A publication for Staff and Physicians of IH
A message from Chris Mazurkewich, Interior Health’s CEO.
Wellness wisdom for work.
Surgical Optimization Clinic prepares patients for procedures.
Combining talents to care for complex patients at Aspen Medical in Kamloops.
HRBPs aim to support managers and staff.
Specialized Workplace Health and Safety training sessions for HRBPs.
Interior Health partners with schools ‘to start a conversation.’
Jean Schmidt, Home Health Nurse at Midway Health Unit.
Staff submitted photos of places where we live and work.
Snapshots of our staff in action and trending health-care videos.
On the cover: Physiotherapist Alisa Brownlee and patient Rolande Joly at Kelowna's Surgical Optimization Clinic. Story page 6.
The @InteriorHealth magazine is a monthly publication created by the Communications Department of Interior Health. Past issues of @InteriorHealth can be found on our website under About Us/Media Centre/Publications & Newsletters. If you have story ideas for future issues, please e-mail: IHAcommunications@interiorhealth.ca Editors: Amanda Fisher, Karen Hurst Designer: Kara Visinski IH Communications Contributors: Lesley Coates, Susan Duncan, Patrick Gall, Karl Hardt, Erin Toews, Breanna Traynor, Tracy Watson, Mike Youds
Every person matters
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President & CEO Chris Mazurkewich
eamwork makes a difference.
Every day I see and hear tangible examples of how we achieve more when we work together – and how this translates to better results, higher quality care, improved decision making, and a stronger organization. One example in particular has stayed with me over the last while and resonated even more deeply during a recent visit to Grand Forks. A traumatic and terrifying situation unfolded in the emergency department at Boundary District Hospital (BDH) in mid-January when a man shot himself in front of our staff and physicians. The response to this critical incident, in the moment and also afterwards, was nothing short of amazing. I am humbled by the bravery, clear thinking, and strength shown by all involved. Staff, physicians, managers, site administration, leadership team members, unions, and a number of support areas (including Human Resources and Workplace Health & Safety) came together to respond to the immediate need and then to provide support and assistance after the incident. Most striking across the entire response was the focus on team – on looking after one another and our patients. What happened in Grand Forks has a close tie to a priority area of work across IH, which is ensuring a safe and healthy workplace for all. The skill and quick action of the ED team at BDH must be recognized and commended. As well, the site closely followed Code White processes, filled out an incident report, and reviewed and updated their action plan for their Violence Prevention Risk Assessment. These are all important steps in managing a critical incident.
Another area where we are seeing teamwork illustrated is in our actions to transform primary and community care. I am thrilled that we have opened our first specialized care program on the Kamloops North Shore and began seeing patients on Feb. 6. I was fortunate to tour the new space and meet with the team at the official opening and was impressed by the physical location, but even more by the enthusiasm of the team. This model is all about patient-centred and team-based care – with the patient as a key partner in creating and executing his or her care plan. The new site will provide a wealth of services to those with moderate to severe chronic conditions, including mental health and substance use illness, from a team of clinicians chosen to meet the specific needs. Ultimately, the goal is to help our patients manage their serious conditions at home and in community settings so they can avoid stays in hospital or visits to the emergency room. Two new Seniors Health and Wellness Centres in IH – one already open in Kelowna and one under development in Kamloops – have a similar goal. These sites will benefit those with frailty and age-related medical conditions through a multi -disciplinary approach and access to specialist services. With the close involvement I’ve had in this area over the last several months, I know how hard everyone has been working. I also understand that this is challenging work and it is happening at record speed in a complex system with many stakeholders. We may not be getting it all right, but we are getting a lot of things right and I want to thank everyone involved – from planning to implementation on the ground – for the ongoing commitment and effort.
As a result of how the entire team pulled together, the followup WorkSafeBC inspection at the hospital was positive and encouraging, which speaks volumes about the importance of everyone having ownership of workplace health and safety. I am proud to be a part of the team!
