Health services provided by Interior Health (IH) will be restored in phases, now that a wildfire evacuation order has been lifted for the community.
The Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) emergency department is open for 24/7 urgent patient care.
Outpatient lab and X-ray services will resume at CMH on Friday, July 28.
“While the evacuation order has been lifted, an evacuation alert remains in place and
air quality within the region continues to fluctuate due to wildfire activity,” said Interior Health.
“Poor air quality can be harmful to health, especially for children, older adults, and those with heart and lung conditions.”
Resumption of other IH services:
Other hospital services (including acute inpatient beds, scheduled surgeries, oncology, and hospital-based
clinics) will remain closed at this time. Individuals requiring ongoing hospital-based care may be
transferred to alternate facilities. Maternity patients may still need to be redirected or transferred to
alternate facilities for their deliveries until the maternity unit re-opens.
Wherever possible, Interior Health staff has remained in contact with home support, home health and
Mental Health Substance Use (MHSU) clients from the Williams Lake area. IH will support access to local
services as clients return to the community. While full services resume locally, clients should take note of
the following:
- For urgent needs, MHSU clients should call 250-305-8496 to speak to a MHSU nurse or visit the
emergency department. Additional MHSU staff will be available to support those returning to the
community. - Home support and home health clients who have urgent needs should call 250-305-4071 or visit
the emergency department.
IH encourages individuals to contact their family physician’s office directly for information on hours of
operation during this re-entry phase.
IH continues planning for the staged return of other regular services at CMH, and the return of residents
to IH’s residential care facility Deni House and residents and assisted living clients to IH’s contracted
partner site, Williams Lake Seniors Village. Decisions regarding these vulnerable individuals as well as
services for oncology (chemotherapy) and renal patients will be based on the lifting of any remaining
alerts, local air quality, and wildfire activity in the region.
CMH was closed on July 15 due to an evacuation order related to local wildfire activity. IH had evacuated
acute care patients from CMH, residents from Deni House, and residents and assisted living clients from
Williams Lake Seniors Village the previous week as a precautionary measure.
You can visit Interior Health’s Major Events page for further updates and information related to the current wildfire situation.