TUESDAY
S I N C E
AUGUST 6, 2013
1 8 9 5 Stingrays excel at regionals
Vol. 118, Issue 122
105
$
INCLUDING G.S.T.
Page 11
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Hot, dry July leads into August showers BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
VALERIE ROSSI PHOTO
Ben Olsen, a member of HART, rolls out his cart of portable equipment that includes ventilators and blood-pressure monitors. Olsen draws on past RN experience in ICU to provide support to patients across the Kootenay Boundary.
Campaign funds critical-care equipment BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Anyone who has sent a critically-ill loved one out of the region for treatment, knows first-hand the heartbreak and stress it can bring to a family. The Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) foundation has launched its new project, the “Critical Care Campaign,” with a goal to provide a higher quality of sustainable care to critically-ill patients in hopes of reducing the need for transport outside the region. The $500,000 campaign is expected to span two years, with a goal to expand and upgrade equipment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Emergency Room (ER), and for the High Acuity Response Team (HART) at KBRH.
“KBRH plays a critical role in the network of acute care services and is the receiving hospital for patients requiring a higher level of care,” explained Lisa Pasin, KBRH foundation director. “The upgraded equipment purchased through the Critical Care Campaign will be used to deliver complex care to our sickest, most critically-ill patients,” she said. “And we will be supporting our sickest patients and their families by providing a higher level of complex care right here in our communities.” For Ben Olsen, a one-year member of HART, upgraded equipment means providing top-of-the-line care for patients and improved support to doctors and nurses spread thin in rural communities.
HART, an Interior Health program, works both inhospital and in partnership with BC Ambulance Services to attend to acute patients in rural and remote health sites. The team of RNs and respiratory therapists look to stabilize patients, and avoid hospital transfer, or act as inter-facility transporters to a higher level of care. “Providing care to patients through HART in the hospital ER is rewarding,” said Olsen. “And we also travel to remote facilities that may be staffed by only one doctor or nurse. “We help to stabilize the patient and provide support to the medical staff and alleviate doctor and nurse fatigue.” Dr. Scot Mountain, ICU medical director at KBRH,
said that maintaining a high level of critical care in the Kootenay Boundary saves family members the stress and expense of travelling to Kelowna or Vancouver. “We have the knowledge and ability to provide critical care at the same level that patients in Kelowna or Vancouver receive,” he said. “What we now need is the equipment and facilities to support our team.” Equipment upgrades for the ER include a trauma stretcher, overhead lights for the trauma bay and a glidescope to assist intubating patient airways. HART equipment needs include a transport stretcher, life-pack monitor/defibrillator, and adult and child ventilators. See GOLF, Page 3
Back to School Savings on now!
Free parking • Free kids playroom and ball pit • Late Night Shopping Thurs. & Fri. to 9pm 250.368.5202 • www.wanetaplaza.com • 5 min. east of Trail on Hwy 3B
It was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk for most of July in Greater Trail. But if cooking wasn’t on the list, then chilling poolside probably was because July was two degrees warmer than average, and the hottest on record since 2007. Continued high pressure brought dry and very warm conditions, with 18 of the 31 days reaching temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, according to Ron Lakeman, forecaster for the Southeast Fire Centre. Canada Day kicked off the month with sun-filled celebrations in Trail, but the following day, (July 2) brought the hottest day with a temperature of 38.3 C. Although that is a new high for July 2, the monthly temperature on record remains 39.9, which was set on July 30, 2003. The heat wave let up only four days when much-needed rain doused one of the driest months on record. An upper trough and its band of thundershowers on July 17, accounted for 70 per cent of the total rainfall (14 mm), explained Lakeman. The overall rainfall was 18 mm, 35 per cent less 51 mm, the regular measurement recorded in July. While the heat and sere was ideal for basking on the beach, the hot temperatures put Greater Trail at a higher risk of forest fires. “The fire danger risk is unusually high in Greater Trail, which is a direct result of extended high temperatures,” said Jordan Turner, fire information officer for the Southeast Fire Centre. “Forest fuels, such as dead branches and pine needles, dried out rapidly and left the area looking like it usually does midAugust.” As July melded into the August long weekend, unsettled weather brought thunder pack and lightning, conditions notorious for sparking forest fires. According to bcwildfire.ca, the only current wildfire of note burning in the region is the Perry Ridge fire in the Slocan Valley, 4.5 km west of Winlaw. By Monday, that fire had burned 65 hectares and was reported to be 20 per cent contained. See COOLER, Page 3
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