Seven BC Seniors’ Organizations Launch Campaign to Make Home Support More Affordable As Part of BC Seniors Week
During BC Seniors Week, a coalition of seniors’ organizations, caregivers, health providers and system advocates is calling on the Government of British Columbia to eliminate co-payments for publicly-subsidized home support for seniors. Home support services range from assistance with bathing and daily personal care, to more complex tasks such as catheter care, oxygen therapy and […]
Keeping people safe with new mental-health screening tool for police in Interior
A significant milestone in British Columbia’s coordinated approach to mental health crisis response has been reached with the near-complete rollout of HealthIM across the RCMP Southeast District, with final implementation expected in the coming weeks. HealthIM is now operational across the majority of the Southeast District, including detachments in the Central Okanagan, South Okanagan, North Okanagan and […]
Dementia and wildfires: Planning for summer heat and climate emergencies
With Environment Canada forecasting 2026 to be one of the hottest on record, the Alzheimer Society of BC and Yukon is urging the public to learn how to support people living with dementia ahead of what is expected to be an especially active wildfire season. Emergencies can pose serious risks to people living with dementia. […]
KERPA welcomes new doctor, new vehicle to team
Dr. Serena Deketele, CCFP(EM), has joined the KERPA team, bringing with her a strong background in emergency medicine, trauma care, and learner, interprofessional, and physician education. After completing her training, Serena began practicing Emergency Medicine in 2019, gaining frontline experience in busy emergency departments where she managed a broad spectrum of acute and critical presentations, […]
Cleaning a shed, attic, cabin or barn? Protect against hantavirus
Spring is in the air, and for many of us in the Interior, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and dive into spring cleaning. Before sweeping, dusting and decluttering, however, there’s something else that could be in the air that’s important to be aware of: Hantavirus. How do you get hantavirus? Hantavirus is a […]
Increased accommodation for Basin residents requiring medical care in Kelowna
Each year, hundreds of Columbia Basin residents must travel outside the region to access specialized medical care at Kelowna General Hospital, often for extended periods of time. To help reduce the financial and emotional strain this medical travel places on Basin families, Columbia Basin Trust is supporting an expansion of JoeAnna’s House in Kelowna in partnership with […]
Op/Ed: Ten Years into the Toxic Drug Crisis
There are moments when the toxic drug crisis becomes painfully real. A phone call in the middle of the night. A memorial growing on along the side of the Columbia River. A name spoken quietly among colleagues because another person didn’t make it. For many people in British Columbia, these moments are no longer rare. […]
New health regulation puts patients’ safety first
Beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the health professions and occupations act comes into effect, which will improve patient safety by increasing transparency and ensuring good and consistent governance for regulators. For health-care professionals, it means more support and structure from regulators, so they can focus on patient care. This regulation will not cause any disruption […]
Why Doctors are “Prescribing” Food, Exercise, and the Outdoors
What if a healthcare provider could prescribe more than medicine? Across British Columbia, they can, and they do. Today, social prescriptions are helping people access things like food security programs, exercise classes, housing support, and even time in nature. These “non‐medical prescriptions” are improving health in ways a pill never could. It’s called social prescribing, […]
IHA and Kootenay Boundary among the highest death rates as B.C. sees another 150 lives lost to toxic drugs in January 2026
As the province approaches 10 years of the public health emergency regarding toxic drugs, nearly five British Columbians continue to lose their lives each day, according to preliminary data released by the BC Coroners Service. While the 150 deaths reported in January represents a decrease of 10% from the total number investigated in January 2025 […]