With New Year’s around the corner, many of us turn our thoughts to resolutions. January 1 can be a springboard for a fresh start, new habits and big goals. The original Dry January started in the UK sometime around 2013, and since then has become a global movement. Since 2016, the Go Dry challenge for the Canadian Cancer Society has also inspired hundreds of thousands of people across the country to give up alcohol and go dry for 31 days starting January 1. But going dry may not be the right goal for everyone, says Dr. Andy Delli Pizzi, a medical health officer with Interior Health. “While many people might feel ready and able to not drink for a month, an ‘all or nothing’ approach can be unrealistic for some,” says Dr. Delli Pizzi. “People who choose to not go dry can still try to lower their alcohol consumption to reduce the adverse health effects of alcohol. Choosing small steps over big ones can give you a higher chance of success of meeting your goals and give you something to celebrate.”  

With the holiday season here, many of us will be gathering to celebrate with family and friends. Celebrations often include food and sometimes alcohol. While enjoying wine, beer and spirits can be a pleasurable part of holiday celebrations, drinking too much can have harmful consequences, both short and long-term.

If you or a loved one is ready to get help for alcohol or opioid use disorder, help is now as close as a few keyboard clicks away. Interior Health’s Virtual Addictions Medicine (VAM) Clinic provides rapid access to doctors and nurses with special training in addiction medicine over the phone, from anywhere in the Interior Health region. Since opening three years ago, more than 2,000 people have accessed the clinic’s services. Clients receive effective, proven treatments for substance use to help them improve their health and wellness and live life on their terms.

If you or someone you know has taken the brave step to seek treatment for alcohol or drug use, the journey to recovery and health will be full of transitions. A transition might look like finishing detox, waiting for another service such as counselling, moving back home or into a new community, or starting a new job. Moving from a structured, safe environment like a treatment centre or hospital, to an unstructured one, can also leave someone feeling vulnerable. While periods between endings and beginnings can bring feelings of accomplishment and joy, they can also be challenging. This is the thinking that went into Interior Health’s Aftercare program.

Nestled just east of the Cascade Mountains along Highway 3, at the juncture of the Similkameen and Tulameen rivers, lies Princeton. The small town of just over 2,800—whose slogan is “Where rivers and friends meet”—is known for its forestry, mining and ranching, as well as outdoor pursuits like bird watching and fishing. It’s also a town that’s becoming known for its resiliency. Princeton has seen more than its share of adversity, from devastating floods in 2021, to wildfires and evacuations, to a persistent boil water notice since Dec. 2021. There’s a “can-do” ethic shared by Princeton residents, and these disasters have brought the town and residents together. It’s this same sense of community and can-do ethic that have brought the community together to help transform conversations around alcohol.

Content warning: residential schools, death. The information and material presented here may cause unpleasant feelings or thoughts for some people. Many individuals find it helpful to discuss these feelings in a supportive and trusting environment. Please reach out to the supports most appropriate to your individual needs: KUU-US (Aboriginal) Crisis line at 1-800-588-8717 BC Crisis Line at 310-6789 In 2021, the government of Canada officially made Sept. 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation; the Province of British Columbia also officially declared Sept. 30 a statutory holiday in March 2023. This is a day for all people living on Turtle Island, now known as Canada, to recognize the tragic legacy of residential schools and honour the children who never returned home, the survivors of these institutions, the families left behind, and their communities.  Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history, and ongoing impacts of residential schools, is a vital component of the reconciliation process. Interior Health (IH) is committed to addressing past and present harms resulting from the residential school legacy and negative effects to the health and well-being of Aboriginal Peoples. This comes in the form of addressing Indigenous-specific racism within the B.C. health-care system by focusing on advancing Aboriginal health and cultural safety within health service delivery.  In advance of this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we wanted to highlight some of the change-makers at IH who are working to strengthen our relationships with Aboriginal partners, and recognize and appreciate the heritage and diverse cultures of Aboriginal communities and people we serve, and how we’re striving to embed their wisdom, knowledge, and culture into how we deliver services to provide culturally safe care.

