IHA joins in expanding overdose prevention program
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...
Food production to get a boost from regional district with Food Policy Council
In order to support the growth of food production in the West Kootenay a new council has been created by the regional district. A joint project to create a regional Food Policy Council for Central Kootenay is being undertaken by the regional district with the goal of enhancing the abundance of food production and agricultural...
Shambhala organizers hoping to educate patrons on dangers of fentanyl as Music Festival opens
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 ...
'Tragically Hip' Screening - to Fund Brain Cancer Research
Dear Editor, The Canadian Cancer Society is partnering with venues across Canada to host live screenings of The Tragically Hip’s concert in Kingston, Ont., on August 20. The Royal Theatre in Trail, the Element Club Bar & Grill in Castlegar and the Civic Theatre in Nelson are among the venues broadcasting the concert to ...
Federal lawyers elect to lay charges in Lemon Creek fuel spill
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...
Joint task force mobilized to scale up overdose response
British Columbia is experiencing an unprecedented rise in overdoses. In response to this, Premier Christy Clark announced Wednesday a newly-formed Joint Task Force on Overdose Response headed by provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall and Clayton Pecknold, director of police services. Other members are still being determined...
June overdose death numbers show increase
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...
Kootenay and Boundary Food Producers Co-op Launch First Full Year
The Kootenay & Boundary Food Producers Co-op (KBFPC) is steadily working towards its goal of creating a sustainable local food economy where local food is always available in the grocery store where you shop and the restaurants where you eat, all while the farmers and businesses who produce it are making a living wage. Nicholas […]
Overdose response measures roll out in emergency departments
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...
Coroner reports significant increase of fentanyl-detected overdose deaths in Castlegar, Nelson, Trail
Of the 55 fentanyl-detected overdose deaths recorded in the past two-and-a-quarter years in the Interior Region, two have been in Castlegar, one in Nelson, and one in Trail, according to a report released today by the BC Coroner Service (the data is from Jan.1, 2014 to April 30, 2016). In the two years prior, 2012 […]
