File photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

CARDIAC CARE UNIT

RIH looks to reopen cardiac care unit; 20+ nurses needed

Mar 27, 2026 | 4:14 PM

KAMLOOPS —The ICCHA/WISH Foundation is again sounding the alarm with regard to the cardiac care unit at Royal Inland Hospital.

The four-bed unit, created through funding help from ICCHA/Wish, was originally stood down during the COVID pandemic as staffing had to be shuffled to areas of higher need and is yet to re-open. The issue for Interior Health is a lack of nursing staff at the hospital.

“(The need is) probably in the teens to twenties – a very substantial amount,” said Gerry Desilets, executive director of clinical operations at Royal Inland Hospital. “We have been trying to recruit even to the intensive care unit. We are not having a lot of luck with that. We are doing great work with our in-patient units and general nursing, but the specialized areas we are struggling a little bit.” 

“But we are working hard. We are creating a training plan so we can actually train our own nurses internally. That just takes some time to get everybody trained and everyone up to speed.”

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The importance of proper staffing was critical for Interior Health as it looks to ensure stability of the unit, hoping to avoid a future filled with unit closures if staff are required to backfill other departments.

“That is actually what happened when we made the really hard decision to close it,” Desilets told CFJC News. “One day we would open, the next day we would be closed, one day open, one day closed. It just makes it very hard on the staff and the patients. 

“I will say the patients are getting care in the hospital, at that level, just in other areas of the hospital. So it is true, we want to make sure we aren’t open, closed, open, closed – that we are sustainable and we have enough people to do the work.”

The ICCHA/Wish Foundation says it will be hosting the 19th Red Carpet Gala fundraiser this year on April 24, but will do so in protest of the inaction.