Rolande Joly (L) was ready for the challenges that accompanied her recent right knee replacement surgery, thanks to physiotherpist Alisa Brownlee and the team at Kelowna’s Surgical Optimization Clinic.
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olande Joly was overwhelmed. A chronic pain sufferer, the 64-year-old Vernon woman was preparing for surgery to replace her right knee. This wasn’t new territory. In fact, having had left knee surgery some 13 years ago, she knew the road she would be traveling.
And it was almost too much to comprehend.
Until, that is, Rolande met physiotherapist Alisa Brownlee, nursing coordinator Heidi Howay, and the team at Kelowna’s Surgical Optimization Clinic. “Alisa said, ‘I have a plan for you. You’re not just waiting for surgery,’ ” Rolande recalls. “She took me under her wing. She got me started in Pilates and going to the pool, doing physiotherapy beforehand. Mentally, she changed everything for me. I thought, oh God, there’s hope for me!”
September 2016, and had surgery two months later on Nov. 21. She says the preparation for her second knee surgery was night and day from her first experience 13 years ago. Back then, she had a briefing by her surgeon and attended an education session on what knee replacement surgery was. This time around was more thorough.
“I was so well guided. There was no mistaking what was going to happen to you,” she says. “The treatment was amazing. People were warm. They don’t know you, but you For about nine years, the Surgical Optimization Clinic (SOC) really felt like they actually cared for you.” has been a lifeline for patients and their families awaiting hip and knee replacements in Kelowna. The clinic, located Rolande says the team at the clinic was there every step of at Capri Mall, houses a multidisciplinary health-care team the way, and sometimes before she even knew what steps that includes nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and were to be taken. For example, Alisa called to arrange allied health professionals such as physiotherapists. physiotherapy for Rolande in Kelowna General’s rehab pool Together, they help prepare patients for what they will before Rolande even knew she was doing so. experience during their surgical journey – before, during, and after their procedures. “I wasn’t just there for a knee replacement. I wasn’t just another number to her,” Rolande says. “It meant so much “Surgical optimization is a patient-centred, multidisciplinary to me.” approach to improving patient outcomes for elective surgery. It’s a key component of Interior Health’s surgical Two months on from her surgery, Rolande says she’s doing strategy for involving patients in their care and improving just great. She still attends physiotherapy, and her smile is the way we communicate with them about their surgical a mile wide when she sees Alisa. journey,” says Nancy Thomas, senior planner for Surgical Services at Kelowna General Hospital. It’s that kind of patient success story that the health-care team at the Surgical Optimization Clinic see more often Nancy, herself, has had hip replacement surgery, so she than not, Alisa says. has the unique perspective of seeing the system of care from both health-care provider and patient. The Surgical “It’s so rewarding to see our patients not only have Optimization Clinic, she says, can help improve patient successful procedures, but thrive afterward and return to satisfaction and overall health, and decrease surgical the activities they were doing before. Some prepare so well complications, readmissions, same-day surgery with exercise and nutrition changes that they can delay or cancellations, and hospital length of stay. even permanently suspend their planned surgery,” Alisa says. “It encourages patient participation in decisions affecting their care, with the optimal goal of returning them to the The Surgical Optimization Clinic has, to this point, only activities that motivate and inspire them,” Nancy says. existed in this format in Kelowna. However, Interior Health has an opportunity through the objectives of the surgical So how does surgical optimization work in Kelowna? strategy to enhance this model of care and establish it in other IH communities. Once a patient is referred for elective hip or knee surgery, he or she then attends the Surgical Optimization Clinic for It may not look exactly the same everywhere, as it is the first of two classroom experiences. The first class is an tailored to suit the needs of each individual community. overview that addresses pain management and increasing Kelowna, for its part, is currently refining its own Surgical mobility through fitness and lifestyle changes, so the Optimization Clinic by using Lean principles to streamline patient is in the best shape possible prior to the procedure. patient visits, and exploring the use of online components in order to make the process as efficient and meaningful as The patient takes those learnings away, applies them, and possible for patients. They are also exploring incorporating then, once a surgical date is booked, returns for a second the support of additional health-care providers, and class which addresses the actual preparation needed for including more living well objectives in addition to tools for surgery: where to go upon arriving at hospital, what to pain management. bring, and what needs to be in place upon discharge such as caregivers, physiotherapy, medications, and medical “Our communities may approach surgical optimization in equipment such as a walker or raised toilet seat. different ways, but our goal is the same – better information for patients, and better patient outcomes,” Rolande first linked with the Surgical Optimization Clinic in says Nancy.
