Tag Archives: Greater Campbell River Health Area

Health

Medical detox coming to Campbell River

Greater Campbell River has one of highest rates of drug related deaths in BC.

The first community-based medical detox north of Nanaimo will be opening in Campbell River this Fall. Island Health secured a location at 731 Nicholas Road near the North Island Hospital – Campbell River campus. 

“This is a really exciting addition to Campbell River.  When people living with addiction reach out and make that brave choice of getting the services that they need, we’d need to be able to meet them where they are and with the services that they need right away. This is a new six bed medical detox that the community has been asking  for,” explained  Michele Babchuk, MLA for North Island and a resident of Campbell River. 

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Health, Opinion

 The Dark Side Of VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority)

(Editor’s note: The following open letter mentions matters of concern to residents of the entire Greater Campbell River Health Area, which includes Cortes, Quadra and other Discovery Islands.)

An open letter to the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health for B.C. from Lois Jarvis, Richard Hagensen and Joanne Banks on Behalf of Citizens for Quality Health Care.

17 years ago, 6 people from the Comox Valley and 4 from Campbell River formed Citizens for Quality Health Care (CFQHC) to lobby for 2 acute care fully functional hospitals as all previous studies indicated were needed for the largest geographical area of Vancouver Island. VIHA had planned to downsize the Campbell River Hospital to a triage centre and replace both hospitals with one hospital located 40+ km south of Campbell River which would have been disastrous for all the people of the North Island and the Campbell River economy. 

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Health

Island Health not exempt from B.C.’s record toxic street drug death toll


National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

B.C. communities large and small are suffering devastating losses as deaths from toxic street drugs reached an all-time high with 2,224 people dying from overdoses in the province last year. 

Every health authority saw a record loss of lives in 2021 as an average of six people died each day from toxic drugs, said B.C.’s Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe on Wednesday, and communities across Vancouver Island were no exception. 

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Education, Health

As Omicron spreads, the number of unreported COVID cases keeps growing ( local data)

According to the provincial government’s Daily Update, there are now at least 3,906 active COVID cases on Vancouver Island. This statistic is low. The number of people who are believed to have COVID and gone into self isolation, but have not yet been tested, is growing

“As many people have noted in the past few weeks, we reached our capacity both from testing,  from the lab equipment, from the personnel and the reagents,” said BC Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry on Friday. 

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