Name: Tanya Momtazian (she/her/hers) Job Title: Registered Midwife Years of Service: 16 Worksite: Kootenay Lake Hospital Community: Nelson Ancestral Territory: Ktunaxa and Syilx. “I live in the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, and Syilx territory of the West Kootenays. Sinixt is not on the territory map because it was declared extinct by the federal government, which has recently been repealed.” Favourite Quote / Advice to live by:  “I enjoy consulting and considering the iChing, an ancient Chinese Book of Changes. It talks about perseverance, harmony, planning, and strategy.” Born and raised in Calgary to a white settler father from Alberta and a mixed ethnicity mother from Trinidad and Tobago, Tanya is the first midwife to join Interior Health’s Navig8 Emerging Medical Leaders Program, which prepares medical leaders to operate effectively in their current and future leadership roles through a mix of action-based learning and mentorship. With a deep passion for patient care, Tanya holds a number of midwifery-related roles while finding time to pursue outdoor activities with her family, and trying her hand at silversmithing and jewelry making.

Do you have a student in your life who’s interested in science, health or writing – or all three?  BC Lung Foundation and Interior Health (IH) have partnered together to launch our first-ever Radon Skill Testing Contest for students in grades 4–8 and 9–12.   This skill testing contest aims to increase awareness of the health risks associated with radon. Students can answer one, or up to four, skill testing questions about radon for a chance to win Beats on-ear headphones, Beats wireless ear buds, or an Alpha Track radon test kit.  Radon is more prevalent in the Interior region than in the rest of B.C. It’s a radioactive gas that accumulates in indoor spaces, and long-term exposure can cause lung cancer. The only way to know how much radon you could have in your home, work or leisure indoor space is to test.  “Not only do we want students to take an interest in this important topic, we want parents and guardians, teachers and school staff to take note too,” says Dr. Silvina Mema, Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer at IH. “We want people to test for radon in their own homes.”

Name: Brandy Hagel (she/her/hers) Job Title: Registered Nurse Years of Service: 5 ½  Worksite: Kelowna General Hospital Pediatrics  Community:  Kelowna Ancestral Territory: Syilx Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “If you put your mind to it, anything is possible.” Brandy Hagel, the registered nurse (RN) from Kelowna General Hospital who took to social media to reunite a pediatric patient with their stuffed bunny, has always loved working with kids. She has also always been the type of person who goes out of her way to make a positive difference in someone’s day.  So much so that in 2017 she combined her passion for running and desire to help others by taking on the challenge of running an ultra-marathon across Haiti to raise money for low-income families. She ran a total of 226 kilometres in just six days!  Naturally, her empathetic, caring nature and desire to work with children ultimately led her to a career as a RN in pediatrics.  “It is so rewarding to know that you are making a positive impact in someone’s day, and kids are the most resilient people I know. I love being able to help them understand that their illness doesn’t define them while we work together to get them healthy again.”  

You can’t see it, taste it or smell it, but radon gas is found everywhere in Canada. Caused by the natural breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks, radon dissipates outdoors but builds up indoors – in homes, workplaces, schools and leisure spaces. Radon gas is radioactive, and is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. It’s also the most significant indoor air carcinogen for residents of homes in Canada. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control's radon map, an estimated 30 per cent of homes within the Interior Health region are above the Canadian guideline of 200 Becquerels/m3. How do you know how much radon you have in your home? There’s only one way to find out: you have to test for it.  November is Radon Action Month in Canada. We want to introduce you to four people who are working hard to increase awareness of the risks of radon, and to promote testing, management and mitigation. This week meet Nancy Mora Castro, regional air quality coordinator for the City of Kelowna. Since 2020, she has led radon action at the local government level, expanding radon awareness and testing across the Central Okanagan. This month we also featured Greg Baytalan, specialist environmental health officer, and air quality and radon expert. We also introduced you to radon champions and medical health officers Drs. Silvina Mema and Fatemeh Sabet.

Name: Nicole Fournier (she/her/hers) Job Title: Health care assistant Years of Service: 11 Worksite: Three Links Manor Community: Kelowna Ancestral Territory: Syilx Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: Live, laugh, love. Since Nicole Fournier was a young girl, she always wanted to be a nurse. She was born and raised on the coast, and has been in Kelowna for over 20 years. She became a health care assistant (HCA) with the plan of getting her start in nursing and eventually become a wound care nurse. However, Nicole found her work as a HCA enjoyable.  In fact, when asked her proudest moment from her 11-years-and-counting career with Interior Health, she answered “becoming a care aide.”

Name: Andrea Fieldhouse (she/her/hers) Job Title:  Family Nurse Practitioner Years of Service:  14 Worksite: Elkford Health Centre Community: Elkford Ancestral Territory: Ktunaxa Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” – Desmond Tutu Born in Vancouver, Andrea is a family nurse practitioner (NP) passionate about supporting her clients’ health goals, and offering preventive care to improve the quality of life of her community. She enjoys connecting with people, and describes herself as kind, compassionate and driven.

You can’t see it, taste it or smell it, but radon gas is found everywhere in Canada. Caused by the natural breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks, radon dissipates outdoors, but builds up indoors – in homes, workplaces, schools and leisure spaces.  Radon gas is radioactive, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. It’s also the most significant indoor air carcinogen for residents of homes in Canada. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control's radon map, an estimated 30 per cent of homes within the Interior Health region are above the Canadian guideline of 200 Becquerels/m3. How do you know how much radon you have in your home? There’s only one way to find out: you have to test for it.  November is Radon Action Month in Canada. We want to introduce you to four people who are working hard to increase awareness of the risks of radon, and to promote testing, management and mitigation.  In this post, meet Greg Baytalan, BSc, CPHI(C), specialist environmental health officer, and air quality and radon expert. We have also featured medical health officers and radon champions Drs. Mema and Sabet, and regional air quality coordinator for the City of Kelowna, Nancy Mora Castro.

People living with chronic kidney disease now have a new, easy-to-use online resource that teaches how to use your kitchen to manage and slow the progression of kidney disease. The Plant-Based Medicine for Chronic Kidney Disease is a free website developed by two dietitians at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).

Name: Alicia Vicic (she/her/hers) Job Title: Clinical Practice Educator - Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) - IH North Years of Service: 16 Worksite: Community MHSU Community: Kamloops/IH North Ancestral 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).