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eam-based care by a combination of health professionals is a way of life at the Aspen Medical Clinic after a Kamloops family doctor decided just over a year ago that he wanted to set up integrated health services for his patients.
Dr. James Howie approached Interior Health Community Administrator Cathy Thibault with an idea to introduce teambased care into his clinic. He also proposed providing space for a nurse practitioner to care for patients 65 years and older. At the same time, the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice and Interior Health were shifting NP4BC positions to enhance primary care for seniors and endorsed this partnership as one of the priorities for the seniors’ strategy in Kamloops. Shortly afterwards, NP Navy Sahota began seeing her own caseload of patients at the Aspen Medical Clinic. Both the GP and the NP care for a large number of patients with complex medical conditions so it was a natural fit for Interior Health to also commit nutrition, diabetes education, and respiratory therapy hours to the clinic. One day a week Respiratory Therapist Jacqueline Turvey supports patients referred to her by James and Navy. She focuses on their patients with serious lung diseases who need education or intensive case management. Her support
means the primary care providers can move on to other patients knowing an expert in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is on the case. They also know Jacqueline will keep them apprised of what is happening with their patients. On other days Jacqueline works with patients at the Kamloops Primary Care Centre (KPCC). The same is true for the diabetes educators and registered dietitians who provide “inreach” services at Dr. Howie’s clinic. NP Navy knows the benefit of working with a team of health-care professionals from her involvement with long-term care residents at Ponderosa Lodge and at KPCC where clinicians are only a referral away. Equally important are the medical office assistants who keep all the appointments coordinated with the busy schedules of the team members. “I work so closely with the Allied Health professionals and it’s amazing to work in a team-based setting,” Navy says. “We have many patients with lung disease and diabetes and they are able to get extra support like dietary counselling and COPD group sessions to learn how to manage their illnesses and avoid emergency events.”
to provide the more intensive, specialized care in collaboration with him. “Patients are getting the care I want them to have as their doctor.” Meanwhile, Navy’s caseload is growing daily, which means the multi-disciplinary team members are also spending more time at the clinic to support her more frail patients. That integration of primary and community services foreshadowed the service description for Interior Health’s new Primary and Community Care Services on the second floor of the North Shore Health Science Centre building, which opened on Feb. 6. Primary care providers in Kamloops are able to refer patients with moderate to severe chronic disease conditions, including mental health and substance use illness, to the interprofessional team of clinicians specially chosen to work out of that centre. The patient journey on the second floor begins with an appointment with an access coordinator who will listen carefully to what the patient’s goals are for his or her care. She will then bring together the clinicians who can provide the best support for those goals and the team will work with the patient to develop a care plan that meets those objectives. That kind of patient-centred care is a reflection of the global shift in health-system planning to help patients manage their serious illnesses in a community setting without needing an overnight stay in the hospital after an urgent trip to the local emergency department. “It’s what patients have been saying for a long time that they want – specialized care that will keep them managing their health at home for as long as possible,” says Cathy, who has stayed closely in touch with the integrated team project.
Navy is also enthusiastic about the Seniors Health and Wellness Centre that Interior Health will open in April across the mall from her practice in the Aspen clinic.
