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Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert.

Interior Health (IH), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, is engaging with partners to better support overnight emergency care through a mix of virtual and on-site staffing, which is expected to enable more consistent access by reducing unplanned service interruptions. Engagement is underway with physicians, staff, Indigenous and local governments to better understand perspectives and integrate them into the planning for the pilots planned at community hospitals in Clearwater, Nakusp, Lillooet, and Princeton.  “Virtual support has proven its value across many areas of health care, and integrating it with local emergency teams will give people in these four communities stronger, more connected care,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “It’s a forward-looking approach that strengthens rural emergency services and ensures patients receive timely, high-quality care.” The four community hospital sites are similar in size with low overnight patient volumes, which would allow physicians to share responsibilities—ultimately helping maintain access to care, promote physician wellness and improve staff retention.  “Strong partnerships are at the heart of rural health care,” said Sylvia Weir, IH president and CEO. “We’re taking the time to engage with physicians, staff and community partners to understand what might work. By listening and consulting from the ground up, we hope to shape a model that communities can trust and where front-line teams feel supported.” Virtual care is not new in rural emergency departments in B.C. The Virtual Emergency Room Rural assistance (VERRa) model has been used to augment in-person services across the province, keeping overnight care accessible for patients and relieving the workload on local physicians. This emergency care pilot project aims to build on this model by bringing it in-house to enable wider use and timelier coordination. IH has also used virtual care to successfully support in-patient care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake.  IH is committed to keeping medical staff, clinical health staff, community partners and the public informed throughout the development of this initiative.  What community leaders are saying “We see this virtual pilot program as a small but meaningful step toward greater stability in local emergency care,” said Tom Zeleznik, Mayor of the village of Nakusp “Our community welcomes innovative solutions, values the strong partnerships that support rural health care and appreciates the leadership from the Ministry of Health and Interior Health. At the heart of it all are our dedicated local doctors and nurses who keep our ER open, and our residents cared for.” “We applaud the ongoing efforts of Interior Health, the Ministry of Health and our local health-care staff and physicians in finding innovative solutions to support the hospital emergency department stays open 24/7” said Clearwater mayor Merlin Blackwell. “Working together to find creative solutions to our rural health-care challenges is really our best way forward.”  

Merritt and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, to 7 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. Patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at Nicola Valley Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 811, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 

100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile District General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. Patients can access care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital or Williams Lake Urgent Primary Care Centre during this time.  All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile District General Hospital.  People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 811, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 

Merritt and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital.   Emergency services will be unavailable from 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 to 7 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops during this time.  All other inpatient services will continue at Nicola Valley Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 

100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile District General Hospital.     Emergency services will be unavailable from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. Patients can access care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital during this time.      All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile District General Hospital.      People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.       Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Interior Health is pleased to announce that following an extensive search, Sylvia Weir is appointed president and CEO of Interior Health (IH), effective immediately.  “I’m thrilled to welcome Sylvia Weir as the next president and CEO of Interior Health,” said Dr. Robert Halpenny, chair of the IH Board of Directors. “As we considered a full slate of candidates, it became clear that Sylvia brings the right mix of values-based leadership, vision and financial acumen to enable the efficient and effective delivery of front-line clinical services to support the achievement of IH’s vision.”  Sylvia brings more than 25 years of leadership in health care in Canada and the United Kingdom and a strong commitment to compassionate leadership. Since June 2025, while serving as interim president and CEO, Sylvia has demonstrated her people-centred leadership approach while leading IH through the organization’s financial sustainability initiatives. Her leadership has laid the foundation to better support positive working relationships with employees and medical staff, key government leaders and external partners. She has further demonstrated her deep commitment to advancing reconciliation and working collaboratively with community partners by building strong relationships.  “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve IH in this role permanently and lead an organization that is comprised of dedicated, compassionate and talented people committed to supporting the health and wellbeing for all,” said Sylvia Weir. “Since June, I’ve had the honour and privilege to meet with and hear from frontline staff, physicians, community and Indigenous leaders across our health region. I am acutely aware of the challenges we collectively face both at IH and as a broader health-care sector, but I am confident through our continued focus on engagement, innovation, strategic partnerships and financial sustainability we will be able to maintain our commitment to delivering the highest quality and most effective care possible to communities.”  Sylvia brings proven experience having previously led IH’s finance and infrastructure teams and managing relationships with external partners. Her education includes a Fellowship in Health System Improvement at the University of Alberta and Project Management certification through the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business. She has served for seven years as a Board member of the Kelowna Women’s Shelter and as an Immigrant Employment Mentor with the Kelowna Community Resources Centre. Sylvia is also a current board member of the provincial Healthcare Benefit Trust.

Clearwater and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital.   Emergency services will be unavailable immediately until 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. Patients can access emergency care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or 100 Mile House District General Hospital during this time.   All other inpatient services will continue at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital.   People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 9-1-1 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.     Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.