Name: Kerry Carlson (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Physiotherapist (Community Care)
Years of Service: 30
Worksite: Vernon Jubilee Hospital
Community: Vernon
Ancestral Territory: Syilx Okanagan
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always!” — Robin Williams

Thinking about getting a flu shot this year? We asked Dr. Carol Fenton, a medical health officer with Interior Health, to share the questions she gets most often about influenza and the flu shot. 

Make an informed decision and keep yourself and your family safe this winter. 

Name: Renee Faubert (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Clinical Respiratory Educator (Registered Respiratory Therapist, or RRT)
Years of Service: 5.5
Worksite: Kelowna General Hospital
Community: Kelowna
Ancestral Territory: Syilx Okanagan
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: It is what it is.

A $22-million capital investment will fund an expanded oncology clinic at Penticton Regional Hospital.

“We’re proud that the expansion of the oncology clinic at Penticton Regional Hospital will benefit people across the region, as patients and families will continue to be able to receive medical oncology treatments and followup care closer to home,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

The project will more than double the capacity of the existing department and provide a modern setting and a welcoming environment to receive care.

How do health and wellness leaders gain perspective on the health challenges faced by rural and remote communities? They make time to visit with the people who live there, listen to their stories, and build meaningful relationships.

Health care assistants (HCAs) make a tremendous difference in our lives. HCAs may have many different job titles, including:

• Community Health Worker
• Residential Care Aide
• Home Support Worker
• Long-Term Care Aide
• Home Health Aide
• Continuing Care Assistant
• Personal Care Aide

The one thing all HCAs have in common is that they provide frontline personal care and assistance services to vulnerable patients, clients and residents.

Meet two of our HCAs at Interior Health.

Local residents in the Clearwater area who are enrolled in MyHealthPortal will now be able to book outpatient X-ray appointments online.

Interior Health launched MyHealthPortal in June 2016, which provides convenient and secure access to users’ personal health information including lab results, medical imaging reports, patient visit history, and more.

MyHealthPortal is expanding to allow patients to self-schedule X-ray appointments at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater. Appointments will be scheduled for Oct. 17 and onwards.

People in Cranbrook and surrounding areas will have access to new treatment and recovery options, as well as expanded mental health and substance use services, as the Province continues to build a comprehensive system of care throughout British Columbia.

Excerpts reprinted with permission from Here to Help. Read the full article.

In 1885, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays - and saw his skeleton. He began to work in private in case he ruined his reputation with such fantastical claims. Discoveries from Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie further uncovered ionizing radiation and the role it could play in health diagnostics and treatment. And just like today, misinformation and quackery spread alongside these advances in physics.