Dr. Howie and Navy Sahota are on the leading edge of the new kind of care that connects patients directly to a clinicians who can together offer education and support for their chronic illnesses.
“It will be great to be able to just walk a few steps to consult with the geriatrician there, Dr. (Smita) Varma. With all of us working together, we can hopefully prevent that visit to the ED.”
Other primary care providers are able to offer their patients similar opportunities through the services at KPCC and the two new Primary and Community Care sites on the North Shore of Kamloops.
Dr. Howie is pleased that the teamwork at his clinic reflects what he originally envisioned. He is able to focus on his patients’ primary care needs and rely on the IH clinicians
To date, there have been no complaints from the patients who say the benefits from that wrap-around care are just what the doctor ordered.
Photo previous page: A combination of Interior Health and Aspen Medical Centre staff make up the team that cares for the patients of Dr. James Howie and Nurse Practitioner Navy Sahota with complex medical conditions. (L-R) Jacqueline Turvey, Tia Hamel, Ashley Gray, Dr. Howie, NP Sahota, Kerry McLean-Small, and Sophia Wadowska. Team members missing from photo are Marianna Dobrovolny, Joanne Przystawka, and Brenda Mackay-Konken.
uman resource business partners – fondly known as HRBPs. You may know exactly who they are and what they do, but many do not. At IH, there are 22 HRBPs located across the region supporting over 800 managers. “The role of an HRBP is to provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive advice, guidance, and coaching to Interior Health managers in matters related to the management of our people,” says Cathy Stashyn, Corporate Director, Human Resource Operations. “The highly unionized nature of our organization and complex regulatory environment is very challenging – there are many rules, policies, and practices that we help managers interpret and work within, while at the same time, supporting ethical and values-based HR practice.” Avis Antonenko lives in Rossland and is one of the HRBPs for IH East and South Okanagan. She supports managers in community mental health, pharmacy, acute, and residential. “I try to have as many opportunities for face-to-face meetings as I can, both in person and virtual,” says Avis. “To me, the most important part of an HRBP’s role is building strong relationships with the managers that we support.” Avis is a long-time employee, having worked at IH for 15 years and been in her role as an HRBP for eight years. “I coach managers in their role so they can do the best job possible. This, in turn, helps them to better support their employees as well as the organization. Building a trusting relationship is the key. I want managers to know they can call on me for support when they need to.” Avis worked closely with managers in Grand Forks after an unanticipated and traumatic incident occurred at the Boundary District Hospital Emergency Department on Jan. 12, 2017. An individual entered the doors of the emergency department, brought out a firearm, and shot himself, resulting in the patient having to be transferred to the Lower Mainland for critical care. Avis says that the Grand Forks hospital has a strong leadership team and very experienced trauma and medical staff. “I cannot say enough about this group of people that utilized their skills in the moment after this traumatic incident – they are amazing,” says Avis. “I give credit to the site’s leadership team for following the processes that they had in place, like Code White.” As an HRBP, Avis was there to support and coach managers in arranging counselling for staff, and to ensure formal processes were followed, so that important steps in dealing with a critical incident were not missed.
