West Kelowna and IH team up to improve community health

Photo: Wayne Moore/file

Dr. Silvina Mema

Interior Health and the City of West Kelowna are expected to enter into a formal partnership to improve community health and wellness.

The request, from IH, follows a presentation to council back in September.

"The health of individuals and populations is created by many intersecting factors, including our social and physical environments, our genetics, and our access to doctors and hospitals," medical health officer Silvina Mema said in a letter to the city.

"We know that the social determinants of health (income, education, employment) have the biggest influence on health and wellness. We recognize local governments currently provide much of the essential social and physical infrastructure necessary to support individual and community health and well-being."

Mema says the purpose of the partnership is to promote the city's health and wellness through:

• Formalizing a collaborative relationship between the city and Interior Health
• Collaborating on city plans, policies and initiatives using a health and equity lens
• Supporting community-level strategies and actions to improve the health of the community
• Building community capacity through city staff and community organizations.

IH says it hopes to be able to improve health and wellness by working with both city governments and other community partners to create policies and environments that support good health.