Photo courtesy of Interior Health

By Liam Verster

826 people

Evacuated care home residents to be returned to Okanagan

Aug 25, 2021 | 2:23 PM

Interior Health (IH) is working on plans to bring care home residents, acute care patients and community health clients back to their communities after being forced to evacuate due to wildfires.

“Health care teams across the province have done monumental work planning and coordinating the evacuations of some of our most vulnerable people. Many care home residents have complex care needs and proactive decisions are required to ensure their safety, continuity of care, and sufficient time is allotted to move people out of harm’s way who often require 24/7 care,” said Susan Brown, Interior Health president and CEO.

“Thankfully, wildfire activity is beginning to stabilize and we are able to start the process of safely bringing our residents home to their families and loved ones.”

Interior Health temporarily relocated 826 individuals from seven communities, including Vernon, Armstrong and West Kelowna, to sites across British Columbia, but now, IH is working to bring those individuals back to their communities.

A lot needs to be done before bringing the people home, including cleaning the facilities, coordinating transportation throughout the province, and ensuring staff and equipment are in place.

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IH will be notifying families as their loved ones are moved back to their homes, and anyone wanting to confirm the location of an evacuated family member can call 1-877-422-2001.

The health authority also wishes to thank all the communities who received the evacuees, as well as all the partners involved in ensuring the individuals were cared for and kept safe during their time away from home.