“After I was informed of the incident, I immediately called my managers.” Avis explains how she worked together with managers to encourage staff to fill out an incident report by calling the Workplace Health Call Centre. They also reviewed the site’s Violence Prevention Risk Assessment (VPRA) to prepare for the investigations that would soon follow, and they reviewed the lessons learned in preparation for work with the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) representatives, as well as updated the action plans for the VPRA. Avis adds that if she didn’t have a good relationship with her managers, she wouldn’t have been able to provide support in the way she did. “I find Avis’s support invaluable,” says Jane Cusden, Health Service Administrator for Kootenay Boundary. “She provides a broader perspective of an issue that may be challenging and difficult to resolve. Her depth of knowledge of the ‘small print’ in the contracts of HR regulations and policies helps ensure the correct outcome is achieved in the best interest of the staff member and the organization.” The next step for Avis was to ensure the managers followed all regulatory steps after the incident, like calling WorkSafeBC and preparing for their visit to Grand Forks. “Often managers don’t know what they are going to be asked by a WorkSafeBC inspector, so we prepared for that by having all our material ready and anticipating the questions they might ask,” says Avis. “Overall, the meeting with WorkSafeBC went well and it was felt that all parties understood the importance of violence prevention. Again, this is a testament to the amazing work of the staff that were present during this unanticipated incident.” Now, when Avis reviews a site’s VPRA, she plans on sharing the experience and knowledge she has learned with all sites through the JOHSC and managers she supports. “One of the WorkSafeBC inspectors called this ‘a dark opportunity,’ and I agree. This experience can bring light and change to areas and strategies that need improvement.” Learn about your role in ensuring the safety of our workplace in the Jan. 9 memo from the CEO.
Avis Antonenko (L) provides HRBP support to Jane Cusden.
Human resource business partners from IH Central received specialized training on Jan. 26. Front (L-R): Cory Burnett and Todd Sackmann. Middle (L-R): Taryn McGregor, Michele White, Sheila McNee, and Tim Werry. Back (L-R): Mike Jackson, Ken Hutchinson, Lance Stone, and Dan Macafee.
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priority focus for Interior Health is to ensure a safe workplace for all employees. Human resource business partners (HRBPs) are one of the links to help safeguard managers, staff, and sites.
“HRBPs are a key piece of our safety promotion efforts as they are a direct link to our front-line managers and workers,” says Lana Schultze, Manager, Health, Safety and Prevention. “To support the health and safety expertise of our HRBPs, Workplace Health and Safety is running a series of specialized training sessions.” The Specialized Workplace Health and Safety training sessions focus on key elements of the WorkSafeBC legislation and how HRBPs can support managers in interpreting and meeting the regulatory requirements, to create a safer workplace at IH. Specific attention is also paid to violence prevention training, violence prevention risk assessments, occupational health and safety supervisory training, and incident reporting and investigation. “One of the roles of an HRBP is to help raise awareness of the importance of safety. These specialized training sessions are critical to maximize HRBP expertise, so they can support managers and their staff in being as safe as possible at work,” says Mike Jackson, Leader, Human Resource Operations for IH Central and North Okanagan. “If we can all hone our safety skills and work towards becoming a high-functioning, safe organization, we can significantly reduce employee injuries.” The Specialized Workplace Health and Safety training session for HRBPs in IH Central was held in Kelowna on Jan. 26. Sessions for IH East HRBPs will take place Feb. 9 in Trail and March 2 in Cranbrook. The session for IH West HRBPs will be on March 8 in Kamloops.
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aving taught sex ed for more than 20 years, Christine Balfour knows of youth who would not shy away from making a school counselling appointment to request a condom.
