More than a year after its inception, the province’s Practice Ready Assessment BC (PRA-BC) program continues to benefit residents in Interior Health (IH) by linking rural and remote communities in need with family physicians.  Interior Health is pleased to welcome five new family physicians in August and September, one in...

As part of Interior Health’s overdose emergency response, the Take Home Naloxone program has expanded to 70 sites which includes: all Interior Health emergency departments, public health centres, mental health and substance use offices as well as several community agencies.   “Drug-related overdoses and deaths are a huge...

As the Shambhala Music Festival kicks off its 18th event this week, organizations like the Aids Network Outreach & Support Society (ANKORS) are doing their best to educate attendees about the dangers of drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is often falsely sold under brand name narcotics labels like ...

Justice is back on the menu for those awaiting an outcome in the Lemon Creek fuel spill. Federal government lawyers have agreed to bring a total of eight charges to court in the aftermath of a Slocan Valley tanker spill three years ago. Last Tuesday in Nelson Provincial Court Last week, the federal government laid eight charges...

Updated statistics from the BC Coroners Service show the number of illicit drug overdose deaths among B.C. residents has increased. The total number of overdose deaths for June 2016 was 56, an increase from 43 in May 2016. A total of 371 overdose deaths have been reported from January to June 2016. The most recent fentanyl-related...

Interior Health has begun implementing measures in emergency departments to improve overdose surveillance and arm those at risk with naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reduce the risk of brain damage or death, from future opioid overdoses.     Emergency departments in Castlegar, Kamloops, Kaslo, Kelowna, Nakusp, New Denver...

Health Minister Terry Lake and Attorney General Suzanne Anton released the following statement yesterday on medical assistance in dying: "As of June 6, 2016, assisted dying is no longer illegal in Canada and the requirement for court approval has been removed. As laid out in the Supreme Court of Canada's February 2015 ruling,...

Tired of afternoons as dark as night in the fall, after the onset of Standard Time?  Weary of having to force your body to adjust to a new time regime twice a year?  There's hope on the horizon: the BC Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution at its AGM on May 31 to ask the BC government to work with other provincial and state...

Exam Competition Could Mean Cash Toward Selkirk College Education  It’s not every day that a student can make money taking a test. But later this month, high school students from around the region have a chance to earn funds to help them attend Selkirk College, in an annual competition. The Selkirk College Scholarship High ...

Interior Health is looking for ways to make the final days in people's lives as calm as can be possible. During Tuesday Interior Health Board meeting in Kelowna, a presenation highlighted improvements to help people find resources when they need them most. The changes include revamped web pages and a new resource guide for ...