A mother goose who hatched three goslings outside the Royal Inland Hospital labour and delivery room window needed a lot of human help to make it safely to the South Thompson River in Kamloops Monday and she wasn’t afraid to take it.  The labour and delivery staff had been keeping close watch via a baby monitor at the nursing station leading up to this point. The goslings hatched Sunday morning and on Monday before noon, took a harrowing leap from the third-storey roof, two of them landing in a walled enclosure.  Labour and delivery room nurse Dara Johnson and RIH facility maintenance crew members herded the goslings into a box to lift them out, reunited them with their mother.  Mother and babies waddled up the RIH back exit, escorted by the maintenance and labour and delivery team members. They settled on a grassy bank, seemingly headed to a nearby creek.  Unfortunately, the family stayed on the bank until about 4:30 and then walked north to a busy Kamloops street. Mother goose pecked persistently at the glass door of a the ahhYaY Wellness  Café when passersby tried to stop her from going into traffic. The owner let her in and she took her babies into a glassed-in area and settled down.  Enter, Kamloops Community Services and Kamloops Fire and Rescue. Firefighter Carson Schreiner said, “This is a first, never had to respond to a goose before.” After some head scratching, a dog kennel was produced, mother goose walked into it with her babies. A blanket over the kennel settled her down.  The crew drove her nine blocks to the riverbank, opened the kennel and out mother walked with goslings in tow. She took them into river, stopped once to turn back and honk a thank you at her rescuers and away they swam.  City of Kamloops Community Services (left to right): Ryan Bingley, KFR Carson Schreiner, KFR Cpt Norm Little, KFR Erik Rasche. Back at the ahhYay Café, a full disinfecting took place, although the goose was amazingly tidy for a goose. Check out CFJC Today Kamloops' story

Sandra Ohlemann (second from right), who lives in Creekside Landing, participates in a ground-breaking ceremony with (from left) Kevin Svoboda of Creekside Landing; Diane Shendruk, Interior Health VP of Clinical Operation North; Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors and Long-Term Care; and, Vernon Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu. On a sunny spring afternoon in Vernon, Sandra Ohlemann looked out at the flat lot around her, damp and muddy from a recent rain. Behind her was Creekside Landing, a long-term care home in Vernon. Beside her was an excavator, poised to begin digging the foundation of an expansion that will see 90 new spaces added to the facility. “We need more spaces for seniors to live, so watching the progress on the expansion every day is exciting,” she said. “As seniors, we need places to call home and here at Creekside Landing, this is my home.” Sandra made the remarks as part of an event to celebrate the launch of construction on the Creekside Landing expansion. She joined Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors Services and Long-Term Care, as they together plunged a shovel into the dirt on the site – the small gesture symbolic of the province’s investment in 495 new long-term care beds in the Interior region. With B.C.’s aging population, seniors are in need of access to more services. Seniors care is a strategic priority for Interior Health, with a focus on coordinated access to team-based specialized community services. Also part of the 495-bed investment are projects in Kamloops, Nelson, Kelowna and Penticton. As someone who makes her home in assisted living at Creekside Landing, Sandra observed the need at a personal level. “In some cases, one spouse is in assisted living and the other is in long-term care, and they’ll visit each other every day,” she said. “They want to be together as long as possible, and more spaces would allow for that.” Sandra’s husband has passed away, yet her daughter and her family live in Vernon, visit her often, and have her over for Sunday dinners. At some point, Sandra and other seniors in assisted living may  require the further care afforded by long-term care. Staying close to family members is another reason to create more spaces in these communities.  Sandra Ohlemann takes to the podium to share her excitement about the Creekside Landing expansion Sandra’s life story is like many others of those in long-term care. There is individual history – rich in triumphs and struggles, love and loss – spanning generations of a person’s family and friends. There is also the collective history – the person’s contributions that have shaped their communities. Sandra’s story is itself weaved into the history of B.C.’s health-care system. For more than three decades, she worked as an operating room nurse in Victoria, Vancouver and finally Prince George. Her husband worked as a regional developer in each of these communities. Together they raised their daughter and son.  With her home now at Creekside Landing, she spoke of enjoying her daily walks by Vernon Creek where she spots deer, geese and, on occasion, blue heron. On the other side of the creek, excavators and bulldozers move earth to lay the groundwork for the new facility’s foundation.  “Next spring, I look forward to crossing the future footbridge to walk over here,” said Sandra, with a smile and the relish of someone who has never tired of the seasons.

