an obstetri- cian at The Scarborough Hospital who delivered the last set of triplets at the General campus in 1982. The Mt. Sinai obstetrician “felt comfortable transferring here. He did not feel the care would be compromised,” says Dr. Cramer, who delivers about 400 babies each year. “It is extremely rare for us to get asked to take overflow from Mt. Sinai .”

Although The Scarborough Hospital’s Maternal Newborn Centre is one of the busiest in the city, delivering close to 6,000 babies annually, high-risk preg- nancies - including a woman car- rying triplets - are typically referred to hospitals that special- ize in that kind of care. Confident they could handle the delivery, the team in the Maternal Newborn Department at The Scarborough Hospital imme- diately prepared for the delivery. When soon-to-be mom Anita Shlymon arrived by ambulance, she was anxious, nervous and a bit worried about delivering in an unfamiliar hospital with a doctor who had not cared for her throughout her pregnancy.

“I asked my doctor at Mt. Sinai to come with me. I didn’t want someone else delivering my babies. He knew my history. But he told me I didn’t have to worry, that Dr. Cramer was a good doc- tor,” says Anita. “I was worried but Dr. Cramer made me feel like everything would be ok. He was joking and that made me feel bet- ter. I received excellent care at The Scarborough Hospital and my three children continue to receive excellent care.”

The three baby boys were delivered within minutes of each other and are all doing well. One was transferred to Sick Children’s Hospital for specialized care. He returned to TSH a week later to be with his brothers; all three are healthy. “No we don’t do this very often. But obstetrically you can’t compare what we do here to any other hospital in the city,” says Dr. Cramer. “We have high volumes. We have a very different and dif- ficult obstetric population. Many have had little or no prenatal care. There are nutritional issues. We do an excellent job with very trying circumstances.”

Cutline for attached photo: Registered nurses Lorna LePoldevin, left, and Tara Moreau spend time with triplet boys Justen, Jean and Jayden in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at The Scarborough Hospital, General campus. The healthy babies are doing well. The rare triplet delivery highlighted the hospital’s advanced obstetrical and pediatric expertise.

For further information please contact: Tracy Huffman, Commu- nications Specialist, The Scarb- orough Hospital, 416.438.2911 x 6770

By: Raymond Rajabalan Now that Toronto has been successful in its bid to host the 2015 PAN AM games, here is a brief history of how this sports program originated.

The Pan American Games bring together athletes from the countries of the Americas in a fes- tival of sport and international friendship. The Games are held every four years in the year pre- ceding the Olympic Games. The first Pan American Games took place in 1951 at Buenos Aires, Argentina, but they originated more than two decades earlier. At the Olympic Congress coinciding with the 1924 Olympic Games at Paris, France, the International Olympic Committee members from Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico proposed the establish- ment of regional games for the countries of Central America. These games became reality two years later when Mexico City host- ed the first Central American Games At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games, representatives of the Latin American delegations proposed regional Games for all the Americas. This proposal even- tually led to the first meeting of the Pan American Sports Congress at Buenos Aires in August 1940. The Congress selected Buenos Aires to host the first Pan American Games in 1942, but World War II forced postponement of these games.

Although the 1942 Pan American Games never took place, at least one poster was cre- ated on their behalf. The image shows a male figure in the fore- ground holding a javelin. The background reveals a view of the globe showing the Americas. The globe is encircled with the flags of 21 Pan American countries. Countries from the British Commonwealth, did not partici- pate in the early Pan American Sports Congress. The lithograph poster was designed by artist Falier Totaro in 1941.

A second Pan American Sports Congress met at the 1948 London Olympic Games where plans were revived. The first Pan American Games opened on February 25, 1951, at Buenos Aires. More than 2,500 athletes from 22 countries participated.

The organization governing the Games was renamed, in 1955, as the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). Currently, 42 nations of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean comprise the organization. The official languages are Spanish and English. PASO has headquarters in Mexico City and is presided over by Mario Vasquez Raña of Mexico, who also is a member of the International Olympic Committee.

