Investment Helping Improve Quality of Life, Transition Back to Homes, Jobs: Minister Selby, Oswald

March 4, 2014 - The Manitoba government is investing $3 million over five yearswith the Rick Hansen Foundation and the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Paraplegic Associationto help Manitobans with spinal cord injuries to successfully transition back into their homes and jobs and further advance health care and research initiatives in the province, Health Minister Erin Selby and Jobs and the Economy Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.

A one-day workshop was held in November 2013 involving consumers, clinicians and researchers with an interest in sexuality, spinal cord injury (SCI), fertility and reproductive health.

In May of this year, the RHI Board afforded me with a unique opportunity to attend "Governance Essentials for Not-For-Profit Organizations," a 3-day course developed by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business.

I would like to provide a few key highlights that continue to resonate for me in my role as a board member with RHI.

NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System use approved by Health Canada

DECEMBER, VANCOUVER, BC - U.S.-based Synapse Biomedical has received approval from Health Canada for its NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System (DPS), designed to assist people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) who lack control of their diaphragms and are ventilator-dependent.

With this Health Canada approval, SCI patients throughout Canada can access this technology that was only previously available to clinical trial participants or through the Medical Devices Special Access Program.

The approval is based on patient data supplied from clinical trials at hospitals in the US and Canada, including Vancouver General Hospital, and is a great example of the power of the Rick Hansen Institute network.

Blusson Spinal Cord Centre Celebrates its 5th Anniversary

November marks an important milestone for the staff at the Rick Hansen Institute.

With our colleagues at UBC’s International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), the Brenda & David McLean Integrated Spine Clinic of Vancouver Coastal Health, and our community partners, volunteers, supporters and funders, we are celebrating the 5th Anniversary of the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre.

Blusson – a true gem made possible by the generosity of Stuart and Marilyn Blusson, the BC government, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the University of B.C. and Vancouver Coastal Health around Rick Hansen's vision of a collaborative working environment – is the place we call home.