Name: Lauren Phillips (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Interim clinical operations manager
Years of Service: 10
Worksite: Hillside Centre
Community: Kamloops
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc
Advice to live by: Just breathe

Merritt and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital due to limited nursing availability.

From 6:30 p.m. Sunday, January 8 to 7 a.m. Monday, January 9, emergency services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or Kelowna General Hospital.

Name: Franz Huber (he/him/his)
Job Title: Registered Nurse (RN)
Years of Service: 25
Worksite: Rutland Community Dialysis Clinic
Community: Kelowna
Ancestral Territory: Syilx Okanagan
Advice to live by: Work hard and be disciplined, but also have fun, and spread love and kindness

During the colder months it’s important to stay active and get fresh air. It’s also important to use caution in snowy or icy conditions to prevent injury from slipping or falling. You also need to be careful when shovelling your driveway.

Name: Shannon Carver (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Director, Medical Imaging Okanagan
Years of Service: 25
Worksite: Penticton Regional Hospital
Community: Penticton
Ancestral Territory: Syilx Okanagan
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: Always try to look at the bright side of life – as staying positive is infectious.

A bus accident on the Okanagan Connector (Highway 97C) in the early evening of Dec 24 resulted in 52 patients transported to four Interior Health hospitals.

Upon arrival 36 patients were assessed and treated for injuries that ranged from serious to minor.

As of 9:30 a.m. today, eight patients remained in the care of hospitals in Penticton, Kelowna and Kamloops. For those remaining in hospital, two are in serious condition and two have non-life threatening injuries.

Keremeos and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Similkameen Health Centre due to limited nursing availability.

From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, emergency services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Penticton Regional Hospital.

During this time, all other community health services will continue as normal at the South Similkameen Health Centre.

Name: Marilyn J. Ransome (she/her/hers)
Job Title: RN - Community Integration Care Coordinator
Years of Service: 10
Worksite: Lansdowne Park Mall
Community: Kamloops
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “Be the reason someone smiles.” – Roy T. Bennett

(PHOTO CREDIT – Kalen Jones) Clearwater leaders got together last summer to celebrate the resilience of their physicians. Front row (L-R):  Past Mayor John Harwood, Coun. Shelley Sim; Dr. Sandra Okezue; MP Frank Caputo; Yellowhead Community Services Vice Chair Shirley Frost; Coun. Barry Banford; Coun Lucy Taylor; Medical student Anmol Mattu; and Dr. Kayode Bamigboje; Back row (L-R):  CAO John Thomas; Obi Okezue; regional district director Carol Schaffer; Mayor Merlin Blackwell and Coun. Bill Haring.

As I mark my fifth year as Board Chair of Interior Health (IH), I reflect on the highlights and challenges of 2022. Undoubtedly, times have been difficult for many people in the Interior, and especially tough on health-care workers. Our staff experienced the pressures to organize and deliver care in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, respond to the toxic drug crisis, and handle an unusually early and more powerful respiratory virus season.