In the third of a series of interviews leading up to the October 15 election, Area C candidate Robyn Mawhinney describes some of the challenges emergency services face on Quadra Island.
“Every month on Quadra Island, there are multiple days where there are no paramedics available, as well as no after hours emergency ferry,” she explained.
Continue reading Mawhinney: Challenges Emergency Services currently face on Quadra IslandNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A remote B.C. island community is anxious as it faces a two-week overnight closure of its local emergency room due to the ongoing medical staffing crisis across the province.
Island Health announced the closure of Alert Bay ER in the Cormorant Island Community Health Centre from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. nightly, which started Tuesday and will last until Aug. 16.
Continue reading Alert Bay residents worried as overnight ER services shut down for two weeksBy Moira Wyton, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
When Jackson Hern asked his primary care doctor about getting the monkeypox vaccine in Seattle last week, he was surprised by the lack of information she had to offer.
Concerns about a rising number of monkeypox cases among gay men in Seattle had been all over Hern’s social media accounts.
But Hern, 29, found out he wouldn’t be eligible for a vaccine against the virus in Seattle until the fall.
That is, until a friend told him he’d been able to get one in Vancouver, and sent Hern the link to book an appointment.
Continue reading Why Monkeypox Vaccine Tourism Is a Good ThingBy Gita Abraham, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Religions, beliefs, culture, and even local history influence what Canadians — especially immigrants — think should happen to the body after death. These beliefs and traditions surrounding death could impact medical research opportunities.
In Ontario, medical schools depend on donated bodies to train future medical professionals. ‘Body donation’ involves a whole body given to schools of anatomy for educational and research purposes.
Continue reading Organ donations remain a hard sell among some groupsNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Editor’s note: the last ferry from Cortes Island, a 45 minute ferry trip away from Quadra, leaves at 5:50 PM
Residents of Quadra Island are worried about being stranded ashore when medical emergencies occur at night because BC Ferries can’t guarantee a crew for sailings to get ambulances across to the hospital in Campbell River.
A petition with close to 1,000 signatures is circulating in the community of 2,700 full-time residents calling on B.C.’s Transportation Minister Rob Fleming to work with BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) and BC Ferries to reinstate off-hour ferry service so ambulances can get patients to hospital in a timely manner.
Continue reading Islanders worry they’ll be marooned if medical emergency strikes at night
