BCRT: British Columbia Respiratory Therapy

Fifty-two new cases of the H1N1 swine flu virus have been recorded in B.C. since July 14, according to the health ministry.

To date, 434 individuals in British Columbia have tested positive for the virus that has caused illness in the U.S., Mexico and dozens of other countries.

Thirty-two of B.C.’s new cases are in the Fraser Health Authority region.

British Columbia’s confirmed cases include:

- 223 in Fraser Health.

- 18 in Interior Health.

- 33 in Northern Health.

- 104 in Vancouver Coastal Health.

- 56 on Vancouver Island.

(VancouverSun)

Five kids at an elementary school in Burnaby are paying the price for a decision by the Fraser Health Authority not to close Marlborough Elementary school near Metrotown and have become infected with Swine Flu.
The Fraser Health Authority, led by CEO Dr. Nigel Murray, had told the school there was no reason to think additional kids would be infected after one case was diagnosed last week.

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VancouverSun

Residents of the Fraser Health region should prepare themselves for deep cuts to core patient-care services as the provincial government looks to absorb a projected $160-million funding shortfall, the NDP warned Monday.

Diabetes clinics in Delta and Mission, regional maternity and pediatric services, and seniors’ aid and mental health programs are all on the chopping block, NDP health critic Adrian Dix said.

Citing a leaked draft document that the government has acknowledged is genuine, Dix said the government is also considering closing operating rooms, reducing the number of elective surgeries, downgrading the emergency ward at Mission Memorial Hospital, and shutting acute-care beds and outpatient clinics.

“We’re talking about a serious blow to the long-term health of everybody living in the Fraser Health Authority,” Dix said. continue reading…