InspireHealth cancer facility opens doors in Kelowna
By Contributor
Cancer patients from the southern interior of BC will benefit from the expansion of InspireHealth, Canada’s first and foremost integrative cancer care centre in Kelowna.
The expansion of the facility will be open to the public during a ceremony Thursday (June 21) in the Central Okanagan.
The facility, part of Healthy Families BC initiative, will integrate standard treatments and help tocoptimize recovery and survival.
“Our government’s vision is for a cancer-free society, and programs like
InspireHealth support this vision. Unfortunately, many British Columbians have been affected by cancer in some way – statistics show that one in three will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime,” said Steve Thomson, Kelowna-Mission MLA, on behalf Health Minister Michael de Jong in a written release.
On hand at the official launch of the Southern Interior centre in Kelowna, will be RBC Olympian and the Okanagan’s own Kristi Richards. Kristi
“Relief comes from knowing that he (my father) could have one centre point for his diagnosis and the treatments he wanted to explore, and an integrative plan for his life and recovery,” said Richards.
Richards has a personal connection with InspireHealth, having been through their LIFE Program as a support person for her father, who is a patient of InspireHealth.
“InspireHealth was the place to map it out for him.”
As part of the opening celebration, Richards will be donating $5,000 to InspireHealth, her charity of choice, as part of the RBC Olympian Grant Program.
The RBC Olympian Grant Program provides 37 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from across Canada the opportunity to give back to a charity or organization that has an impact on their lives.
InspireHealth’s model of integrative cancer care works together with a patient’s family doctor and oncologist to provide the best care possible. The Vancouver centre has been open to British Columbians since 1997, and they have served over 6,500 people with a cancer diagnosis.
InspireHealth is a non-profit society funded in part through British Columbia’s Ministry of Health. No referral is necessary, and the doctors are covered by the BC Medical Services Plan.