She also knows that others would not dare ask. It’s those latter students she’s most concerned about in terms of sexual health and unintended pregnancies. Christine, who co-ordinates the Health Promoting Schools program in the Vernon School District and teaches nursing at UBC Okanagan, is pleased with the results of the School Condom Project, a partnership piloted jointly by Interior Health and secondary schools. Eight schools participated in the pilot in 100 Mile House, Ashcroft, Clearwater, Kelowna, West Kelowna, and Vernon in early 2016. “Just having condoms in the schools starts a conversation about sexual health,” Christine says. Some schools were already providing condoms prior to the project, making them available in counsellors’offices for students who ask. “Kids were somewhat aware of that, but many shied away from asking; they would not ask a counsellor for one just out of sheer embarrassment,” Christine says. “It’s those youths who have sexual thoughts and feelings. It’s those kids who I worry about because they’re not so bold or brazen.” The project originated from recommendations provided by the project charter for Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health Services Standardization with the goal to ensure consistent and quality services for youth across IH. Free condoms were one of seven foundational services that were recommended for youth. Data from the McCreary Adolescent Health Survey underscored that priority, indicating youth in the Interior Health region are somewhat more likely than their peers elsewhere in the province to have had sex (the number of Interior youth reporting they were not sexually active was 75-77 per cent compared to the provincial total of 81 per cent). Research also shows that making condoms available to adolescents doesn’t make them more likely to engage in sexual activity. “As part of the recommendations from the project charter, it makes sense to improve youths’ access to condoms in the Interior,” says Megan Black, an IH epidemiologist. Access is defined as where and how condoms are provided, recognizing that many students would consider a washroom dispenser more accessible than a counselling office. They recruited “school champions,” educators or volunteers to lead the project at each school. The “champions” were
able to focus on student engagement since it can be difficult to get adults, let alone adolescents, to communicate openly about sex. Participating schools received packets that contained a condom, lubricant, a student survey card and sexual health information in a small plain envelope. School posters were developed to increase awareness of condom accessibility and invite students to participate in the survey. Students aged 13-17 (Grades 8-12) took part. Initially, they weren’t providing enough feedback, so the school champions and public health nurses took a different approach.
of students from schools that were previously providing condoms indicated they were either difficult to access, that they had some uncertainty about access or that they weren’t aware they were available. Based on results, the project team recommended provision of free condoms and lubricant at high schools; that schools consider discrete locations such as washrooms; that they increase student awareness of condom availability; and that they directly involve students in the effort (restocking supplies, for example.) Malcolm Reid, Director of Instruction, Vernon School District, was the principal of Vernon Secondary last year when the pilot ran.
“It was interesting,” says Christine, who was a school champion at Vernon Secondary. “We set up computers for lunch hour engagement to complete surveys about condom availability and how it could be improved.” The engagement exercise provided valuable information to inform not only educators and health specialists, but also the broader community of students and families. “What I was most pleased with was that awareness went up,” Christine says. “It was the whole aspect of having a healthy conversation around sexual health.” The conversation included parents as well, fostering a greater appreciation that, indeed, their kids’ sexual health is worth protecting. Christine attended a parent advisory committee meeting to discuss the idea of the project and ensure that she had parental approval.
School display board was part of a student engagement effort to gather survey feedback.
“This was a little bit of a unique project in that this is the first time this has been offered in a public school system,” says Leanne Sagstuen, a public health nurse who worked with Balfour on the project. Ordinarily, IH public health nurses play an educational role, providing information on sexual health to school district educators. In this case, they assumed a more active role. “It’s a way of drawing attention to the importance of sexual health services to our youth,” Leanne says. A total of 6,938 condoms were distributed and 307 student surveys completed between February and May 2016. Among those surveyed, two-thirds indicated they did not take the free condoms, most of them explaining that they were not having sex. Another important finding: 72 percent
“For the most part, it was very well accepted. It was very successful,” Malcolm says. “It confirmed that Vernon Secondary was on the right track in its approach, ensuring condom availability in a supportive manner with information and counsellors readily available.” “We were shining a spotlight on it and talking about it, and making it a more comfortable conversation for all of our youth,” he adds. Interior Health has shared project results with school superintendents in the region and offered free condoms to all high schools. The results were recently presented at Strengthening Healthy Development: Education and Health in Partnership, a Public Health Agency of B.C. conference in Vancouver in December 2016.
Jean Schmidt, Home Health Nurse @IH: What is your position? I am the home health nurse for the Boundary, which includes Midway, Greenwood, Christian Valley, out towards Osoyoos and over to Rock Creek. I’ve been in the Boundary area for about nine years and I’ve been a nurse for 38 years. I will actually officially retire on March 1.
@IH: What does the work entail? I do home care nursing and some case management. It ranges from shortterm support for those coming out of hospital or an acute episode to helping people with chronic disease management. I also support palliative care and provide case management to support people in staying at home in the community.