Name: Jessica Niemela (she/her/hers)Job Title: AudiologistYears of Service: 3Worksite: Vernon Health UnitCommunity: VernonAncestral Territory: SyilxAdvice to live by: “It’s not just about hearing, it’s about being heard.” – Gael Hannan Going through her own journey with hearing loss and wearing hearing aids provided inspiration for Jessica’s career choice.  “The journey is not always easy and requires a holistic approach that goes beyond wearing hearing devices,” shares Jessica.  The onset of permanent hearing loss can happen after birth, making it important for children to have their hearing screened prior to entering school in order to give them the best chance for academic success and social/emotional development. Jessica finds it most rewarding to work with children and families through their own journeys with hearing loss and to see them become their own self-advocates for accessibility.

Audiologist Jowan Lee of St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver is working with Interior Health patients to adjust their cochlear implants with digital health technology.   Ponderosa Lodge social worker Shirley Shanks could not believe it when she got a call setting up a virtual audiology appointment for one of her long-term care clients with a malfunctioning cochlear implant. Rather than going to Vancouver, Cathy, who uses a wheelchair, was transported five minutes away to the virtual care clinic at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.  By video, an audiologist, located 450 kilometres away at St. Paul’s Hospital, was able to make crucial adjustments to the cochlear implant, an electronic device that is situated under the skin behind the ear to help restore hearing.  The implants are a miracle for people with hearing impairments who need more than a hearing aid. However, for Cathy, her cochlear implant had not been adjusted since 2018 so she was back to reading notes from people trying to communicate with her. “I was so excited to get that call,” said Shirley. “I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to get Cathy to Vancouver. To be able to have this virtual care appointment is amazing.” Cathy, sitting, is ready for her virtual appointment with Vancouver audiologist Jowan Lee (on screen). In back is RIH virtual care coordinator Haillie McBoyle. When Cathy and Shirley arrived at the clinic on Dec. 1, virtual care co-ordinator Haillie McBoyle guided them into a room where audiologist Jowan Lee was smiling at them from a computer screen. Several Tupperware containers filled with programming pods completed the equipment needed for the video appointment, anticipated to last an hour and a half to two hours. She was the second patient of the day.  “Our other patient was so pleased at the end of his appointment. He actually cried happy tears that he didn’t have to travel to Vancouver for the adjustments,” said Haillie. During the appointment, the audiologist directs the patient on which pod to select and attach to his or her sound processor. By using remote access technology, the audiologist is able to take control of the programming software on the RIH laptop, enabling the patient’s sound processor settings to be optimized.  These Tupperware containers are filled with pods that the audiologist uses to adjust the patient’s cochlear implant. These local appointments are part of St. Paul’s Hospital’s Cochlear Implant Remote Mapping Service Pilot Project, which began in Island Health but recently expanded to Interior Health where the vast geography makes digital health care crucial technology. After being contacted by St. Paul’s to participate as a second proof site, Interior Health’s virtual care team chose RIH because of its proximity to northern B.C. and because RIH had staffing in place to support the clinic. “Kamloops was the best location for a wider range of patients who aren’t able to get to Vancouver. Patients from Prince George will also be able to come here,” said IH Virtual Care manager Shawn Berglund. Until the virtual option was introduced, the 181 patients in Interior Health and 30 in Northern Health were required to travel Vancouver at least once a year to have their cochlear implants adjusted by the specially trained audiologists. Cochlear implant testing is the newest addition to the rapidly expanding digital health programs in Interior Health and RIH Virtual Care analyst Bill Demuth is on the team overseeing it at RIH.  “Much of IT (information technology) is a supportive resource, but with virtual care, we impact patients in a positive way every day,” he said. “These programs that make a direct difference for patients are the ones I especially like.” At the moment, the appointments take place one day a month, but Bill hopes to see the appointments increase as more audiologists are trained to provide virtual care and patients experience the convenience and effectiveness of video sessions. Shawn said it’s also exciting to work on a program that is collaboration between several health organizations (IH, Providence and the Provincial Health Services Authority) and also multi-departmental.  “We are all working together on this supportive way for our clients to make their appointments. A lot of our patients weren’t getting it done for a variety of reasons – COVID-19, damaged highway system and also because they are too vulnerable to travel.” Cathy is one of those fragile patients who likely would not have been able to make it to Vancouver.  Instead, she left her virtual appointment with better access to sound then when she arrived – a win for digital health, but mostly a win for Cathy. Shirley said she also came away with a win as part of Cathy’s care team. “Dr. Lee was able to educate me on how to help Cathy through more effective speech approaches and by providing information on the static she hears on a regular basis that I was not aware of.” She added that he also gave her other ideas on apps to use for communication. “All these care plan needs are vital to Cathy’s daily living and I am truly grateful for that.”