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The Nelson Community Health Services Centre is temporarily closed due to water damage that occurred in the afternoon of Dec. 30. Interior Health appreciates the response of the Nelson Fire and Rescue Services, who supported our staff to safely evacuate and reduce further damage to the facility. Nelson Fairview Gardens (long-term care) was not directly impacted by this incident. The health services impacted include:  Adult day services Mental health & substance use services Public health Early childhood development Home & community care services Environmental public health & licensing Clients with current appointments will be contacted by care teams to re-schedule appointments or determine alternate care plans. Interior Health is working to re-establish health services as soon as possible. Restoration crews are on site and working to determine the extent of the damage and plans for remediation. We appreciate the challenges this situation presents to the local community and we will provide additional updates as they become available.

UPDATE: Emergency services will be unavailable until 8 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 28. 100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile House District General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27 to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27. Patients can access emergency care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile House 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 http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/for non-emergency

Oliver and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Okanagan General Hospital.  Emergency services will be unavailable from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2025. Patients can access emergency care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time.  All other inpatient services will continue at South Okanagan 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.   

100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile House District General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 24 to 8 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. Patients can access care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile House 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. 

100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile House District General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. Patients can access care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile House 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.

Interior Health continues to work with partners to stabilize existing services and design a future model of maternity care for Kamloops and the surrounding region. Together we provide the following update: Patients requiring immediate care: Anyone in labour, or experiencing urgent pregnancy related concerns, should always present to their closest hospital, including Royal Inland Hospital (RIH). For information and assistance, patients may call 250-314-2635 to speak with RIH Labour and Delivery. Hospital Maternity Services: Interior Health has secured full coverage of obstetrician on-call services at RIH. Dedicated efforts continue to recruit on-call coverage for low-risk deliveries with family practice physicians trained in obstetrics and midwives. We have full coverage for December and continue to work to obtain full coverage for January. Recruitment: Recruitment of new specialist obstetricians remains active with eight candidates in different parts of the recruitment process. We are pleased to announce two new obstetricians have been recruited and are estimated to start in May 2026. Care options in community: Early Pregnancy Access to Care &Triage Clinic (EPACT): In partnership with the Department of Midwifery, Interior Heath has supported the expansion of EPACT utilizing the North Shore Primary Care Clinic. Two additional days per week (16 appointments) have been added, and plans are in place to add a third day in January. This clinic offers easy access for expectant individuals in the first and second trimester to receive initial pregnancy care including prenatal bloodwork and ultrasounds. No referral is required to access care at this clinic. EPACT provides complete first and second trimester care and supports referrals to another provider for late pregnancy care and delivery, as well as referrals to high-risk specialists as needed. EPACT also supports early postpartum care for mother and newborn up to six weeks following delivery. Together, we would like to acknowledge the support of the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation who funded equipment to support these rapid service expansion efforts. To book an appointment with EPACT, please call or text: 250-318-3861. Family Practices and Community Health Centres: Community family physicians and midwives have increased primary care maternity services for patients from 30 weeks to term in collaboration with EPACT and Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS). Patients are referred to a family physician or midwife when community provider capacity is available. Future Service Model Development: We are working on a new vision for an integrated, team-based approach to maternity care, which supports pregnant mothers and families throughout their pregnancies. This model brings together physicians, midwives, nurses, allied health professionals and community partners to provide seamless, patient-centered care. This future model of maternity services is being developed in collaboration with Interior Health, the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice, providers STEPS, EPACT and community partners. This vision is in the early days as further engagement with providers, patients and key community partners is required before implementing a future model of care. We appreciate the collaborative planning efforts of the dedicated and engaged community providers and partners who are designing our way forward – collectively, we will move forward to support a new model for local care for expectant families. To support patients, a webpage has been developed which can be found here. Updates will be provided to the public as the situation changes.

100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile House District General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. Patients can access care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile House 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. 

100 Mile House and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at 100 Mile House District General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Patients can access care at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at 100 Mile House 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. 

Starting this week, patients visiting four Interior Health (IH) emergency departments (EDs) may receive care from a physician working virtually. This is part of IH LINK-ED (Local Integrated Network for Emergency Departments), a new virtual care pilot designed to modernize emergency care services for rural communities. “Integrating virtual care into emergency services is a proven approach already delivering results in communities across B.C.,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “By expanding this technology into four communities, we’re supporting front-line staff, helping our health-care teams reach more patients, and making sure people in rural communities can access high-quality care when they need it.” IH LINK-ED introduces a blended model of in-person and virtual physician support for patients needing emergency care overnight. This approach is designed to provide consistent access to emergency care in rural areas and increase work-life balance for medical staff. The four participating hospitals include Lillooet Hospital, Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital (Clearwater), Arrow Lakes Hospital (Nakusp) and Princeton General Hospital.  Care teams at these sites will start piloting the new model a few nights per week, while continuing with regular in-person care on other nights. Full seven day per week implementation is anticipated to start in the new year. “Patient safety remains our key focus, and that is why we continue to approach the modernization of rural emergency services with care and consideration,” said Sylvia Weir, IH president and CEO. “The soft roll out gives our care teams and patients time to familiarize with the new process and share their feedback, making sure everything works seamlessly before we expand to full implementation.”  As part of this pilot, an emergency physician provides overnight in-person care at their community hospital while offering virtual support to up to three other emergency departments (EDs). When patients walk into an ED, they will be assessed by an on-site emergency-trained nurse, who determines the level of care needed.  For mild or less urgent concerns, the nurse will contact the physician working virtually to review patient condition and guide the treatment. Secure video or phone connections may be used.  For critical, life-threatening emergencies, an in-person physician remains on standby in each community.  "Having used virtual care at Arrow Lakes Hospital, I believe other rural communities can benefit from this collaborative model," said Colin Watson, clinical practice educator in Nakusp. Through the provincial Virtual Emergency Room Rural assistance (VERRa) program, overnight virtual physician support has been used safely two nights per week in this community. "The partnership between nursing and physicians is really important to keeping care safe and accessible,” Watson added. “We’re eager to trial a model that eases physician workload while letting us connect with colleagues across the Interior region."  Shared overnight coverage across multiple sites means more sustainable work life and a community of collaboration among rural physicians. Emergency‑trained nurses are supported to work to the full scope of their training, with immediate access to physician expertise when needed. The service also fosters collaboration among rural hospitals, reducing isolation and strengthening relationships between care teams. To follow along the project or share questions and feedback, community members can sign up at https://engageih.ca/link-ed. Feedback from partners and the public will inform the ongoing development of this pilot project.