jjablkowski's blog

Parents often have great plans for their children; sometimes their children are unaware of those plans.

I was saddened by the passing of esteemed American architect I.M. Pei in May 2019 at age 102. He is widely lauded for his concept of sharp lines and bold structure, as exemplified by the Louvre Pyramid in Paris and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. His death brought to mind the friendship that had sparked 80 years ago between him and my father.

BC Cancer delivers cancer screening programs in partnership with primary care providers, health authorities, private clinics, and labs. Many cancer screening services and processes are being temporarily suspended at this time to reduce the risk of COVID‐19 transmission among asymptomatic populations and to allow the health system to focus resources on urgent and emergent care.

Your 2018 Mini-Profile is now available to you exclusively online [login required]. The profile provides you with statistics based on the Medical Services Plan (MSP) payments made to you for services provided in the 2018 calendar year, including any settlements or retroactive payments issued as of 31 March 2019. This information allows you to monitor your billings in comparison to your peer group.

I am writing this as a family physician working in the Lower Mainland. I am deeply frustrated with the response of various levels of government and health authorities to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We knew there was community spread of the virus over a week ago. The official message last week was, “There is no evidence of significant community spread.”

What does Dr Jim McEwen, a Winnipeg-born, UBC-schooled biomedical engineer have in common with Alfred Nobel, Hedy Lamarr, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Frank Zamboni, Frederick Banting, and Charles Best? They all are inductees into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, an American not-for-profit organization that honors “people responsible for the great technical advances that make human, social, and economic progress possible.”