Zal Press | Patient Commando

Patient Commando #TentTalk – Live Journal

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Eamonn in Patient Commando Blog

“Healing Through Theatre” – July 10th, 5PM at The Toronto Fringe Festival Tent Talks

Relevant Hashtags: #FringeTT, #TentTalk #FringeClub

♦♦♦ Pre Event ♦♦♦ 13:00 via @PatientCommando: Join us Today for our @Toronto_Fringe tent talk with @CancerCantDance details on FB http://t.co/9Sba9WPu

13:05 via @PatientCommando: PM Tent Talk at 581 Bloor Street for @Toronto_Fringe – Come one, Come all.

(RT via @mhoul3)

13:12 via @Colleen_Young: @PatientCommando see you at the #FringeTT at 5pm for your show. Can’t wait http://t.co/vPGmEfJk

13:39 via @PatientCommando: Everything you need to know about today’s Tent Talk event – http://t.co/0sIdoxca

(RT via @Toronto_Fringe, @rosabourin, @BeeRaskob)

16:00 via @PatientCommando: 1 Hour to show time @Toronto_Fringe “Healing Through Theatre” #FringeTT http://t.co/0sIdoxca

(RT via @EatPooLove)

16:41 via @PatientCommando: Getting our team sorted, the camera primed and twitter feed at the ready ♦♦♦ Event Start ♦♦♦ 17:00 via @verbitty: Taking in a @Toronto_Fringe #TentTalk at Artist Alley about theatre’s power to heal, follow me for all the live action! 17:01 via @PatientCommando: Tent talk starting and its a packed house

17:02 via @PatientCommando: Clare from @Toronto_Fringe kicks us off

17:04 via @PatientCommando: Intros with Brian G Smith, Dan Stolfi, Zal, and Dr. Jeremy Photo: http://t.co/4Uw41jZK

17:06 via @PatientCommando: Zal talking about what we do http://t.co/fIZCl19c

17:08 via @verbitty: Patients like to tell their story, empowers them to engage their providers for better care

17:08 via @PatientCommando: Dr. Jeremy talking [...] continue the story

Tagged Under: Brian Smith, Cancer Can't Dance Like This, colleen young, Dan Stolfi, event cast, feed, fringe, healing through theatre, honest ed's, humour, improv, jeremy rezmovitz, kathy kastner, live, margaret atwood, Patient Commando, performance, photos, public event, speakers, storytelling, tent talk, Theatre, Toronto, twitter, you and media, Zal Press

Tent Talk: Healing Through Theatre

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Eamonn in Patient Commando Blog

Today at 5:00 PM we will present our Toronto Fringe Festival Tent Talk: Healing Through Theatre. All are welcome to attend.

Our Executive Director Zal Press, will be joined by speakers Daniel Stolfi, of the Award Winning Theatre Production, Cancer Can’t Dance Like This, and Dr. Jeremy Rezmovits, from Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital. Brian G. Smith, Creative Director for Patient Commando and The Second-City Alumni will facilitate this humorous one-hour event.

During a kick-off event at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Theatre last year, Brian orchestrated a brilliant performance that demonstrated the power of theatre and humour. While today’s event will be a slightly different program it will undoubtably build upon the efficacy of performance. Join us.

If you can’t make it we’ll be on Twitter the entire time tweeting #FringeTT

Tagged Under: brian g smith, CBC, Daniel Stolfi, Dr. Jeremy Rezmovits, event, Fringe Festival, funny, glenn gould, healing, humour, performance, public, the second city, Theatre, Toronto, Zal Press

The Fringe Festival Pushes Patient Story Into the Fray

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Eamonn in Patient Commando Blog

The Toronto Fringe Festival is arguably the city’s largest theatre event. This summer from July 4-15, over 150 performances will be presented to an expected audience of 100,000. That’s a whopping 4% of Toronto’s population.

What makes the Fringe exciting is the process in how acts are selected for the festival. Each year hundreds of creative applicants send in their ballot to have a show slotted for a Fringe playbill. With no judge or jury, the shows are picked at random, making for a wildly organic and impressive lineup.

Fringe audiences are accustomed to alternative theatre. Which is why it’s the perfect environment to showcase the new, truthful, gritty, and sometimes slightly less glamourous stories. In our minds The Fringe is also the ideal arena for patient storytelling.

Last year proved this with the highly acclaimed performance of Daniel Stolfi’s “Cancer Can’t Dance Like This”. Daniel’s show has since gone on to win the Canadian Comedy Award for Best One Person Show, and garner national attention.

This year will be no different. In fact this year’s program offers at least two patient story events for public consumption. Details of these shows below. Healing Through Theatre Host: Brian G. Smith (Second City Alumni) Panel: Zal Press (Patient Commando), Dr. Jeremy [...] continue the story

Tagged Under: 2012, acting, alternative, annex theatre, canadian comedy awards, Cancer Can't Dance Like This, dan mackay, Daniel Stolfi, eat poo love, evan mackay, events, festival, fringe, healing, health, honest ed's, jeremy rezmovitz, patient, paul clements, performance, randolph theatre, Stories, summer, Theatre, Toronto, Zal Press

Pumping up the volume on patient voices | Health Council of Canada

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin in Patient Commando Blog

Originally posted on the Health Council of Canada Blog.

Patient Commando Executive Director Zal Press writes a guest column for the Health Council of Canada blog as part of the release of the Health Council of Canada report “How do Sicker Canadians with Chronic Disease Rate the Health Care System? ” Get the report here and watch their patient story video – a familiar face included.

I’m taking a biologic for Crohn’s disease. And I’m a lucky guy – my $30,000 annual tab is picked up by my wife’s benefit plan. But in five years, when I hit 65, we’ll be off her plan and I’ll be transferred to the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan.

I’m already fretting over what that future will bring. Will the continued financial strain on the health system foreclose on my access to this medication, and instead force a body-altering operation because it will cost the system less in the short run?

And will this decision be made by a cost-benefit analyst rather than by a collaborative agreement between me and my doctors?

US insurance companies have required multiple step therapies before approving many biologics, resulting in multi-year delays. In Ontario, the Exceptional Access Program has fallen behind in processing applications. The population [...] continue the story

Tagged Under: benefits, chronic illness, cost, Dan Stolfi, drug, hcc, health council of canada, insurance, Patient Commando, patient voices, plan, Zal Press

Patient Commando attends Health Council of Canada’s National Symposium on Patient Engagement

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Eamonn in Community Action, Journals, Patient Commando Blog

During the Health Council of Canada Symposium on Patient Engagement Daniel Stolfi, star of Cancer Can’t Dance Like This, disclosed that his tipping point to becoming an engaged patient, came when he was being over medicated in error and suffering bad side effects but no healthcare providers were listening.

Healthcare leaders across the country came together to learn how to improve patient engagement and increase safety and improve outcomes at the Allstream centre in Toronto.

Daniel presented his patient story to inform the system on how to improve communications between doctors and patients and increase the state of collaboration. His presentation was funny, deeply personal and moving. The crowd was animated and laughing.

A report of the symposium is promised to be released this winter.

Be sure to sign up for Patient Commando’s newsletter for updates and to receive a free copy of our white paper: On a New Frontier of Patient Engagement.

Tagged Under: Cancer Can't Dance Like This, health council of canada, Patient Commando, patient engagement, symposium, Zal Press