Oliver and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) due to unexpected limited physician availability. 

From 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14 to 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15 emergency services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Penticton Regional Hospital.

During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at South Okanagan General Hospital.

Environment Canada continues to adjust heat warnings in the Interior Health region due to daytime temperatures in the mid to high 30 degrees Celsius combined with overnight lows near 18 degrees Celsius. No extreme heat emergencies have been declared at this time.

Please check the Environment Canada website for updates on heat warnings in your area.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a heat warning for the southern Fraser Canyon including the community of Lytton. Daytime temperatures reaching 35 to 38 degrees Celsius combined with overnight lows near 18 degrees Celsius are forecasted for the next five days from Sunday, August 13 to Thursday, August 17. This is not an extreme heat emergency.

Interior Health is reminding people that elevated temperatures increase the risk of heat-related illness.

Name: Natasha Nel
Job Title: Accounts Receivable - Accounting Assistant
Years of Service: 21
Worksite: Lansdowne Centre
Community: Kamloops
Ancestral Territory: T'Kemlups  

Interior Health (IH) is proud to announce the opening of a new interventional radiology (IR) suite at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), which will benefit patients from across the health authority.

This new suite is designed to offer minimally invasive procedures for the diagnosis, treatment of various medical conditions such as:

When you hear the word ‘psychosis,’ what words and images come to mind? Have you ever heard someone call something or someone else ‘psychotic?’

Psychosis can be a heavy-sounding word for what is a treatable mental health condition. Like many other mental illnesses, however, it also comes with stigma and shame.

Interior Health is removing the toxic algae bloom advisory for N’Kwala (Nicola) Lake. 

Recent water samples taken by BC Parks at Monck Park have tested negative for the presence of cyanobacterial toxin. Lake users should use caution if they see signs of an algae bloom. It is best to avoid contact with an algae bloom and if contact is made, rinse your body with clean water. 

First Nations Health Authority continues to monitor the northeast side of the lake as well as Spaxomin (Douglas) and Chapperon lakes.

Name: Deborah (Deb) Loney (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Registered Nurse
Years of Service: 41 
Worksite:  Hillside Centre
Community: Kamloops
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc 
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “Be kind – you never know what battles others are fighting.” – Deb Loney

Alison Houweling is the project lead for the harm reduction policy rollout. She’s been seeking the voice of physicians, nurse practitioners and peers, to talk about how harm reduction methods have impacted their work and interactions with patients.

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