The PASO emblem is a torch superimposed over five concentric circles of the colors green, yellow, white, red and blue. At least one of these colors appears on every national flag of the Americas. PASO’s motto “America, Espirito, Sport, Fraternité” incorporates four of the languages in common use in the Americas: Spanish, Portuguese, English and French. The phrase loosely translates to English as “The American spirit of friendship through sports.”

RBC invites Canadians to sub- mit their nominations for the “Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2010.” The second annual awards program, also supported by Rogers, seeks to uncover and cel- ebrate the stories and remarkable achievements of outstanding Canadian immigrants from coast to coast to coast. This national people’s choice award is the first of its kind to recognize individuals from all walks of life who’ve made a difference since their arrival to Canada.

“RBC has a longstanding com- mitment to making it easier for newcomers to get settled, estab- lished and succeed in Canada,” said Camon Mak, director, Multicultural Markets, RBC. “New immigrants strive to be part of the social and economic fabric of this country and it is important to RBC to recognize their accomplish- ments and contributions to Canada.”

The “Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2010″ is the only Canadian national awards pro- gram for immigrants - a people’s choice award that recognizes indi- viduals who have made a differ- ence to our national fabric since their arrival to Canada. The awards program, which began in 2009, had an overwhelming response with hundreds of sub- missions and more than 10,000 votes cast from across Canada.

From now until January 29, 2010, Canadians can submit their nominations at canadianimmi- grant.ca. A nominee can be some- one who has moved to Canada from another country and, since immigrating, has contributed to the rich diversity and success of this country. Achievements can be either professional or personal, and nominees must hold landed immigrant or citizen status in Canada. They could be communi- ty leaders, role models, entrepre- neurs, teachers or volunteers.

At that time, a distinguished panel of judges will review all nominees and present a short list of finalists online where all Canadians can vote for their favourites, starting in February 2010. The Top 25 winners will be announced in May 2010 and will be recognized in Canadian Immigrant magazine, as well as receive a commemorative plaque and a $500 donation from RBC toward an authorized Canadian charity of their choice.

Canada’s largest, fastest and most reliable mobile network now operating Wide variety of leading-edge smartphones and turbo sticks now available Learn more about Bell’s new network at bell.ca/network

Canadians can now access the country’s largest, fastest and most reliable wireless network with Bell Mobility’s launch today of its highly anticipated HSPA net- work and a range of new HSPA smartphones and turbo sticks.
“Bell is delivering high-speed wireless service to more Canadians in more places than anyone else with the largest and fastest network available any- where in North America,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility and Chief Brand Officer for Bell. “Bell’s new net- work is the most advanced in the world, built for speed and reliabil- ity from the ground up. And we’ve delivered this world-leading broadband access to thousands of small towns and rural locations just as fast as we have to urban centres across Canada.”

Offering mobile speeds as high as 21 Megabits per second (21 Mbps), the new network cov- ers 1.2 million square kilometres, reaching approximately 20,000 Canadian towns and cities and 93% of the population. The new network also supports interna- tional roaming in more than 200 countries around the globe and across the United States too, thanks to a roaming agreement with AT&T, the largest HSPA oper- ator in the US.

“Our all-IP (internet protocol) network infrastructure employs enough new high-speed fibre to wrap halfway around the globe, ensuring that Bell consumer and business clients have the best experience possible in Canadian wireless,” said Stephen Howe, Chief Technology Officer for Bell Mobility. “By employing the very latest HSPA technology available, our brand-new network delivers enhanced call clarity, better in- building coverage and fewer dropped calls, while maximizing the capabilities of the latest HSPA mobile devices.”

Bell now offers a wide range of new HSPA smartphones and other devices from the world’s leading mobile manufacturers, including BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry Bold 9000, LG Xenon, Nokia 6350, Nokia 2730, Novatel U998 HSPA+ Turbo Stick, Samsung OMNIA II and Samsung Impact, etc.