Stay healthy and out of the Emergency Department this winter

SURREY & VANCOUVER, BC - With winter weather here and the festive season upon us, Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health want to provide you with some  tips on how to stay healthy and safe this holiday season.

Emergency Departments are open throughout the holidays for people who require urgent and emergency health care.

“All EDs within Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health will be open if people need them,” said Dr. Anne Clarke, Program Medical Director for Fraser Health’s Emergency Program. “But we’d rather have you safe and healthy enjoying the holidays at home.”

Here are Fraser Health’s and Vancouver Coastal Health’s top ten ways to stay out of the Emergency Department this winter:

1. Wash your hands to avoid picking up colds, stomach viruses and other infections.
2. Get a flu shot.
3. Have the right gear for your winter activity. This means a helmet when skiing or snowboarding, appropriate cold-weather clothing (including the right shoes or boots for walking in snow or ice) and snow tires on your car.
4. Drink responsibly. Don’t drink and drive.
5. Holidays can be a trying time of year. If you are feeling blue or overly stressed, be sure to speak to someone. Take some time for yourself.
6. Shovel snow wisely: dress warmly, take breaks and don’t over do it. Be honest about how much you can do yourself and ask for help for the rest.
7. Mind slippery sections and black ice when walking.
8. Keep your prescription medication filled.
9. Speak to a pharmacist or health care provider before taking over the counter cold medications.
10. Make sure your fire detectors and carbon monoxide monitors work, especially with all the extra lights, Christmas trees and candles at this time of year.

Unsure of whether your condition warrants a visit to Emergency Department? Call 8-1-1 to access the HealthLink BC hotline. This free, 24-hour non-emergency telephone service is staffed by trained registered nurses, pharmacists and dieticians who can help answer your healthcare-related questions. You can also find the publicly funded health services and resources you need, closest to where you live. HealthLink BC is also available online.

If you live in Vancouver and are looking for an alternative to a hospital Emergency Department, the Urgent Care Centre at UBC Hospital is also open throughout the holidays. The centre is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and is staffed with emergency-trained doctors and nurses to handle minor medical emergencies that don’t require admission to hospital, such as broken bones, fevers, minor burns and eye problems.

Holiday meals figure prominently in festive gatherings, and fridges full of meal-makings and leftovers are common. As a result, Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health want to remind you to be food safe.

“As many as 700,000 people experience some form of food poisoning in BC each year. Although a minor case of food poisoning can cause moderate discomfort, a severe case can land a person in hospital,” said Dr. Patricia Daly, Chief Medical Health Officer, VCH. “While we want to remind everyone to pay close attention to food safety practices in their own homes this holiday season, it’s something that everyone should practice year-around.”

To avoid food-borne illnesses:

1. Wash your hands frequently, especially before and after handling food.
2. Store food at the correct temperature (equal to or less than 4-degrees Celsius or 40-degrees Fahrenheit) and check that it is cooked properly before eating.
3. Ensure your cooking utensils and food preparation surfaces are cleaned and sanitized after use; consider using a solution of one capful of chlorine bleach in a sink full of warm water.
4. Thoroughly wash and sanitize containers and utensils that have been in contact with raw foods before you reuse them. This is especially important after working with raw meat and poultry. Thaw meat and poultry in the fridge.

Fraser Health provides a wide range of integrated health services to the largest and fastest growing population in B.C. The health authority is committed to improving the health of the population and the quality of life of more than 1.5 million people living in communities from Burnaby to White Rock to Hope.

Vancouver Coastal Health is responsible for the delivery of $2.9 billion in community, hospital and residential care services to over one million people in communities from Richmond through Vancouver, the North Shore, Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky corridor, Powell River, Bella Bella and Bella Coola.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Trudi Beutel
Public Affairs Officer
Vancouver Coastal Health
Phone: 604-708-5282
Cell: 604-812-1847
Trudi.Beutel@vch.ca

Fraser Health
Media Pager
604-450-7881