Downtown and hospital OPS sites still under review

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

“We’re looking at the hospital as well as many other sites,” says McEwan.

Secondary Dwellings

Coldstream considering more housing on agricultural lands

13m ago

Wildfire Risks

Okanagan's Fire Danger Rating already up to Moderate

22h ago

Structure Fire Response

VFRS undertaking annual structure fire training

Apr 23, 2026

“One of the things about the hospital is the services at the hospital are actually not the services we need for an overdose prevention site. I think some people think overdose prevention and you need to be near the emergency department. That’s actually not necessary for an OPS. What we really want is a site where the public will come in and meet with our staff and work with our staff around harm reduction, supervision for drug use as well as connecting with other services.

“So it doesn’t need to be at the hospital. It is one of the sites we are talking about right now, but I don’t see it needing to be at the hospital for those services.”

McEwan says it will likely be another couple months before the RFP process is complete and a site is chosen.

“We are not choosing a site right now, were looking at the RFP, and within the RFP, there will be requirements of how to select a site.”

McEwan agrees that an OPS is within the medical service umbrella, but she says they’ve moved away from providing everything at the hospital.

“We have lots of different sites around Vernon that we provide health care services and harm reduction services. They don’t all need to be located at the hospital, and I think people think that everything needs to be there. but we need to look at is this the right place for the clients we need to serve.”

The Downtown Vernon Association and Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce have both given input to Interior Health, recommending the site be located at or near the hospital and not in the downtown business areas.

City councillor Scott Anderson presented a 300 name petition to council Monday, also opposing a downtown location.

IH says overdose prevention sites provide designated spaces to monitor people who use drugs and ensure that Naloxone and other lifesaving first aid is available in the event of an overdose.

“International research has found that in addition to saving lives, providing designated spaces for people to use drugs can be beneficial to the surrounding community in other ways, with a reduction of public drug use and reduced numbers of inappropriately discarded needles,” says the agency.