Time is running out laundry employees at Kootenay Lake Hospital after Interior Health announced the new private company handling work will begin operation for the Nelson facility as of September 14. Alan Davies, support services director for Interior Health, recently made the announcement. “Given the magnitude of the change,...

Health Canada has announced that a company, Garnoff Botanicals, is voluntarily recalling unauthorized kratom products as they may pose serious health risks. Haven't heard of kratom?  Don't feel bad -- you're not alone.  Kratom is the plant pictured above, or products derived from it.  What health risks does it pose?  Health...

Interior Health is advising the public of the importance of avoiding physical contact with bats, the primary carrier of the rabies virus in B.C.   IH said rabies is a very serious disease that affects the nervous system and is almost always fatal if not treated in time. In 2016, 61 people in the Interior Health region were ...

The number of illicit drug deaths in March remained high, with the third-highest number ever for a single month said the BC Coroners Service in a media release. BC Coroners Service said provisional data shows that a total of 120 persons died as a result of illicit drug use during the month of March, an average of almost four...

Interior Health issued a media release Tuesday that the authority is initiating a review of diagnostic imaging reports from a radiologist who worked as a locum in the Kootenay Boundary area. The review is for diagnostic imaging reports during the time periods: April 29 to May 31, 2011 June 4 to 23, 2014 Interior Health said...

As the temperature begins to rise, so will the number of tick bites said Interior Health in a media release Friday. The increase in bites generally comes as people begin spending more time outdoors in tall grass or wooded areas. "Ticks are small bugs that feed on the blood of humans and animals and can sometimes transmit...

Everyone with a smart phone will now be able to access to their health information thanks to the MyHealthPortal said Interior Health in a media release.   The new tool allows patients throughout the Kootenays to access their personal health information online.   "MyHealthPortal provides patients 24-hour access to their health...

When Stephen Lewis speaks about tuberculosis, he doesn’t restrain his words. The world is showing “far too much strangled deference when it comes to fighting TB,” Lewis told a standing room crowd in a passionate speech at a recent Vancouver conference. “It’s time to take TB as a cause celebre,” he added, urging TB activists...

Virna Bation, a nurse who’s worked in elder care for 17 years, never expected that her attempt to help a patient would turn violent. A 75-year-old resident suddenly became agitated while Bation was providing care and bit Bation’s thumb so badly that it sent her to the emergency department and kept her off work for three months....

On the heels of information released by Nelson Police Department Wednesday, Interior Health officials are confirming the deadly drug carfentanil is now present in the region. IH made the announcement Thursday following a positive carfentanil drug test in the Kootenay region reported by Health Canada and a positive carfentanil...