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health care
When one of the best places to eat in town is the hospital
VERNON - Like airline fare, hospital food has a certain stereotype associated with it, but in Vernon and across the Interior, those perceptions are changing one home-cooked meal at a time. The meatloaf, for example, is just like mom used to make it, says Interior Health Authority food production manager Ron Eichberger of his favourite...
A Tower of Care completed one donation at a time in Vernon
VERNON - From people donating to ‘light a bulb’ on the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Christmas tree to volunteers selling second hand clothing, the community has come together for health care. The Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation announced Wednesday, Sept. 23, that enough donations have been received to complete the top two floors of the Polson Tower...
More health-care assistants training spaces opening in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - As need grows for health-care assistants in the region a program at Thompson Rivers University aims to get more students out working more quickly. Funding for the program was announced earlier this week, with the province providing the local university with $275,000 to open up 32 new spaces in the program. The funding...
Vernon woman shows what Lyme disease really looks like
VERNON - A young Vernon woman battling Lyme disease hopes you’ll share her story. It couldn’t have been easy to tell, and it’s not always easy to watch, but 21-year-old Amy Soranno’s two-year story of pain and unanswered questions is now laid out in a documentary called Amy’s Complex Case. The video, which can be...
Vernon Jubilee Hospital unveils new mammography machine
VERNON - North Okanagan residents are benefiting from recent enhancements to Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s imaging department, including a new digital mammography machine. Local individuals and organizations donated to the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation’s Take a Picture campaign, which raised more than $500,000 towards the purchase of the new mammography machine, the foundation said in...
What many dementia patients have in common with the Enderby senior found dead last week
VERNON - More people are living independently with dementia instead of in care homes than you might think, says an Interior Health Authority doctor. That includes people like Barbara Derenowski, 73, who drove off from her Enderby home last week without a valid driver’s licence and was found dead days later on the side of...
Interior Health appealing $75,000 fine for endangering workers at Vernon hospital
VERNON — Interior Health Authority is fighting a $75,000 fine imposed by WorkSafe B.C. for exposing its workers to toxic substances. The fine was issued Sept. 19, 2014, three years after WorkSafe first inspected the Vernon Jubilee Hospital diagnostic laboratory and deemed its ventilation system inadequate. Workers were exposed to formaldehyde and other toxic substances,...
UPDATE: Doctor attacked by patient at Penticton Regional Hospital
PENTICTON - A Penticton doctor is recovering from a broken jaw and other facial injuries suffered during an alleged attack by a psychiatric patient at Penticton Regional Hospital Friday. Police responded to a call at the psychiatric unit at 4:22 p.m. and RCMP arrested 30-year-old Gregory Stanley Nield at the hospital and charged him with...
This is why Penticton needs a detox centre
"THEY'RE NOT THROWAWAY PEOPLE." PENTICTON - A young man leaves a detox centre in Kelowna and heads home to Penticton—a taxi ride, a bus ride and walk away. His body is rid of the alcohol it was so dependent on only a week ago; now’s an opportunity for him to start fresh, get a job...
Hospital expansion plans become a reality
PENTICTON - The dream of an expansion to the Penticton Regional Hospital is becoming a reality with city planners introducing the groundwork and initial planning stages to council Monday. Tentative structure plans (requested by Interior Health to kickstart the budget process), were shown to council for the first time during the City Council meeting, Oct....
Interior Health hospitals middle of pack
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - People in the Interior are more likely than other Canadians to drink heavily but they are also more likely to be active, according to recent statistics for the Interior Health Authority that ranked the region in the middle of the pack across the country. A new website compares hospitals, health regions, provinces and...
First patients could be admitted to new Vernon hospital ward in 2016
VERNON - The new ward at Vernon Jubilee Hospital could be welcoming patients around the beginning of 2016. Construction to complete the top two floors of Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s Polson Tower launched today with a celebration attended by Interior Health, the North Okanagan Columbia Shuswap Regional Hospital District and local dignitaries. The $29.6 million unit...
Vernon hospital construction set to launch this week
VERNON - A multi-million dollar construction project to finish the top two floors of Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s Polson Tower is set to begin Wednesday. There will be a ceremony at 11 a.m. Wednesday to mark the construction start. Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster will be in attendance. The price tag on the new inpatient unit is...