In this episode, Kyla sits down with Dr. Brittany Ellis — an emergency physician with specialized training in geriatric emergency medicine — for a wide-ranging conversation about why Canada's emergency departments are in crisis, and why older adults are bearing the brunt of it.

Dr. Ellis walks us through the full patient journey: from an older adult struggling
to get home care in a timely way, to ending up in an ED hallway for days,
developing pressure ulcers within the first hour, experiencing delirium, and
leaving the hospital in worse shape than they arrived. It's a cascade of
failures across a fragmented system — and she breaks it down with clarity,
urgency, and a healthy dose of "delusional optimism."

Resources

• CIHI: Emergency Department Wait Times in Canada — Insights from a Health System Perspective
• CAEP Position Statement: Care of Older People in Canadian Emergency Departments
• What’s behind Canada’s Doctor Shortage?

Canada has expanded the legal options available at the end of life — but the conversations with patients and families haven't kept up.

In this episode, Kyla talks with Dr. Janine Brown, nurse researcher and PhD at the University of Saskatchewan, and Nabila Ashraf, public health researcher and Master's student in Aging Studies at the University of Regina. Together, they've been studying the social and political conditions that shape how Canadians navigate end-of-life decisions — from MAID to palliative care to the systemic gaps that make these conversations harder than they need to be.

We discuss why good end-of-life care keeps hitting the same walls — and what it would take to change that.

If you work in healthcare, policy, or simply believe Canadians deserve better conversations about dying, this one is for you.

Resources

MAID Overview (Health Canada)

MAID Saskatchewan

Care Conversations with Dr. Janine Brown

End of Life Conversations Research Paper

Advanced Care Planning Kit

Yellow Sleeve Program

End of Life Planning Guide and Checklist

Parliamentary Report on MAID and Mental Illness

In this episode, Kyla sits down with Dr Ginger Ruddy, a family physician and consultant with the Saskatchewan Medical Association, to break down what a patient medical home actually is, why the traditional fee-for-service model is holding us back, and what the future of primary care could look like for every person in this province. From Swift Current's same-day access model to the barriers of union integration and funding gaps, this is a frank conversation about the shift that's already underway — and what it will take to get there for everyone.

Also, tune in at the end for another Shift Shout Out where we highlight an innovation from a nurse practitioner in Toronto who is reducing falls in hospitals and long-term care facilities across Canada with her innovative technology.

Resources

· Crowfoot Family Practice, Calgary

· Advancing Patient Medical Home: Insights from Swift Current

· Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) —

· Innovation Fund

· HALO Article (October 2025)

· UHN Inventor of the Year

· HALO Website