Island Health

Westerly File Photo

Medical lab services finally returning to Ucluelet this week

Ucluelet’s outpatient medical lab has been closed since August due to a staffing shortage

Westerly File Photo
Sarah Fennell, along with several Greater Victoria parents, is speaking out after paying a $1,100 deposit for a daycare spot. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)

Saanich daycare kerfuffle reveals dire state of childcare in Greater Victoria

Non-refundable deposit not returned once parents learned of provider’s criminal history

Sarah Fennell, along with several Greater Victoria parents, is speaking out after paying a $1,100 deposit for a daycare spot. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)
Port Hardy Hospital. (Island Health photo)

Overnight emergency room closures continue to occur at the Port Hardy Hospital

Island Health acknowledged this is not an ideal situation for the community

Port Hardy Hospital. (Island Health photo)
The Urgent Care Centre in Chemainus will only have seven days of normal operation from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during November. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Only seven days of normal operation at the Urgent Care Centre in Chemainus in November

But number of full closure dates reduced by four from October

The Urgent Care Centre in Chemainus will only have seven days of normal operation from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during November. (Photo by Don Bodger)
Ladysmith Community Health Centre. (Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle file photo)

Staff off sick means temporarily closure for Ladysmith urgent care unit

Island Health asks people requiring urgent care to go to Chemainus Health Care Centre

Ladysmith Community Health Centre. (Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle file photo)
Black Press Media file

North Island emergency rooms continue to face overnight closures

Island Health is working on recruitment and strategies to secure additional nursing coverage

Black Press Media file
Island Health’s new chief medical health officer Dr. Reka Gustafson outside Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)

Island Health’s new top medical officer eyes toxic drug crisis, health inequities

Dr. Reka Gustafson speaks on her goals to recover from the pandemic and more

Island Health’s new chief medical health officer Dr. Reka Gustafson outside Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
Dr. Prean Armogam is speaking out on the North Island health-care crisis. (Prean Armogam photo)

North Island doctor speaks out on the region’s unfolding health-care crisis

Dr. Armogam acknowledged there is a serious staffing shortage currently going on across Canada

Dr. Prean Armogam is speaking out on the North Island health-care crisis. (Prean Armogam photo)
The Town of Port McNeill is getting two new family physicians. (Town of Port McNeill Community Planning Facebook photo)

Island Health goes to Ireland to find answer to Port McNeill doctor crisis

Two Vancouver Island-raised, Ireland-educated family physicians hired to fill shorthanded clinic

The Town of Port McNeill is getting two new family physicians. (Town of Port McNeill Community Planning Facebook photo)
Signs pinned up by Moms Stop the Harm members outside Victoria’s Fairmont Empress hotel, where Canada’s premiers were meeting on July 12. An increase in toxic drug poisonings prompted Island Health to extend an overdose advisory for Greater Victoria on Aug. 24. (Black Press Media file photo)

Overdose advisory extended in Greater Victoria

Island Health says there’s an increased risk of drug poisonings in the region

Signs pinned up by Moms Stop the Harm members outside Victoria’s Fairmont Empress hotel, where Canada’s premiers were meeting on July 12. An increase in toxic drug poisonings prompted Island Health to extend an overdose advisory for Greater Victoria on Aug. 24. (Black Press Media file photo)
Island Health has warned that the region’s drug overdose incidents are increasing. It’s recommended that users get their drugs tested at Substance UVic, use a safe injection site, carry naloxone, and stagger their use with a friend. (File - Shutterstock.com)
Island Health has warned that the region’s drug overdose incidents are increasing. It’s recommended that users get their drugs tested at Substance UVic, use a safe injection site, carry naloxone, and stagger their use with a friend. (File - Shutterstock.com)
Island Health announced last week that Ucluelet’s outpatient medical lab located at 1566 Peninsula Road would be temporarily closed, effective August 9. (Westerly file photo)

Staffing shortage shuts down medical lab services in Ucluelet

Temporary closure required in order to “ensure reliable” services at Tofino General Hospital

Island Health announced last week that Ucluelet’s outpatient medical lab located at 1566 Peninsula Road would be temporarily closed, effective August 9. (Westerly file photo)
VIHA logo

Overnight service interruption extended at Cormorant Island Community Health Centre

Island Health acknowledged this is not an ideal situation for the community

VIHA logo
From left to right: Logan, Jason, Rosemary and Michelle Smith revisited Jeneece Place after the family had two stints at the house when both children were born prematurely. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)

PHOTOS: Families and Victoria General nurses reunited at Jeneece Place

Annual event allows families who had children in the neonatal unit to reconnect with hospital staff

From left to right: Logan, Jason, Rosemary and Michelle Smith revisited Jeneece Place after the family had two stints at the house when both children were born prematurely. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)
(Black Press Media file photo)

New capital bylaw supports Greater Victoria’s health care infrastructure

$6.7 million will be invested in minor capital and equipment projects

(Black Press Media file photo)
Urologist Dr. Nathan Hoag demonstrates the use of a ureteroscope inside an operating room at Royal Jubilee Hospital. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)

Greater Victoria hospitals ‘emerge stronger’ after COVID-19 pandemic

Victoria Hospitals Foundation hits milestone in campaign to improve care on Island

Urologist Dr. Nathan Hoag demonstrates the use of a ureteroscope inside an operating room at Royal Jubilee Hospital. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)
Port McNeill Hospital. (Gazette file photo)

Critics say North Island ER closures symptom of larger problem

Primary health care `collapsing’ in B.C. rural communities, critics say

Port McNeill Hospital. (Gazette file photo)
Blue-green algae can cause health issues in humans and animals if ingested. The Capital Regional District has issued an alert for a bloom in Wrigglesworth Lake northwest of Tunnel Hill on the Malahat. (Photo courtesy Dorothy Chambers)

Toxic algae bloom at Wrigglesworth Lake near Malahat, CRD reports

Authorities urge people and their animals to avoid the water until declared safe

Blue-green algae can cause health issues in humans and animals if ingested. The Capital Regional District has issued an alert for a bloom in Wrigglesworth Lake northwest of Tunnel Hill on the Malahat. (Photo courtesy Dorothy Chambers)
This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Portuguese health authorities confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)
This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Portuguese health authorities confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)
Vancouver Island residents who became mothers between March 2020 and March 2022 are encouraged to take part in a study into their experiences. (Black Press Media file photo)

Study explores Vancouver Island’s new mothers’ pandemic experiences

Master’s student diving into where mothers found resiliency, community

Vancouver Island residents who became mothers between March 2020 and March 2022 are encouraged to take part in a study into their experiences. (Black Press Media file photo)