In 2021, 263 paper medical charts were shipped to East Kootenay Regional Hospital where they were placed in the basement. The charts belonged to people who had died from toxic drugs, and were sent to the hospital for a project designed to better understand and address the failure of systems to prevent these deaths. Alison Ko, who was at the time a long-term Interior Health employee, joined the project team which needed someone with a nursing background. What she felt was a good career opportunity became so much more. “I had no idea how intense reviewing charts would be,” says Alison. “As our team worked diligently to capture the data the charts revealed, we felt the deep impact of the lives lost.” Alison recalls going into the basement and pulling out the charts, one by one, and reading the files for hours. “Our team met every week, and we kept saying that there are all these stories. They touched us deeply. I started jotting them down, and keeping a journal – anonymous of course." With her background in creative writing, Alison decided to shape the stories into a poem she called Paper People. “I felt like I needed to do good for these families and the people who died,” she explains. “The other guiding force behind the poem was how do we address stigma? How can I use poetry to connect with readers, and have people reflect on these preventable deaths? And lastly, I also wanted to honour the work the team was doing.” Alison holds a naloxone kit in a picture taken for an Interior Health harm reduction awareness campaignOne of the project’s deliverables was to use the data and lessons learned from the chart review to educate others. Out of conversations with colleagues and coworkers emerged the idea of using visual storytelling to share some of the team’s findings. The Paper People video project was born. With the help of the creative team at Hello Cool World, Paper People became reality in just over three weeks. Now on YouTube, the video can be shared by anyone to help combat stigma and understand the human stories behind the medical charts.

If there’s one lesson to take away from the toxic drug crisis – now sometimes referred to as the unregulated drug poisoning emergency – it’s that things are not always what they may appear. Despite what we might believe about who uses substances and why, or what we see in our communities or in the media, consider these stats from the BC Coroners Service: In 2023, 81 per cent of unregulated drug deaths occurred inside Poisonous drugs are now the second leading cause of all deaths after malignant cancers In B.C., 1,455 people have lost their lives to unregulated substances in the first seven months of 2023 – more than six people per day. Within the Interior 253 people lost their lives in the same time period, up from 226 in the same period in 2022. People who use substances are your friends, neighbours and colleagues. Perhaps a family member is using substances, but hasn’t shared this, due to fear and shame. One of the main challenges we face when addressing this public health emergency is the stigma associated with drug and substance use.

Name: Elaine Prud’homme (she/her/hers)Job Title: Youth Substance Use Connections DASW (Discipline Allied with Social Work)Years of Service: 10Worksite: Rocky Mountain Lodge MHSU (Mental Health and Substance Use)Community: CranbrookAncestral Territory: KtunaxaFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: Let go, let God. Keep it simple. One day at a time. For Elaine Prud’homme, being a positive role model for her children, and creating positive outcomes for people in her community makes life worth living.

Name: Stephanie Guss (she/her/hers)Job Title: Rehabilitation AssistantYears of Service:  11Worksite:  Kelowna General HospitalCommunity:  KelownaAncestral Territory: SyilxFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: I try to live with the mindset to always be nice to others because you don't know what kind of battles they are dealing with. Meet Stephanie Guss, our optimistic and energetic rehabilitation assistant who is passionate about people and animals, staying active, and helping patients progress! Born in the very place that she works, Stephanie is based at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) and was raised in West Kelowna before making the move back across the bridge to Kelowna several years ago.

Gord Portman walks down the gravel path in Penticton’s Marina Way Beach Park towards the waterfront. It’s a hot, muggy day, and people dot the adjacent beach despite the wildfire smoke that has rolled in. “When I was homeless for 17 years, this was one of my favourite spots,” says Gord, pointing to a large, flat rock at the water’s edge. “I slept on this rock for three years. I used to come here to mourn loved ones I had lost to drugs, and to hide from my community and family.”

When Dallas had her son eight years ago, she quickly realized she had more milk than she her son needed to thrive. “I knew there were babies who could really benefit from my donated breast milk,” says Dallas, a public health nurse at Interior Health. “I have donated more than 20 litres of expressed breast milk to the milk bank. I got the idea from my own mom, who also donated when I was born prematurely at BC Women’s Hospital in 1985. "The concept and use of donor milk has been around for a very long time, and has shown to be such a huge part in health and growth of our tiniest, most fragile patients." When a baby is born prematurely or is sick, or when a mother’s milk isn’t available, pasteurized donor breast milk is the next best thing. While milk from a baby’s mother is always the first choice, donor breast milk contains the same antibodies that protect a baby from disease and infection.

Name: Tracy McKelvey (she/her/hers)Job Title: MHSU Administrative Support ClerkYears of Service: 15Worksite: Outpatient Psychiatry, Penticton Mental HealthCommunity: PentictonAncestral Territory: Syilx Nation  Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: Focus on the positives in life! Tracy McKelvey works for Interior Health as a Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) administrative support clerk in outpatient psychiatry at Penticton Regional Hospital. Born in the lower mainland of B.C., Tracy was raised in Summerland from the age of three. She describes herself as introverted, intuitive and an animal lover.

Sometimes, travellers can bring back more than souvenirs and memories from their tropical vacation. Numerous tropical diseases can be acquired when travelling such as Malaria, Salmonella infection and rashes. Now, there’s an opportunity for Interior residents who are infected with a tropical disease to be treated closer to home as a new clinic opens in the Okanagan. The Kelowna Infectious Diseases & Tropical Medicine Clinic, located in Kelowna General Hospital, will focus on the diagnosis and management of diseases in returned travellers (including those visiting families and friends abroad), refugees, asylum seekers, new immigrants, as well as overseas visitors and tourists. The location was previously known as the Kelowna Infectious Diseases Clinic and is expanding its service offerings to include tropical medicine. It’s important to note that any returning traveller with a fever must be first assessed in the emergency department in order to rule out such entities as Malaria, Dengue fever, or Typhoid fever. For all other concerns or diseases, a referral is required by your general practitioner or your family physician. “Fever in a returning traveler is considered serious and requires medical attention in the emergency department (ED). The ability to see clients with these infections, following assessment in our ED, will mitigate the client’s need to travel to Vancouver, as is currently required,” said Dr. Issa Ephtimios, who is heading up the delivery of tropical medicine with support from Dr. Boi Masake. Both physicians are certified in tropical medicine and have gained extensive education in this field. Learn more about tropical diseases Visit the Kelowna Infectious Diseases & Tropical Medicine Clinic page Learn how to prevent tropical diseases through travel immunization

Name: Natasha NelJob Title: Accounts Receivable - Accounting AssistantYears of Service: 21Worksite: Lansdowne CentreCommunity: KamloopsAncestral Territory: T'Kemlups  Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: Try to be kind, helpful, and share knowledge.  Learning doesn't stop after school. For Natasha Nel, over 20 years with Interior Health in Accounts Receivable has added up to a rewarding career. “I like puzzles and troubleshooting, learning new tools to help me and others with our work, and learning new software as I use quite a few different ones for my work,” said Natasha, who was born in Saskatoon and spent the majority of her childhood in Burnaby.