André Picard’s Featured Book

Neglected No More

It took the coronavirus pandemic to open our eyes to the deplorable state of so many of the nation’s long-term care homes: the inhumane conditions, overworked and underpaid staff, and lack of oversight. In this timely new book, esteemed health reporter André Picard reveals the full extent of the crisis in eldercare, and offers an urgently needed prescription to fix a broken system.

When COVID-19 spread through seniors’ residences across Canada, the impact was horrific. Along with widespread illness and a devastating death toll, the situation exposed a decades-old crisis: the shocking systemic neglect towards our elders.

Called in to provide emergency care in some of the hardest-hit facilities in Ontario and Quebec, the military issued damning reports of what they encountered. And yet, the failings that were exposed–unappetizing meals, infrequent baths, overmedication, physical abuse and inadequate personal care–have persisted for years in these institutions.

In Neglected No More, André Picard takes a hard look at how we came to embrace mass institutionalization and lays out what can and must be done to improve the state of care for our elders, a highly vulnerable population with complex needs and little ability to advocate for themselves.

Picard shows that the entire eldercare system — fragmented, underfunded and unsupported—is long overdue for a fundamental rethink. We need to find ways to ensure seniors can age gracefully in the community for longer, with supportive home care and respite for family caregivers, and ensure that long-term care homes are not warehouses of isolation and neglect. Our elders deserve nothing less.

Buy the Book:
Owl’s Nest Books 

Borrow the Book from the Library:
Calgary Public Library

André Picard’s Other Book

Matters of Life and Death: Public Health Issues in Canada

Health issues have long occupied top headlines in Canadian media, and no journalist has written on public health with more authority or for as many years as André Picard. Matters of Life and Death collects Picard’s most compelling columns, covering a broad range of topics including Canada’s right-to-die law, the true risks of the Zika virus, the financial challenges of a publicly funded health system, appalling health conditions in First Nations communities, the legalization of marijuana, the social and economic impacts of mental illness, and the healthcare challenges facing transgender people.

The topic of health touches on the heart of society, intersecting with many aspects of private and public life—human rights, aging, political debate, economics, and death. With his reporting, Picard demonstrates the connection between physical health and the health of society as a whole, provides the facts to help readers make knowledgeable health choices, and acts as a devoted advocate for those whose circumstances bar them from receiving the care they need.

Providing an antidote to widespread fear-mongering and misinformation, Matters of Life and Death is essential reading for anyone with an investment in public health topics—in other words, everyone.

Buy the Book:
Owl’s Nest Books

Borrow the Book from the Library:
Calgary Public Library