Media Archive Blog Topic Listing Page

Oliver and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Okanagan General Hospital due to limited physician availability. Emergency services will be unavailable from 4 p.m. Friday, Oct 20 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. Patients can access care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time. All other inpatient services will continue as normal at South Okanagan General Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Oliver is normally open 24/7.

Merritt and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital due to limited physician availability. From 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 20 to 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, emergency department services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Merritt is normally open 24/7.

Merritt and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital due to limited nursing staffing availability. From 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17 to 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, emergency department services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Merritt is normally open 24/7.

Interior Health is asking young artists to share their thoughts and experience in Interior Health’s second tobacco and vaping poster contest for a chance to win $150. Young people are the experts when it comes to understanding why youth use tobacco and vape, and how smoking/tobacco and vaping impacts them and their friends, family, school and community – it’s important to hear their voices and views. Contest Details: Youth in Grades 8 to 12 living in the Interior Health region are invited to participate in the Take a Breath: Teen Voices on Tobacco and Vaping poster contest. Aspiring artists may create and submit an original artwork that shares a message about the impact of youth tobacco use, smoking and vaping in one of five contest themes: The importance of ceremonial tobacco for Indigenous traditions, and how it differs from everyday (commercial) tobacco use (open to Indigenous youth only) Important facts about smoking/tobacco, cannabis and vaping products Tobacco and vaping companies’ strategies to promote use Impact of smoking/tobacco, cannabis and vaping on my life Environmental impact of smoking/tobacco and vaping A winning poster will be chosen for each of the five themes. The successful artists will be awarded $150 in the form of an appropriate gift card of the winner’s choosing. The winning posters will be professionally printed and displayed in Interior Health hospitals and health-care centres, as well as on social media and the IH website. The contest is underway now, with entries due by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2023. The winners will be announced during the week of Jan. 15, 2023 – National Non-Smoking Week. For more information about the contest and how to enter, visit interiorhealth.ca/takeabreath.

Oliver and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Okanagan General Hospital due to limited physician availability. Emergency services will be unavailable from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. Patients can access care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time. All other inpatient services will continue as normal at South Okanagan General Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Oliver is normally open 24/7.

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert.

Oliver and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at South Okanagan General Hospital due to limited physician availability. Emergency services will be unavailable from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12. Patients can access care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time. All other inpatient services will continue as normal at South Okanagan General Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Oliver is normally open 24/7.

Merritt and area residents are advised that Interior Health has secured staff coverage for the emergency department at Nicola Valley Hospital, today. The emergency department is now open.  A PSA was issued this morning at 7:30 a.m. announcing a service interruption because of unexpected limited staffing availability. This PSA has been rescinded.  People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.healthlinkbc.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Merritt is normally open 24/7

Merritt and area residents are advised of temporary changes to emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital due to unexpected limited staffing availability. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, Tuesday, Oct. 10, emergency department services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital. People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.  Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.  The emergency department in Merritt is normally open 24/7.