Illicit drug death numbers continue to rise
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 announces some Kootenay Boundary radiology results under review
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...
Interior Health — Time to talk ticks
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...
MyHealthPortal coming to Kootenay communities
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...
Time to Become Concerned about TB
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...
New province-wide campaign reveals dangerous side of nursing
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....
Carfentanil presence confirmed in Interior Health
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...
​ICBC and BC Transplant expand organ donation program across the province
Starting Monday, every British Columbian visiting an ICBC driver licensing location will be asked to register their decision about organ donation. To increase the number of people with a registered decision, ICBC and BC Transplant are expanding a provincial partnership to all ICBC driver licensing locations across the...
More potentially deadly chemicals being found in street-level drugs in BC
BC RCMP wishes to advise that recent Health Canada tests have confirmed the presence of the compound W-18 and a fentanyl analog recently in two communities, and that drug users should be aware these chemicals may be present anywhere. In mid-December, 2016, Surrey RCMP seized pebble heroin, among other drugs, in relation to ...
Bats flying in the winter? Or, find a dead bat? Please report. Here's why.
Bats are an essential part of the global ecosystem. They save agriculture a great deal of money by eating vast numbers of crop-destroying insects such as Colorado Potato Beetles, and they save humans a lot of itching by eating vast numbers of flying, biting insects such as mosquitoes. For years, bats had an undeserved bad...
