“Approximately 1,100 people on the Sunshine Coast completed the (VCH) survey, answering questions about their health, lifestyle choices, community involvement and neighbourhood characteristics.” Written my Dr. Paul Martiquet, medical health officer for VCH.

Vancouver city council has voted to treat electronic cigarettes in the same way as conventional cigarettes by banning them in public places where smoking is already prohibited. With quotes from Dr. Meena Dawar, medical health officer at VCH.

Two years after an external review found major problems with how the mentally ill and drug addicts are treated in Vancouver emergency rooms, local health authorities are reporting significant improvements. With quotes from Dr. Bill MacEwan, head of psychiatry at St. Paul’s Hospital.

A new (VCH and PHC) report responding to a 2012 review of Metro Vancouver’s emergency and health care services shows notable decreases in violent offences, street disorder and negative police interactions — including a 49-per-cent decrease in arrests made under the Mental Health Act — among the mentally challenged and addicted. With quotes from Dr. Bill MacEwan, head of psychiatry at St. Paul’s Hospital.

Nursing mothers will gather this weekend for an annual event that seeks to break local breastfeeding records. With comments from Rachel Douthwaite, a clinical educator at VCH.

Questions about how proposed bylaw amendments targeting e-cigarettes will impact marijuana users delayed a Vancouver City Council vote on the topic. With mention of VCH health officials speaking at Tuesday’s meeting.

The helipad at VCH’s Whistler Health Care Centre will be closed in the coming weeks as work gets underway for a permanent, fully operational medical helipad. With quotes from Viola Kaminski, a public affairs officer with VCH.

B.C.’s provincial health officer tried to reassure residents of their safety Tuesday after the first confirmed case of Ebola was reported in the United States. With comments from Anna Marie D’Angelo, spokesperson for VCH.

False Creek is the city’s most contaminated body of water, with alarming fecal-bacteria levels this summer that shattered safety limits. With quotes from Paul Markey, manager of environmental health at VCH.

Kelowna’s Charles Fipke, who made a fortune discovering diamonds in the Northwest Territories, has donated $9.1 million to UBC for research into Alzheimer’s Disease. With mention of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, a partnership between VCH and UBC.