Penticton Regional Hospital is returning to normal following emergency procedures and evacuations taken due to the threat of the Christie Mountain wildfire last week.
(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)
August 24, 2020 - 5:23 PM
More people are returning to Penticton as the threat of the Christie Mountain wildfire fades.
When the fire was at its height, Interior Health moved long term care residents to other spaces around the Central Interior and moved Intensive Care Unit patients to Kelowna General Hospital. Those people will all be returned to Penticton.
The hospital initiated an emergency response that included hospital evacuations last week in anticipation of the wildfire, which threatened properties in the South Okanagan.
The hospital is returning to normal operations following lifting of an evacuation alert and the diminished threat posed by the wildfire to Penticton.
"Evacuations and alerts are stressful for everyone impacted by wildfires and this year, COVID-19 makes our planning even more complex and challenging to navigate,” President and Chief Executive Officer, Interior Health, Susan Brown said. “Thank you to everyone in the community for coming together to support one another and to all of our incredible staff and physicians who put precautionary measures in place to ensure we were prepared for the worst.”
Interior Health says a process is underway to bring all patients and residents who were temporarily relocated home to Penticton as required.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020