Following a rally that saw hundreds of nurses from across the province gather in Vancouver, the BC Nurses Union (BCNU) is calling on the provincial government to take urgent action to address B.C’s worsening nurse shortage.
EquipCare BC is now getting a boost in funding, with the province investing an additional $14 million for health, safety, and quality improvements in publicly funded long-term care (LTC) and assisted-living homes, according to a press release from the provincial government.
Those looking to donate towards the Biddlecomes fundraisers can visit gofundme.com/f/everts-liver-transplant, or contact Jennifer at 604-226-1563 for a ticket to the steak dinner fundraiser.
A local family is once again raising funds and support for the annual Move to Cure campaign by the ALS Society of British Columbia, which supports families affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and funds ongoing research for a cure.
As of today (June 1), people in B.C. can get prescriptions for contraceptives and medications to treat some minor ailments directly from their pharmacist, in a move the provincial government said will expand access to pharmacists, and healthcare in general.
As our community continues to try to cope with repeated emergency room closures and other health care challenges, frustration has been building as the government seems content to wait for longer-term results when in fact, we need urgent relief now.
Four people have died from unregulated drugs in Merritt through the first four months of 2023, with 814 lives lost throughout the province.
A petition created by the organizer of the recent rallies against ongoing closures of the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency department is gaining steam, including more than 8,000 signatures, and an introduction in the BC Legislature.
Nurses in B.C. have ratified a new agreement with the provincial government, securing a three-year deal that spans from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025.
One of the women practising nursing in Merritt was Olla Standish, the first head matron of the Nicola Valley General Hospital.
Merritt will soon gain another physician, with Merrittonian Dr. Ajhmair Lali returning to the Nicola Valley from university later this year to begin his medical career at home. Lali will join The Medical Clinic, who announced in January of this year that Dr. Morgan Lyttle would be closing his practice as early as April 2023.
The Provincial Health Services Authority and BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) are encouraging B.C. residents to participate in the third rendition of their annual population health survey and share their priorities for health and well-being in their communities.
In the third display of what organizers have unofficially dubbed as Rallies for Healthcare, over 200 Nicola Valley residents gathered at Central Park to show their support and call for action on ongoing service disruptions at the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency department.
As B.C.’s toxic drug crisis drags on, the latest report from the BC Coroners Service shows that illicit drugs claimed the lives of nearly 600 people in the first three months of 2023, including 177 newly reported lives lost in February, followed by 197 in March.
In a display that evoked essences of the biosolids protest that took place in 2015, nearly 300 residents of the Nicola Valley took to Central Park on Saturday (April 15) to protest ongoing service disruptions at the Nicola Valley Hospital’s emergency department.
During the tenth diversion of emergency department services at the Nicola Valley Hospital since the beginning of this year, residents of the valley gathered on the hospital’s green space to rally against what many see as a lack of provincial action on the issue.
Interior Health has announced that Merritt’s emergency room will once again be temporarily closed, with the diversion closing the ER for 12 hours on April 9, from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m.
The provincial government announced recently that a number of prescription contraceptives will be covered under its BC PharmaCare program, with the change having come into effect on Saturday (April 1).
The provincial government has announced that it is permanently doubling the number of seats it subsidizes at the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) through a multi-million dollar investment.
When Dr. Robert Granger requested to cover emergency room shifts at the Nicola Valley Hospital, not far from his home in Merritt, he was shocked at the response, or lack thereof, he received from Interior Health Authority (IHA).
