Protecting loved ones and staying healthy over the holidays
The festive season is a time of celebrating with loved ones. Unfortunately, holiday mingling brings together people AND germs. At this time of year it is not unusual for health facilities to experience outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness (GI) and respiratory infections. Both are highly contagious and common in the community...
IH concludes review into breach of employee information
Interior Health said in a media release Thursday that a comprehensive review of a privacy breach involving the personal information of about 500 current and former employees found no evidence of further breaches. News of the initial breach resulted from RCMP investigations and arrests in the Lower Mainland in June and September...
Canada’s health-care wait times hit new record—21.2 weeks
Wait times for medically necessary treatment hit a new record in 2017 and eclipsed 20 weeks for a second year in a row, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study, an annual survey of physicians from across Canada, reports a median wait...
B.C. releases first decisions on cannabis regulation after public engagement
British Columbians have spoken. After considering input from 48,951 British Columbians, and submissions from 141 local and Indigenous governments and a range of other interested stakeholders, the Province has announced a number of key decisions related to the anticipated legalization of non-medical cannabis in July 2018....
Interior Health begins review of joint replacement services at KBRH
In a media releae, Interior Health (IH) it is undertaking a review of hip and knee total joint replacement surgical processes for patients at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) in light of slight increase in the number of surgical site infections in elective (scheduled) total joint replacement surgeries. The release...
AWOL from B.C.'s opioid crisis
It's a story all too common in British Columbia. Here's how CTV News reported it: “Police believe a drug overdose is the cause of death for two men, apparently in their fifties, who were found lifeless in a car parked at a gas station on Friday morning.” It didn't happen in B.C., though. It happened in Montreal on August 25...
Afraid of that new parking lot?
There are some new signs beside the road leading to the new parking lot up at Strawberry Pass, alerting drivers not to block it. The signs are not professional -- they were made by volunteers, out of donated scrap material, hand-lettered with a felt pen, and stuck into the snowbanks on Saturday morning, November 18th....
Fentanyl Task Force Leads Way Through Conversation
Experts agree the fentanyl crisis in British Columbia is an unprecedented multi-faceted societal catastrophe that’s not going away anytime soon. Those on the frontlines are also united in recognizing that solutions will only be possible through education and conversation. As health care professionals, emergency responders, ...
Falls are serious – but can be prevented
By Kelly Wilson, Interior HealthQuality Consultant, Falls and Injury Prevention Falls happen every day, across all age groups. For children and youth, it might be a fall off playground equipment or a bicycle. For adults, it might be a fall off a ladder or slipping on the floor at work. For older adults, most...
Transforming health care in the Boundary
When the sliding door of Walter Gambles’ van slammed closed and left a toonie-sized gash in his arm, the 82 year-old resident of Christina Lake figured he was destined for a trip to the emergency department in Grand Forks. On a whim, Gambles decided he’d check in at the Christina Lake Medical Clinic where he met with new...
