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

From 7 p.m. Wednesday, July, 12, to 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 13, emergency services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital.

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert.

Your living situation could change quickly during wildfire season if you’re evacuated, but your need to access health care could remain the same. Consult these resources on how to access health care if you are evacuated.

Starting today, expectant parents in the Cariboo-Chilcotin have improved access to maternity care close to home thanks to a new clinic at Cariboo Memorial Hospital.

The maternity care clinic is a partnership between Interior Health (IH) and the Central Interior Rural Division of Family Practice and is now accepting referrals.

Name: Heather Jane Johnson (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Manager, Support Services
Years of Service: 5
Worksite:  Kootenay Lake Hospital
Community:  Nelson         
Ancestral Territory:  Ktunaxa Territory

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued heat warnings  for the Thompson/Cariboo/Shuswap, North Okanagan, Central Okanagan, and South Okanagan areas.  

The Province has not declared an extreme heat emergency for these regions.

With elevated temperatures, the risk of heat-related illness increases.

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert.

What’s in your drugs?

As the toxic drug emergency continues unabated, drug checking is one of the ways to find out what’s in your drugs.

In fact, drug checking provides the most accurate information about what is in substances, so people who use drugs can make informed choices about where, when and how much to use.

The service is fast, free and confidential, and is legal at approved sites. Samples can be as small as a grain of rice, and results are typically available within 10 minutes.

Name: Barry Hengel (he/him/his)
Job Title: Manager, Clinical Operations
Years of Service:  6
Worksite: Westview Place
Community: Penticton
Ancestral Territory: Syilx
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” - Aristotle

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the Fraser Canyon including the community of Lytton. Daytime high temperatures near 35 degrees Celsius combined with overnight lows near 18 degrees are forecast through Sunday. This is not an extreme heat emergency.

Interior Health is reminding people that elevated temperatures increases the risk of heat-related illness increases.