Zoomer Week in Review

We know him as a leading geriatrician and member of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table - and he’s also a frequent guest on this radio station. So what is making Dr. Nathan Stall turn to politics? Libby talked with him shortly after he announced that he is seeking the Ontario Liberal nomination in Toronto-St. Paul’s.

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Beekeeping has been booming because of the pandemic. With people spending more time at home;  an increased focus on the natural world; and local, sustainable food has made this a big covid-era hobby. Libby chatted with Michelle Wolfson of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.

Vaccine hesitancy is declining in Canada. But recent polling shows that between 17 and 20% of Canadians still need to be convinced to get their shots. Why are they fearful and what makes them come around? Libby talked with Peta-Gay Batten - executive assistant at the RNAO who recently rolled up her sleeves.

Last week, museums re-opened their doors to the public, You can already go to the movies and theatre are preparing to welcome back audiences in house. Are you ready? And Is this enough to help our battered cultural sector recover. Libby talked with Claire Hopkinson,

Director and CEO of Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation

This week the government convened two summits to combat hate: one on Islamophobia, one on Antisemitism. The circumstances of the latter gathering were dictated by the alarming rise in hate against the Jewish community. It was mostly closed to the public to ensure the safety of those participating. Former federal justice minister Irwin Cotler, now Canada's special envoy for preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, was front and centre. Libby reached him in Montreal.

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The pandemic has changed the way we see ageing and our priorities for healthcare as the virus fades. According to the National Institute on Ageing, older Ontarians want adequate homecare while the government is focused on building new LTC homes. And the homecare system is dysfunctional - with the public agency the PC’s promised to abolish still in place while private companies deliver the care. Libby talked to leading geriatrician Dr. Samir Sinha, who is the NIA’s Director of health policy research

It’s an invisible injury that many, including Zoomers, may suffer in their lifetime, concussions. Now, Toronto researchers have created a calculator to identify those at high risk for prolonged symptoms. We reached Doctor Mark Bayley, medical director at University Health Network's Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, who says the tool gives doctors a risk score based on patients' answers to five questions.

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Canadian retirements are beginning to return to normal after the uncertainty of the pandemic held many back. A new report by RBC economic predicts a renewed surge of retirement in the second half of this year, after retirements fell about 20 percent last year as a result of uncertainty about retirement savings as the pandemic arrived. Andrew Apogsowicz is senior economist with RBC.

Mary Simon will be Canada’s first Indigenous governor general. The 74-year-old Inuk leader and former diplomat grew up in a remote village in northern Quebec and has committed her life to advocating for Inuit rights. Parallels can be drawn between Mary Simon and Canada’s 26th government general Adrienne Clarkson, this country’s first person of Asian descent appointed to the position, who also championed the rights of northern indigenous communities during her tenure. We reached the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson to get her reaction to the new appointment.

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The pandemic meant people focused on the three P’s - puppies, peletons and property as people spent more time at home. Now a new study by Royal LePage dispels some myths about boomers and property...and finds when it comes to housing, the older generation has no intention of slowing down and are turning a cold shoulder to retirement. We reached Royal LePage President CEO Phil Soper to dig deeper into these emerging trends.

Technology is enabling the discovery of unmarked graves of indigenous children on sites of former residential schools. The system is called ground penetrating radar and it is also used extensively in the construction industry. Dr. Terence Clark of the University of Saskatchewan is a practitioner and he tells Libby Znaimer that locating these burial grounds involves art as well as science.

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How does our response to COVID-19 compare to the way other catastrophes have been handled through the ages? Why have some countries been so much more successful at controlling the pandemic? Historian Niall Ferguson tackles these questions in his latest book “Doom: the Politics of Catastrophe.” Libby reached him in London.

Where is the first place you want to travel post-COVID? Zoomers are starting to prepare and plan now that fully vaccinated Canadians won’t have to quarantine when they return home from abroad. Libby Znaimer chatted with Zoomer Magazine’s Executive Editor and travel expert Vivian Vassos.

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It’s a problem that plagues our healthcare system: patients who no longer need to be in hospital but can’t go home and have nowhere else to go. There are about 4000 of these patients in Ontario hospitals, and some are stuck there for years. It’s miserable for them, expensive for the system, and takes up much needed acute care beds. One organization found a solution for people with mental health and addiction issues. Libby talked with Heather MacDonald CEO of Loft Community Services.

Canadians are waiting longer for hip and knee replacements because tens of thousands of operations were postponed or cancelled during the pandemic. According to numbers from the Canadian institute for health information, 50% percent of patients did not get their new joints within the recommended 6 month wait time frame. How long will it take to catch up? Libby Znaimer talked with Dr. Peter Ferguson, the Albert and Temmy Latner Chair Division of Orthopaedics at the University of Toronto’s Department of Surgery.

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Are you anxious about going back to the office, or a concert, or finding yourself in a crowd or a close lineup? A recent poll finds more than half of Canadians are uneasy about going back to the way things were. Libby reached Dr. Steven Taylor, professor of psychology at UBC and

author The Psychology of Pandemics: Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak of Infectious Disease.

It’s being hailed as the first new Alzheimer’s treatment in 18 years and the first to slow disease progression. But some experts say there’s not enough evidence that Aducanumab actually works. Dr. Sharon Cohen, director of the Toronto Memory Program, was a clinical trial investigator in the drug’s phase 3 trial and has a number of patients who are taking it. Libby Znaimer reached her in Toronto.

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New research suggests there is a hard upper limit to the human life span - but according to the study in Nature Communications, it could be as high as 150 years! Dr. Jay Olshansky is a Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work focuses on estimating the upper limits of longevity and what that means for the aging population.

Over the last two decades, the number of Zoomers in the workforce has nearly tripled. But they are subject to pervasive negative typecasting that holds them back. A new report from Federal, Provincial, and Territorial ministers responsible for seniors, surveys the stereotypes that feed into ageism. Libby Znaimer talk to demographic expert David Cravit, CARP's chief membership officer.

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It’s the first ever cookbook inspired by the two year old Canada Food Guide and it comes just as many of us are trying to get back on track after pandemic stress-eating and weight gain. Libby talked to author Rose Reisman about what she calls a Meal Revolution.