One year ago on April 29, Maureen Thomson was sitting at a desk inside the new David E. Kampe Tower at Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH), looking over a set of computer screens, each one flashing patient names and locations.

Dealing with a severe speech disorder and transitioning from hospital to home was more than enough for the Freeborn family to cope with. Adding COVID-19 to the mix and hospital visitor restrictions, and problems could have easily gone from bad to worse.

Despite those challenges, this family was able to find a way around those obstacles, with the help of Kelly Talbott, a speech language pathologist at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).

Is there an older adult in your life? Staying connected despite social distancing can be a real challenge.

More than four years ago B.C. declared a public health emergency in the face of unprecedented overdose deaths.

Since that time, more than 789 lives have been lost within the Interior Health community.

Important progress has been made and the evidence is promising. Research from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows that harm reduction efforts are saving lives.