Dr Helmcken Memorial Hospital
DHMH is a Level 1 community hospital with 24hr Emergency Department Coverage.
The current hospital opened in 2022. It is the only hospital in the district, and the nearest hospital is 125km away in Kamloops.
Physicians provide in-patient and on-call coverage to the hospital. Physicians are MRP for any of their clinic patients admitted or for unassigned patients they admit through ER. On weekdays, on-call coverage is in the form of ER coverage for 24 hrs, with after hours coverage of acute care and long term care. On weekends, local physicians cover from 8am Saturday to 8am Monday for ER, hospitalist service for in-patients, and long term care. Hospital pay is fee for service, supported by MOCAP coverage and Rural Emergency Enhancement Fund
Acute Care
Emergency Department
The hospital has 6 acute care beds and one palliative care room. Each room is private with its own washroom. The palliative care room can be used as an overflow double-bed room when needed. We maintain a negative pressure room for airborne precaution patients.
The ER is equipped with 3 stretchers, a treatment chair, and a trauma bay. The trauma bay received a recent IT upgrade with screen and cameras for connection to RTVS and for simulation sessions. An RTVS iPad is dedicated to the department. A Lucas CPR device has been a welcome addition to our trauma bay. You will find the ER fully stocked for your emergency care needs.
Forest View Place
Forest View Place is the 21 bed long term care facility attached to DHMH. Physicians in the community maintain their own panel of patients in FVP.
Home Health
Imaging and Lab
Physiotherapy
Hospital Auxiliary
Home Health nursing and Home support provides services to elders in our community. RNs, LPNs, care aids, and home support workers provide home care, wound care, palliative care, and case management. They work closely with the acute care team to support admissions, discharges, and long term care applications.
Lab and x-ray are available 24/7. Lab is on site 8am-8pm daily with morning outpatient collection hours. Lab does on-site testing for CBC, electrolytes, liver enzymes, troponin, D-dimer, blood gases and B-HCG. Other tests are sent daily to the RIH lab.
X-ray runs from 8am-4:30pm. At present, we have a single x-ray tech who is on call 24/7 so judicious use of call in services is appreciated.
Currently we have physiotherapy services Mondays and Tuesdays. These service in-patients, long term care, and select outpatient services.
We are supported by a very active hospital auxiliary who have been able to supply the hospital with many wish-list items. A new electric cautery machine for procedures is the latest in a long list of much appreciated items.
BC Ambulance Services
Our local BCAS station shares the property with the hospital. They support a community paramedic program to assist with complex care management. Their team is available to provide help for codes and major cases when they are not out on a call. They join us for simulation sessions as part of our health care team.
Transfers to Higher Care
The nearest referral center is Royal Inland Hospital, 125km down a two-lane highway. Transfers are arranged through Patient Transfer Network and BCAS. For patients with higher care needs, a High Acuity Response Team (HART) can be requested for ICU-trained nurses and respiratory therapists to provide transport. At times, one of our nurses (and more rarely physicians) will accompany a transfer if HART is not available.
Rural Simulation Program
Our team participates in regular simulation sessions to maintain skills for critical care. These are multidisciplinary with nursing, physicians, and BCAS. At least once a year, we do a larger community simulation including other community partners like Fire Rescue, Search and Rescue, and RCMP.