health care
New walk-in set to open on heels of Vernon clinic closure
VERNON – With one walk-in doctor’s clinic set to close at the end of the…
Why a Vernon doctor will help patients with their marijuana
"I'VE HAD PEOPLE WITH STAGE FOUR CANCER SAYING 'I'VE GOT TO BUY IT ON THE…
Expect to feel the squeeze as walk-in clinics close or cut back hours in Vernon
VERNON - Dwindling access to walk-in clinics in Vernon will lead to longer line-ups, and more people travelling outside their communities to see a doctor, says a Kelowna advocate for walk-ins. While the community is still absorbing the impending closure of the Vernon Family Doctor’s Walk-In Clinic, another blow came this week with news that...
Strain for medical care grows as Vernon walk-in clinic reduces to half-days
VERNON - Access to medical care continues to shrink in Vernon. Shortly after it was learned the Vernon Family Doctor’s Walk-In Clinic is closing down permanently, news has come that another walk-in clinic has drastically cut its hours. The Gartree Medical Clinic in the Vernon Square Mall has reduced its hours to 8 a.m. to...
Vernon Light a Bulb campaign exceeds goal
VERNON - Holiday cheer is being felt at Vernon Jubilee Hospital. The 28th annual Light a Bulb Campaign has reached its $200,000 goal, the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Association announced in a media release this week. “Support for the hospital is always very strong,” campaign chair Marg Bailey said, “But this year’s Light a Bulb campaign...
Plans underway to fill health care gap left behind by Vernon walk-in closure
VERNON - As one walk-in medical clinic in Vernon closes, the door to a new one may soon be opening. Plans are quietly developing around the possibility of a new walk-in medical clinic in Vernon following news that the Vernon Family Doctors Walk-In Clinic at the Fruit Union Plaza is closing March 19, 2016. Few...
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...