When health-care teams involve people in conversations about their care, patients become partners in care, and care experiences improve. Patient partners are volunteers who support people and their families to access and navigate the health-care system. At Interior Health, patient partners are valued. Many of our patient partners are also volunteers in our hospitals and health-care centres, and when we lose them, the loss is keenly felt by all. Recently, we lost Peter Jones, a long-time volunteer at Kelowna General Hospital, a public member of IH’s Person and Family Centred Care Steering Committee, and a patient partner at the Patient Voices Network. “When I shared the sad news that Peter Jones had passed away, there was a heavy sigh amongst the group,” says Karin Chand, Renal Services coordinator, who was anticipating working with Peter on a patient journey map for people with kidney health issues – the last event Peter had signed up for, but didn’t get to attend. Peter was passionate about ensuring the public voice was heard in health care, and he left his fingerprints on many IH initiatives – a geriatric education working group, training for the Kelowna Seniors Health and Wellness Centre, and a review to make signage people-friendly instead of solely staff-focused, to name but a few. He was a regular volunteer in emergency and intensive care at Kelowna General, beginning in February 2006 before “retiring” in August 2017, says Ken Zarr, KGH’s volunteer coordinator. “Peter logged 5,200 hours over that time and was committed to volunteering. As a great trainer to our volunteers, his support was greatly appreciated. He played a big part for volunteering at KGH,” Ken says.  Peter with his son-in-law James, doing model railroading, which he loved in addition to volunteering.  Even when challenged by his own health issues, Peter remained committed to his role as a public member of the Person and Family Centred Care Steering Committee and dedicated to finding ways to provide his thoughts and experience into shaping a better journey for those using the health-care system. His input was well respected, and committee members often looked to him for his thoughts during discussions. “A lovely, talented and dedicated human who advocated for improvements to health care for all,” recalls Alison Gerlinger Dennis, the public member co-chair of the steering committee. “Peter was deeply appreciated by the members of the Person and Family Centred Care Steering Committee, and will be sorely missed. His contributions to the IH Family Presence Policy – which welcomed family presence and visitations 24/7 in all IH sites provided safety wasn’t compromised – were enormous and have helped all folks in our region.” Adds James Coyle, IH co-chair of the PFCC SC: “Peter was always focused, thoughtful, professional and so pleasant to be around; he inspired me to work more deliberately with others and continue to ensure that patients are seen as a ‘whole person’ who are always at the centre of their care and decision making.” James says that, even over the past two years, when the committee couldn’t meet in person due to COVID-19, Peter always showed up virtually at meetings and was prepared to keep moving the work forward.

Kimmi and Harjit are medical office assistants at Cedar Sage Health & Wellness Centre  Health care is teams, within teams, all working together towards supporting the patient experience.  Our administrative services staff are integral members of clinical service delivery in primary care, home health, public health, and mental health and substance use.

Did you know that about 60 per cent of food produced in Canada is lost or wasted? Health Canada suggests reducing, recovering and recycling as ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the sustainability of our food system.  Food gets wasted at every step of the food system - during production, packaging, processing, wholesale and distribution, in the store, and at home. That’s why local food systems, with fewer steps between producer and consumer, can be part of the solution to reducing food waste.   Almost half of the value of Canada’s food waste - 47 per cent - occurs in the home. There are lots of ways you can reduce your household’s food waste. By following the tips listed below you can help create a healthier tomorrow.  

Interior Health has more than 4,800 volunteers across the region. These volunteers fill a variety of roles that benefit our staff, patients, clients and residents alike.

We use social media to inform you about health-care news, services and stories, and connect you to expert sources of information. We also love to engage with our community on social media and showcase our incredible health-care staff, physicians and volunteers on the front line and behind the scenes. Connect with us through our social media channels listed below: Channel Username/URL Interior Healthfacebook.com/ InteriorHealth @Interior_Healthtwitter.com /Interior_Health Interior Health Authoritylinkedin.com /company /interior-health-authority @interiorhealthbc instagram.com /interiorhealthbc Interior Health youtube.com/user /InteriorHealthAuth

Microbiology and PCR staff posing with Dr. Bonnie Henry shirts outside of the lab in front of KGH   Name: Chandra Hauer (she/her/hers)Job Title: Medical Technologist and PCR Testing Department Lead Years of Service: 10Worksite: Kelowna General Hospital Community: KelownaAncestral Territory: SyilxAdvice to live by: I just try to have a positive outlook, be happy and hopefully promote happiness around me. Chandra Hauer loves working in health care and has spent most of her career working in microbiology. “Every day is different, every specimen is different and there is never a dull moment!” she says.

A Canada goose in Kamloops has selected a fitting place to lay her eggs this spring – under the windowsill of the labour and delivery unit at Royal Inland Hospital. And her decision has brought joy to the hearts of labour and delivery staff, who are keeping close watch via a baby monitor at the nursing station. Pictured above from left to right, labour and delivery nurses Talia Ollek, Janelle Manderson and Monica Manderson showcase the monitor.