@IH: Why is it important? I feel it is really important
for us to support people in their homes and in the community where they also have access to their families and friends. I deal a lot with people who are older and aging and it’s much better for them to be able to access services at home where they have those constant supports in their lives.
@IH: What makes Midway a great place to work? The team we have here in Midway is terrific.
@IH: What do you enjoy most about your work?
I enjoy helping people to succeed – in gaining back their independence or in getting well. I really feel that I’ve been supported out here and things have really improved over the last nine years. We now have a visiting occupational therapist from Grand Forks rather than having people go to the hospital there which isn’t their usual environment. We have a chronic disease management RN who visits and some respiratory therapy services as well. The nurse educator from Nelson has been terrific and the wound care nurse from Trail is very supportive. We also added a mental health nurse to our team in the time I’ve been here. We can all draw on our colleagues for help in supporting a more holistic approach to health. I want to say how great it has been to work with our physicians and our new nurse practitioner here, and my team lead and
manager have been very supportive. It’s very helpful in supporting people to stay in their homes for all of us to be working together.
@IH: Anything unique you have experienced in
your role? I have learned that the people of the West Boundary are a very independent and resilient people who deal with things as they come, whether good or difficult. This makes them an interesting and diverse group to work with.
Midway Health Unit
2013
health unit opened
875
home care nursing visits in 2015-2016
5
employees
Stats gathered from 2015-2016 data. Contact Communications to nominate a colleague, manager, or site for a future spotlight.
Revelstoke Submitted by: Victoria Soyka
Kamloops Submitted by: Leah Assu Trail Submitted by: Jody Pistak
Creston Submitted by: David MacVicar Coldstream Submitted by: Gina Eubanks
Patient Voices Network representatives from the Interior Health region gathered in Kelowna on Jan. 26 to take part in a Patient Engagement Workshop discussing primary care. Patient representatives (l-r) Jan Betts of Penticton, Bonnie Spence-Vinge of Cranbrook, and Diane McArthur of Kamloops were among the 23 patients who shared their thoughts on a variety of questions regarding accessing primary care in B.C.
A new $417-million Patient Care Tower has been greenlighted for Royal Inland Hospital – great news for patients in the IH West region! Health Minister Terry Lake made the announcement at a Feb. 6 event in Kamloops. According to Mayor Peter Milobar, this will reportedly be the largest capital construction project in Kamloops history, with anticipated ground breaking in 2018 and completion in 2022. You can read more in the news release. Unveiling a conceptual drawing were (L-R) Dr. Simon Treissman, RIH Chief of Staff; IH Board Chair John O’Fee; RIH Foundation Chair Eric Davis; Peter Milobar, Thompson Regional Hospital District Chair; and Health Minister Terry Lake.
The Ktunaxa Nation honoured East Kootenay Primary Health Care/Chronic Disease Manager Shannon Statham with a blanket ceremony in January, acknowledging her work and relationship with the Ktunaxa people for the past several years. “What an absolute honour,” said Shannon, who is moving to a new role in the EK as a quality consultant for IH. Pictured here, L-R, Ktunaxa Administrator Shannon Girling Hebert, Shannon, and Traditional Wellness Coordinator Robert Williams.
Dr Edmond Chan of UBC’s Department of Pediatrics explains why most infants should eat peanut-based food by the time they are six months old. He was the Canadian member on a panel organized by the U.S. National Institute of Health that has recently issues new guidelines for preventing peanut allergy in children.
Jen chronicles her experiences with having a stroke and how her life has been since then. For more Life. We don’t want you to miss it™ stories, visit heartandstroke.ca.
This is the first in a series of films celebrating the longevity, resilience, and wisdom of our elders. Watch an inspiring interview with 90 year old Yvonne Dowlen who was still skating at least five days a week.