Mercedes Casley is very familiar with the Arrow Lakes Hospital (ALH) in Nakusp.

Not only did she grow up in nearby New Denver, Mercedes began her health-care career at Arrow Lakes Hospital before she had even graduated from nursing school.

Now, having also worked as an emergency department nurse in other West Kootenay Boundary hospitals, Mercedes is the Patient Care and Long Term Care Coordinator at Arrow Lakes Hospital.

Volunteers offer non-medical follow-up help and advice

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing in the emergency department at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) was primarily reserved for those patients needing hospitalization to treat their disease.

It is almost impossible to find a person in Canada today who has not been impacted by COVID-19. Every family across the country has been coping with some level of change in routine.

One group particularly hard hit by recent changes are people living in long-term care or assisted living homes. In an effort to protect this vulnerable group, homes have restricted visitor access, changed group activities, and modified dining routines.

Ticks are arachnids that feed on animal blood in order to grow and reproduce. Compared to insects, which have six legs, ticks, like spiders and other arachnids have eight legs.

They are hematophages, meaning they meet all their nutritional needs through eating blood, and need a blood meal to grow from one life stage to another. This adaptation evolved 120 million years ago!

Fifty-year-old Shane is an active volunteer, a former hockey player and a trivia buff.

Like many couples, he and his wife Joanne often tease each other.

“She doesn’t have a volume switch. I’ve been trying to find it for years,” he says of Joanne, who is so soft-spoken you need to lean in close to hear her.

“I didn’t come with a volume switch. Or a return policy,” Joanne quietly quips back.

On June 28, 1969, police raided Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, a meeting place for LGBTQ2+ people. When they demanded to conduct sex verification checks on trans women, a spontaneous protest broke out.

This protest started the conversation about LGBTQ2+ issues and the battle for acceptance and inclusion. It was also the start of what today we celebrate as Pride.