Healthy through climate change

2 minutes

The global climate is changing. On average, the temperature of the earth is rising. This is causing more extreme weather events such as the droughts, fires and floods that many of our communities have experienced this year. These changes affect natural and human environments (air quality, clean water and food sources) and also can have negative effects on our health.

Food security and your health

2 minutes

I’m already planning what I want to cook for the December holidays. I’m thinking of a dinner that’s a little less traditional this year and I'm looking at  lemon risotto and stuffed squash recipes. I get excited about the holidays every year. For some reason cooking for celebrations is a completely different experience for me than the Monday to Friday grind of just getting a meal on the table.

Getting patients on their feet faster

2 minutes
The little things were agony, says Gary Gierlichs. “Little things, like putting your socks on or putting your leg in the car,” he says. “I deteriorated pretty fast, which was tough for an active person like me. Hip replacement changed my life—I can’t say enough about it.” In 2018, Dr. Tim Bell and his surgical team performed a hip replacement on Gary at Penticton Regional Hospital using a relatively new procedure for Interior Health called the direct anterior approach. This approach allows the surgeon to replace the hip without cutting through muscle and tendon.

Words matter: stigma hurts those left behind

2 minutes
Stigma. It’s a word used to describe shame and fear of judgment. It’s also the No. 1 barrier people with substance use disorders cite for not seeking help. And if you thought health-care providers are somehow immune and don’t carry prejudices, you would be wrong. Like most health-care workers, RN Shari Smith* has dedicated her life to caring for people. Having spent years in critical care, she has seen the results of teen drinking, drug use and overdose.

How adult day programs transform lives

2 minutes

At 66 years of age, Carolyn inspires those who know her. Born with cerebral palsy, Carolyn lived with her parents until their poor health made it necessary for them to move into a long-term care home three years ago. For the first time in her life, Carolyn needed to figure out the basics of living on her own. She learned how to cook, pay bills and  make the 4.5 kilometre journey from her home to her parents' home on her power wheelchair. She makes this journey once a week to visit her parents, to get some help with her weekly bath, and help the activity team run their regular bingo game.

Tower smudging close to the heart

4 minutes

For Helen Henderson, life is all about connections.

As kukpi7 (chief) of the Canim Lake Band near 100 Mile House, she searches out connection to the land, to her band members and to her past.

Earlier this year at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) in Kamloops, several connections came together in one emotional ceremony for Helen, one of five Secwepemc kukpi7s who attended a sacred smudging ceremony at the construction site for the RIH Patient Care Tower.

Hope for severe opioid addiction

3 minutes
Gina* is a tall, pretty young woman. Her hands, like much of her arms, are covered in ink. Her long hair is a shock of dreadlocks and her voice is not much louder than a whisper. But she is articulate and self-possessed and when she speaks, you lean in and listen. Today she is speaking about her health troubles, her drug addiction, and how the injectable opioid agonist treatment clinic, or iOAT, has helped. “The first month was really tough,” she says. There is a hint of pride in her voice.

New initiative supporting vulnerable population during pandemic

2 minutes

It's being called ground-breaking work.

A small and mighty team of Interior Health physicians and nurse practitioners are going above and beyond in supporting some of the region’s most vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The devoted group are supporting people who are impacted by the poisoned drug supply crisis and have to isolate due to a positive COVID-19 test, by meeting them where they are.