The month of November brought the highest number of illicit drug deaths in B.C. for a single month in recent memory, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service. Provisional data shows that a total of 128 persons died as a result of illicit drug use during November, an average of more than four a day. The...

This is a busy time of year, but I find it’s also a time of reflection, particularly as January marks the end of my two-year term as Chair and my 10 years serving on the Board of Interior Health.   In an effort to decrease demand on hospital and residential services, we continue to shift our focus to integrated primary and ...

Interior Health has donated 44 radon kits to the Trail Area Health and Environment Committee (THEC) and City of Trail to springboard a campaign to encourage homeowners and municipalities to test their buildings for radon before the end of 2016. “Everyone should get their home tested. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer […]

UBC researchers have demonstrated that simple, cost-effective email messages can help improve the health habits of Canadians. Mary Jung, an assistant professor of health and exercise sciences at UBC's Okanagan campus, recently completed a nationwide study with more than 730 Canadians who were not meeting Canada’s recommended...

A Naloxone information session Wednesday at the Community Harvest Food Bank and Drop-in Centre saw roughly 25 people showing up to learn how to use the kits to help save someone in an opioid-overdose situation. (Naloxone is an injectible drug that reverses the effect of opioids such as fentanyl and has proved very successful...

B.C. paramedics and dispatchers will be getting much-needed support from the provincial government in the face of the province's opioid overdose crisis, with a $5-million injection of funding for BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), Health Minister Terry Lake announced Friday. Over the last week, B.C. had the highest number...

The Southern Interior Rotary Lodge is a lifeline for residents who are fighting cancer. Fruitvale resident Vickie Iachetta certainly feels that way after spending the month of August at the lodge while undergoing radiation therapy in Kelowna. From Sept. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016, residents from the Southern Interior region...

Building a healthy community takes initiative and Selkirk College is placing a high priority on the well-being of its student. With the formalization of Healthy Campus Initiatives, Selkirk College is leading the way in supporting students outside the classroom recognizing that the learner brings with them their entire life circumstances, not simply a pen and […]

The Editor says: Recreation groups -- need money? Read this press release from CBT and sharpen your wits and your pencils. Columbia Basin Trust is once again looking to provide funding support  to groups and organizations wanting to create new or upgrade existing recreation amenities in your area. This funding can be used for...

Building a healthy community takes initiative and Selkirk College is placing a high priority on the well-being of its students. With the formalization of Healthy Campus Initiatives, Selkirk College is leading the way in supporting students outside the classroom, recognizing that learners brings with them their entire life...