When long-term care residents throughout the region had to evacuate this summer due to wildfires, Interior Health team members stepped up repeatedly to help. Nearly 1,000 long-term care residents were evacuated over the summer at various times due to wildfire threats, and have since been able to return home.

Nestled in the heart of the Nicola Valley, the City of Merritt is a beautiful place to call home and explore a career in health care. With its wide array of outdoor recreation activities and more laid back lifestyle, the rural centre has something for everyone. The Country Music Capital of Canada, located about two hours north of Metro Vancouver, is exponentially more affordable than many places in B.C. While the average sale price for a home in Metro Vancouver hit $1.27 million in July 2023, the average prices in Merritt sit around $575,000. 

Content warning: residential schools, death. The information and material presented here may cause unpleasant feelings or thoughts for some people. Many individuals find it helpful to discuss these feelings in a supportive and trusting environment. Please reach out to the supports most appropriate to your individual needs: KUU-US (Aboriginal) Crisis line at 1-800-588-8717 BC Crisis Line at 310-6789 In 2021, the government of Canada officially made Sept. 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation; the Province of British Columbia also officially declared Sept. 30 a statutory holiday in March 2023. This is a day for all people living on Turtle Island, now known as Canada, to recognize the tragic legacy of residential schools and honour the children who never returned home, the survivors of these institutions, the families left behind, and their communities.  Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history, and ongoing impacts of residential schools, is a vital component of the reconciliation process. Interior Health (IH) is committed to addressing past and present harms resulting from the residential school legacy and negative effects to the health and well-being of Aboriginal Peoples. This comes in the form of addressing Indigenous-specific racism within the B.C. health-care system by focusing on advancing Aboriginal health and cultural safety within health service delivery.  In advance of this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we wanted to highlight some of the change-makers at IH who are working to strengthen our relationships with Aboriginal partners, and recognize and appreciate the heritage and diverse cultures of Aboriginal communities and people we serve, and how we’re striving to embed their wisdom, knowledge, and culture into how we deliver services to provide culturally safe care.

Name: Dr. Reena Baweja (she/her/hers)Job Title: NeurosurgeonYears of Service: 2Worksite: Royal Inland Hospital Community: KamloopsAncestral Territory: SecwépemcFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: Kindness is king! Dr. Reena Baweja was very well travelled before moving to Kamloops to accept a neurosurgeon role at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) in July 2021. Born and raised in Ottawa, she received her undergraduate degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and completed medical school in Australia at the University of Sydney. She finished her neurosurgery training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and then completed a two-year fellowship at the University of Ottawa, specializing in peripheral nerve and spinal disorders. “My desire to explore the other side of the world led me to Australia … but my desire to practice in Canada led me back home,” Dr. Baweja said. “I moved to Kamloops for the general neurosurgical position at Royal Inland Hospital because it offered high volume trauma and the opportunity to gain valuable experience.”

Talking about suicide – starting the conversation, listening, providing support, and connecting people with help – can be difficult and even scary, but it’s important to help prevent suicide and end the stigma surrounding it.  If you’re worried about someone, don’t be afraid to tell them; talking about suicide doesn’t make them more likely to do it, and they may be relieved to have someone who cares to talk to.  If the individual tells you they have a plan to end their life, stay with them until you connect them with supports.

Name: Shannon Campbell (she/her/hers)Job Title: Manager, Workplace Safety StrategyYears of Service: 31Worksite: Community Health Services Centre Community: KelownaAncestral Territory: Syilx NationFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: "If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!" – Richard Branson After starting her career as a registered nurse (RN) and working at Kelowna General Hospital, Shannon Campbell never guessed that she would transition into a safety career 18 years later.  Now, as manager of workplace safety strategy, Shannon credits the opportunities that were provided to her by Interior Health for making a career change that has been extremely rewarding.

In 2021, 263 paper medical charts were shipped to East Kootenay Regional Hospital where they were placed in the basement. The charts belonged to people who had died from toxic drugs, and were sent to the hospital for a project designed to better understand and address the failure of systems to prevent these deaths. Alison Ko, who was at the time a long-term Interior Health employee, joined the project team which needed someone with a nursing background. What she felt was a good career opportunity became so much more. “I had no idea how intense reviewing charts would be,” says Alison. “As our team worked diligently to capture the data the charts revealed, we felt the deep impact of the lives lost.” Alison recalls going into the basement and pulling out the charts, one by one, and reading the files for hours. “Our team met every week, and we kept saying that there are all these stories. They touched us deeply. I started jotting them down, and keeping a journal – anonymous of course." With her background in creative writing, Alison decided to shape the stories into a poem she called Paper People. “I felt like I needed to do good for these families and the people who died,” she explains. “The other guiding force behind the poem was how do we address stigma? How can I use poetry to connect with readers, and have people reflect on these preventable deaths? And lastly, I also wanted to honour the work the team was doing.” Alison holds a naloxone kit in a picture taken for an Interior Health harm reduction awareness campaignOne of the project’s deliverables was to use the data and lessons learned from the chart review to educate others. Out of conversations with colleagues and coworkers emerged the idea of using visual storytelling to share some of the team’s findings. The Paper People video project was born. With the help of the creative team at Hello Cool World, Paper People became reality in just over three weeks. Now on YouTube, the video can be shared by anyone to help combat stigma and understand the human stories behind the medical charts.

If there’s one lesson to take away from the toxic drug crisis – now sometimes referred to as the unregulated drug poisoning emergency – it’s that things are not always what they may appear. Despite what we might believe about who uses substances and why, or what we see in our communities or in the media, consider these stats from the BC Coroners Service: In 2023, 81 per cent of unregulated drug deaths occurred inside Poisonous drugs are now the second leading cause of all deaths after malignant cancers In B.C., 1,455 people have lost their lives to unregulated substances in the first seven months of 2023 – more than six people per day. Within the Interior 253 people lost their lives in the same time period, up from 226 in the same period in 2022. People who use substances are your friends, neighbours and colleagues. Perhaps a family member is using substances, but hasn’t shared this, due to fear and shame. One of the main challenges we face when addressing this public health emergency is the stigma associated with drug and substance use.

Name: Elaine Prud’homme (she/her/hers)Job Title: Youth Substance Use Connections DASW (Discipline Allied with Social Work)Years of Service: 10Worksite: Rocky Mountain Lodge MHSU (Mental Health and Substance Use)Community: CranbrookAncestral Territory: KtunaxaFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: Let go, let God. Keep it simple. One day at a time. For Elaine Prud’homme, being a positive role model for her children, and creating positive outcomes for people in her community makes life worth living.