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

Oliver and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Okanagan General Hospital. Emergency services will be unavailable from 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 6 to 7 a.m. on Monday, July 7, 2025. Patients can access emergency care in 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 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. 

Lillooet and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Lillooet Hospital and Health Centre. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2 to 8 a.m. Thursday, July 3, 2025. Patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at Lillooet 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. 

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 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1 to 7 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Patients can access emergency care in 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 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.

Lillooet and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Lillooet Hospital and Health Centre. Emergency services will be unavailable from 7 p.m. on Monday, June 30 to 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops during this time. All other inpatient services will continue at Lillooet 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 (IH) remains committed to reopening the Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) pediatric in-patient unit as soon as possible. We are pleased to announce four new physicians have signed offers to join the department. However, at this time, IH does not have the required number of pediatricians available to safely re-open the 10-bed inpatient unit. We continue to work towards resuming services and will provide timely updates to the community. Several key actions have been taken by the board of directors, senior executive team and KGH medical leadership to reopen the department as soon as possible. These actions include: Continued collaboration with the medical staff association and Doctors of BC through an established joint action committee to develop a comprehensive plan to address the staffing challenges and stabilize services over the long term. Appointing a neutral, third-party facilitator as soon as possible to make recommendations to the IH board of directors on further actions to support strengthening pediatric services at KGH. Susan Brown is concluding her tenure as president & chief executive officer (CEO) and will now focus on supporting the organization in its transition in advance of her pending retirement, as announced last spring. Sylvia Weir, the current chief financial officer (CFO) and vice president of corporate services has been appointed interim president & CEO. “On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to Susan Brown for her unwavering commitment and service to Interior Health and the health and well-being of the communities we serve during the particularly challenging times of COVID-19 and a global health care worker shortage,” said Dr. Robert Halpenny, Interior Health board chair. “The board thanks Susan for her continued support to Interior Health and availability to advance the leadership transition plan as her successor is identified.” Sylvia Weir has 25 years’ experience in health care, bringing experience both from the United Kingdom and Canada. As CFO and vice president, Sylvia led IH’s business support and accounting functions, manages contracted services and is responsible for capital planning and projects. Sylvia is known as a values-based leader and is committed to supporting the delivery of front-line clinical services and building strong relationships and community partnerships. Efforts will continue to reopen KGH’s in-patient pediatric unit as soon as possible and we are committed to keeping the community updated as progress continue. KGH remains equipped to support any children requiring emergency care although pediatric in-patients will not be admitted at this time. In the meantime, we extend gratitude to the pediatricians providing on-call coverage to the emergency department and we thank everyone working at the emergency department for their efforts during this challenging time.

Interior Health (IH) has confirmed additional measles cases in the Interior. Locations with identified cases include Kamloops, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and the Nelson area. IH is following up directly with individuals who are known to have been exposed to the cases as part of normal contact tracing. For a full list of exposure locations across B.C., please visit the BC Centre for Disease Control website. This will be updated with any possible exposures for flights and airports, as well as potential exposures at BC Ferries. Measles general information: Measles is a highly infectious disease transmitted by airborne spread. Most people in Canada will be immune to measles due to prior immunization or previous infection. Individuals exposed to the measles virus should monitor for symptoms that may develop up to three weeks after being exposed. These include fever, dry cough, runny nose and red eyes; followed a few days later by a rash that usually starts on the face and spreads rapidly down to the rest of the body. If you develop symptoms of measles, please call 8-1-1 for an initial assessment. If you need immediate medical attention, please wear a mask when visiting a health-care facility or clinic or ask for a mask when you arrive to help prevent spreading measles to others. People who are at risk of getting measles are: Those who have never had measles disease, and Those who have not had two doses of a measles vaccine on or after 12 months of age Protect yourself and your family: The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against measles is to ensure vaccinations are up to date. To check your vaccination status please visit interiorhealth.ca/measles. The risk of getting measles for individuals who have received two doses of the measles vaccine is extremely low. Two doses of measles vaccine provide almost 100 per cent protection and last a lifetime.