Community Health Page

Please Note:
The listings below are for your convenience and are in no way complete. Should you have the name of a healthcare practitioner who should be listed for the Manitoulin Island general public, then I would appreciate hearing from you. Thank you!

Click to go to Health Canada's website for information about smoking.

Make poster big
What is the flu ?

Click to go to this extremely informative site. Note that the Virtual Body Tour is slow to load so don't give up on it - let it load. You can spend a lot of time investigating this link - we hope you enjoy it.

Hospitals:

Little Current

Mindemoya

Chiropractors:

Mindemoya
Harold Simon
Tel #: (705) 377-5290
2208 Hwy. 551

Massage Therapist:

Honora Bay

www.willowdancewellnesscentre.com

Psychotherapist:

Mindemoya Klaus Buntemeyer
Tel #: (705) 368-2848
RR 1, Mindemoya

Physiotherapist:

Mindemoya

Little Current

Medical Doctors:

Gore Bay

Little Current

Manitowaning

Mindemoya

Manitoulin Central Family Health Team

Sudbury & District Health Unit
6224 Hwy 542, Mindemoya
Tel #: (705) 377-4774

Dental Practices

Gore Bay

Dr Bill Studzienny
70 Meredith St.
Tel #: (705) 282-2223
Little Current
Mindemoya

Dental Surgeon
Dr Gordon Burdenuk
Tel #: (705) 377-6689

Pharmacies

Gore Bay
     Robertson's Drug Store
     39 Meredith Street
     PO BOX 85 Gore Bay ON
     P0P 1H0
     705-282-2147

Central Pharmacy
     Kidane Gebrekristose
     Box 606
     Gore Bay Ontario
     P0P 1H0
     705 282-2409
     Fax 705 282-0792
Little Current
     Little Current Guardian Pharmacy
     Steven Bondi
     Box 160
     Little Current Ontario
     P0P 1K0
     705 368-2531
     Fax 705 368-2077

     Island IDA Pharmacy
     19 Water St.
     Little Current Ontario
     P0P 1K0
     705 368-2466
Manitowaning
     Manitowaning Guardian Pharmacy
     Michelle Hart or Rhonda Bondi
     143 Arthur St.
     Manitowaning Ontario
     P0P 1N0
     705 859-2323
Mindemoya
     Mindemoya Guardian Pharmacy
     Mike Bondi
     Box 167
     Mindemoya Ontario
     P0P 1S0
     705 377-5411
     Fax 705 377-5310

Mesothelioma is a deadly disease that afflicts 3,000 people each year and that number is expected to grow in conjunction with the widespread use of asbestos throughout the last century. If you or a loved one is dealing with mesothelioma, your prognosis doesn't have to be impossible.

The main cause of mesothelioma is Asbestos, a type of material that was used in many different ways up until the 1970s when it was finally linked to causing health problems.

Much of the problem with mesothelioma is that it takes time for the disease to present itself. Many people with mesothelioma were probably exposed to the asbestos twenty or thirty years prior, and by the time the cancer is found, it is too late to treat it, thus leading to a fatal prognosis.

More information available at mesotheliomaprognosis.org/.

Alcohol Got You ?

Have A Drinking Problem?
Maybe AA can help you.
Meetings Wed and Sat evenings
St. Bernard's Church
Little Current

Download The text of Alcoholics Anonymous

The Steps:

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

ONE DAY AT A TIME
by Howard E. Morseburg - ©opyright

Friend, let's spend an hour together tonight,
It's time you can surely afford.
It may be the moment when you see the light,
And decide to accept the Lord.
What ever your troubles or your daily strife,
We'll be there to lend you a hand.
For this is an hour that can change your life,
'Cause your problems. . .we understand.
Why waste the time you still have here on earth,
When there's much that needs to be done?
From this day on, you can enjoy a rebirth,
And know your first fight has been won.
Kneel down in prayer and you've only to ask,
The spirit within feels sublime.
Reclaiming your life won't be an easy task,
But you can--one day at a time.
You've goodness and talent hidden inside
That's buried for reasons unknown,
But from God, my friend, you simply can't hide,
From now on you won't be alone.
Rise up and cast off those clothes of despair,
His promise to you He'll fulfill.
It takes no more effort than a simple prayer,
A new life awaits, if you will.
Great legions of us have now taken that course,
You'll find us all over the land,
There's power and strength, a spiritual resource,
From people who do understand.
Count on us and the Lord, from now on, my friend,
Take your steps. . .one day at a time.
We'll travel life's pathway with you to the end;
We'll do it one day at a time!

The above poem, used with permission from Howard E. Morseburg, is dedicated to Lars (Robert) Laine.
He was a 50 year AA, and did so much good, including translating the AA material into Swedish, for which he was awarded a medal by the King of Sweden shortly before he passed away in Palm Springs at 85. He was a fine pianist (listed as one of 10 Greatest Jazz Pianists in a booklet in the 30s), an art dealer, and a great human being.

Self Help For Depression ?

Ever tried Meditating? Have a look to the right for some instructions on how you do it. Or try this web page -
Buddhist Meditation Online.

Maybe you could check out a few on-line quizzes to get
a clearer picture of what's troubling you.
Be sure to read the faq on these web pages.

If you or someone you know has suicidal ideations,
please check out Suicidal.Com.

The following instruction for sitting meditation is from Buddha's Little Instruction Book
by Jack Kornfield, New York: Bantam Books, 1994, available from Amazon.COM

A Sitting Meditation

Let Your Mind Settle Like a Clear Forest Pool
To begin meditation, select a quiet time and place. Be seated on a cushion or chair, taking an erect yet relaxed posture. Let yourself sit upright with the quiet dignity of a king or queen. Close your eyes gently and begin by bringing a full, present attention to whatever you feel within you and around you. Let your mind be spacious and your heart be kind and soft.

As you sit, feel the sensations of your body. Then notice what sounds and feelings, thoughts and expectations are present. Allow them all to come and go, to rise and fall like the waves of the ocean. Be aware of the waves and rest seated in the midst of them. Allow yourself to become more and more still.

In the center of all these waves, feel your breathing, your life-breath. Let your attention feel the in-and-out breathing wherever you notice it, as coolness or tingling in the nose or throat, as a rising and falling of your chest or abdomen. Relax and softly rest your attention on each breath, feeling the movement in a steady easy way. Let the breath breathe itself in any rhythm, long or short, soft or deep. As you feel each breath, concentrate and settle into its movement. Let all other sounds and sensations, thoughts and feelings continue to come and go like waves in the background.

After a few breaths, your attention may be carried away by one of the waves of thoughts or memories, by body sensations or sounds. Whenever you notice you have been carried away for a time, acknowledge the wave that has done so by softly giving it a name such as "planning," "remembering," "itching," "restless." Then let it pass and gently return to the breath. Some waves will take a long time to pass, others will be short. Certain thoughts or feelings will be painful, others will be pleasurable. Whatever they are, let them be.

At some sittings you will be able to return to your breath easily. At other times in your meditation you will mostly be aware of body sensations or of plans or thoughts. Either way is fine. No matter what you experience, be aware of it, let it come and go, and rest at ease in the midst of it all. After you have sat for twenty or thirty minutes in this way, open your eyes and look around you before you get up. Then as you move try to allow the same spirit of awareness to go with you into the activities of your day.

The art of meditation is simple but not always easy. It thrives on practice and a kind of spacious heart. If you do this simple practice of sitting with awareness every day, you will gradually grow in centeredness and understanding.