Name: Alicia Vicic (she/her/hers)Job Title: Clinical Practice Educator - Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) - IH NorthYears of Service: 16Worksite: Community MHSUCommunity: Kamloops/IH NorthAncestral Territory: Secwépemc Favourite Quote / Advice to live by:  "When you look at a person, any person, remember that everyone has a story. Everyone has gone through something that has changed them."  Born and raised in Kamloops, Alicia Vicic graduated from the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Bachelor of Science nursing program in 2007 and completed her Master of Science in Nursing from UBC in 2017. Early on in her nursing education, she realized her interest in the mental health field, so she focused most of her clinical placements in this area. This lead Alicia to her career as a clinical practice educator with a focus on Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI).

Take a Breath: Teen Voices on Tobacco, Cannabis & Vaping contest is back for a second year. Interior Health is asking young artists to share their thoughts and experience for a chance to win a $150 gift card. Teens living in the Interior Health region in grades 8 to 12 are invited to submit original artwork that shares a message about the impact of youth smoking/tobacco and cannabis use and vaping, inspired by one of the following themes: The importance of ceremonial tobacco for Indigenous traditions, and how it differs from everyday (commercial) tobacco use (must identify as Indigenous to submit entry to this theme) Important facts about smoking tobacco, using cannabis and/or vaping products Tobacco and vaping companies’ strategies to promote use Impact of smoking tobacco, using cannabis and/or vaping on my life  Environmental impact of smoking/tobacco and vaping A panel of teen peers will select a winning poster in each of the five themes. Posters will be professionally printed, and offered to schools for display throughout the Interior Health region as well as in IH hospitals and health-care centres. More importantly, by virtue of coming from youth artists, their messages will hopefully resonate more with people in that age group. “Youth know better than adults about youth smoking, tobacco and cannabis use and vaping,” says Jered Dennis, Tobacco and Vaping Reduction Coordinator at Interior Health. “It’s important to hear youth voices and views on how smoking tobacco or cannabis and vaping impacts them and their friends, and also their families, schools and communities.” “Through this poster contest, we want to create opportunities for conversation between teens and their peers, and also with their parents and teachers, about smoking, vaping and tobacco and cannabis use,” adds Priscila Nabuco, who works with Jered on the Tobacco and Vapour Reduction team. “By educating themselves, young people can make informed choices about nicotine and vape use.” Entries will be accepted until Dec. 15, 2023. Learn more about the contest

In Clearwater, there is a tremendous amount of pride for the community and the health-care services it offers.  “It’s a fun place to work with really great colleagues, with great patients, and a community that’s very grateful for their health care,” says family physician Dr. Kara Perdue, who also works in the emergency room at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital. “We’re always looking for more people to join the team in order to expand that team and bring in new and fresh ideas to make this an even better place to live and work. The entrance to Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater.“The team we have here at the hospital and at our clinic is fantastic. It’s bright, smiling faces every time you come in. It’s a fantastic team to work with who work exceptionally hard, but are also able to have a lot of fun in their work. These are people who are going to be your friends and also your colleagues.” Interior Health’s Clinical Operations Manager for Clearwater and Blue River Heidi Schilling touts the great diversity of work and opportunities to master a multitude of skills. “Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital is a small rural hospital. We have six in-patient beds, we have a fully-functioning ER with a trauma bay,” she notes. “We’ve also got long-term care at the site [Forest View Place], with 20 long-term care residents.”

Residents in Salmon Arm now have access to a new mammography unit at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.  The new mammogram machine was unveiled during an open house at the site on Oct. 4, a month before screenings begin in November.  “Having mammography in Salmon Arm has been a great advancement for our community,” noted radiology tech at Shuswap Lake Hospital Kim Mead. “It’s allowing patients to receive a service locally rather than travelling kilometres down the road.” Residents needing a mammography would previously have to travel to Vernon or Kamloops, or access the once-a-month mobile mammography service to stop in Salmon Arm.  The Shuswap Hospital Foundation, which fundraised $3.3 million for both the mammography unit and CT scanner, hosted the open house.  Breast cancer survivors attended an open house for the new mammography unit on Oct. 6.Many of the attendees are breast cancer survivors themselves and are part of the local Shuswap Dragon Boat Society.

Name: Julianna DuplessisJob Title: SonographerYears of Service: 8Worksite: Royal Inland HospitalCommunity: KamloopsAncestral Territory: SecwépemcFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: “God does not give us more than we can handle.” Julianna Duplessis loves her job as a diagnostic medical sonographer at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH).  She says every day is different and every diagnosis is different, keeping you on your toes.  “Every day is a new experience because as computers get better, so do the ultrasounds, so we see more and we constantly learn in this job. It’s not one you could be stagnant in,” noted Julianna, who’s been a sonographer for nearly three decades.

From canning and preservation, to learning about medicinal tea from Secwépemc Elders and the importance of climate change, Indigenous leaders from within Interior Health and First Nation communities came together for important conversations at this year’s Interior Region Indigenous Food Forum at the Arbour in Tk’emlups te Secwépemc in September. Interior Region Indigenous Food Forum 2023: Summary Report “One of the biggest things is there are a lot of grassroots folks doing this work in community on any end of the Indigenous food system, so it could be harvesting, could be canning, could be community gardening,” noted Interior Health’s Corporate Director of Aboriginal Health & Wellness Kris Murray, who helped organize this year’s two-day event. “Lots of those folks don’t get the opportunity to talk to other communities doing this work, so we had interest from [them] to do this.”

When you walk into a hospital, you may be accustomed to seeing hand sanitizer and medical masks at the entrances. But did you know a lot more that happens behind the scenes to keep our health-care facilities safe from viruses like COVID-19 and norovirus, and harmful bacteria that causes infections like c. difficile? At Interior Health, our infection preventionists (IPs) help protect everyone’s safety by providing education to staff, physicians and volunteers. They investigate infections and outbreaks, assess infection prevention measures, and even provide consultation for construction and renovation projects in health-care facilities. Meet some of our Interior Health IPs, and get to know the work they do.

In June 2023, Kelowna wife and mom of three Trixie Sylvester discovered she had breast cancer after a regularly scheduled mammogram. The cancer was deep inside her body, and could not be felt externally – her diagnosis came as a complete shock. Trixie was scheduled for a partial mastectomy in August. She had never had surgery before, and didn’t know what to expect. Through her breast cancer journey, she learned that even the most stressful and frightening situations have a silver lining. Her silver lining came in the form of an outpouring of love and compassion, not only from her family and friends, but also from every doctor, nurse and health-care professional she met at Kelowna General Hospital. Wanting to share her story with as many people as possible, she sent a message to Interior Health. “Even if I can help just one person going through what I am, that would mean so much to me,” she said. This is her story.

Name: Gillian Gabelhei (she/her/hers)Job Title: Occupational TherapistYears of Service:  11Worksite:  Brookhaven Care CentreCommunity:  KelownaAncestral Territory: SyilxFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. – Saint Francis de Sales Apart from a couple of years at university in Edmonton, occupational therapist (OT), Gillian Gabelhei has lived in Kelowna ever since moving to Canada from her birthplace in Durban, South Africa. She describes herself as easygoing, patient, practical and open-minded.