News/Canada/Hamilton

WARNING: This article references sexual assault, and may affect those who have experienced​ them or know someone affected by them.Kaitlyn Braun was sentenced to three years in prison in a Hamilton court room Monday after she faked being pregnant and conned two women into providing her with doula support while she was on house arrest for similar crimes. Braun will also serve the remainder of her house arrest sentence behind bars, bringing her total sentence to three years and eight months of incarceration.Dressed in a lime green sweater and dark green pants, Braun, 26, sat in the prisoner's box Monday, looking down for most of the hearing and did not address the court except to say "good morning" to Ontario Court Justice Joe Fiorucci.In January, she pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining...

A Hamilton judge is expected to sentence Kaitlyn Braun today for faking pregnancies and fraudulently receiving doula care on two occasions while on house arrest for similar crimes. Braun, 26, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of obtaining by false pretence services under $5,000 and two harassment-related charges."This is a long-standing pattern for Ms. Braun," assistant Crown attorney Simon McNaughton told the court in January.  He and Braun's defence have requested Justice Joe Fiorucci sentence Braun to three years in prison. The court will also hear from victims about how Braun's crimes have impacted them. Braun previously pleaded guilty to 21 separate charges, including fraud, indecent acts, false pretences and mischief, after pretending to have experienced pregnancies and stillbi...

It's been 51 years since St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton carried out its first living donor kidney transplant. Since then, the hospital's living kidney donor program has grown into one that's "large and flourishing," according to the program's medical lead.But Dr. Seychelle Yohanna said while the program remains "very dedicated to helping patients get living donor kidney transplants," increasing the number of living donors to keep up with demand has been a struggle.Yohanna said the hospital carries out between 120 to 160 transplants each year, but only about 30 per cent of the kidneys are from living donors. "So, clearly there are not enough organs to meet the demand, not enough supply for demand," Yohanna told CBC Hamilton. "As the program and as the province we're working tirelessly to ...

Marcie McIlveen never thought she'd work in a hospital.Due to her negative experiences in treatment for substance use disorder on about 14 occasions, "I hated health care, did not like it, wanted nothing to do with it," McIlveen said.What she endured, however, has led to the work she does today. McIlveen is a peer support supervisor of a new St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton project — it involves people who've experienced addiction offering support to patients in the substance use program.Peer supporters keep patients company, get them comfort items and talk through problems.So how did someone who loathed hospitals end up spearheading a pilot? It started with handing out lunches to people in need. About five years ago, McIlveen was sober and looking for work. She started a job giving out fo...

In response to an Ontario-wide measles outbreak, with many cases occurring near Brantford, some public health units have expanded vaccinations to include infants as young as six months. Typically, the measles vaccine is given to children at one year old and then four years old. But with dozens of cases reported in the community, Grand Erie Public Health (GEPH) has made the first shot available to babies between six and 11 months, and the second to children before they turn four. GEPH is offering measles vaccination clinics and appointments can be booked through their website. Hamilton Public Health Services is also recommending the first vaccine dose be administered to infants under one year old if they're part of travel to other areas of Ontario or internationally.GEPH covers Brantford, a...