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- Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - Fraser Valley ER wait times revealed
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - Fraser Valley ER wait times revealed
ER data comes amid a series of warnings from doctors that health care facilities in the region are facing serious problems.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 | Today: ⛅️ High 20C, Low 8C | Forecast
Good morning!
I was away last week. (A big thanks to Grace and Tyler for giving me that time and holding down the fort.) And as much as I enjoy my time off, I often find it difficult to completely disconnect. For me, it’s just a fear of missing something important. I tell myself I’ll only just peek at my email inbox and then it turns into a big distraction. But I made a conscious effort to recognize all the incessant distractions around me and turn off those pesky notifications—that goes for social media too. Overall, I think I did pretty well last week. The hundreds of emails waiting in my inbox were proof of that.
Today, Insiders can learn more about Tyler's history researching Fraser Valley emergency room troubles—and earthquakes—at the bottom of this email. Thanks to Jordan, Christopher, and Athena for renewing your Insider memberships. Learn how you can be a Current insider here.
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NEWS
Why Fraser Valley residents can finally monitor long ER wait times
Langley hospital admission entrance. | BC Government
Fraser Valley residents can finally check online to see how long they can expect to wait in their local hospital emergency room.
Across the valley, it’s not uncommon for residents to travel to a hospital in another community in the hope that it can provide timelier care than the facility down the street. But while Vancouver hospitals have posted their wait times for more than a decade, in the Fraser Valley, those decisions have largely been made on rumour and guesswork.
Now, amid warnings from doctors about the overloaded state of hospitals in Langley, Surrey and elsewhere, Fraser Health hospitals have been added to a website that shows predicted ER wait times.
You can see the latest wait times here.
Related story
Need to know
🚛 The truck driver whose oversize load struck a Langley overpass has received a ticket [CTV]
💥 Why have overpass crashes become more prevalent? [Vancouver Sun]
📝 Residents can help shape the future of downtown Hope by participating in a workshop on June 20 [District of Hope]
⚖️ A judge refused to grant a mistrial in the case of a man accused of raping his co-worker in 2018 [Chilliwack Progress]
🏒 Overtime rules will be updated at the beginning of the next British Columbia Hockey League season to reduce the number of shootouts [Chilliwack Progress]
📑 An Abbotsford MLA alleges FOI documents suggest Premier David Eby failed to address concerns about the city’s ‘most violent homeless camp’ during Eby’s time as housing minister [Abbotsford News]
💰 A Chilliwack couple won big on a scratch ticket [Fraser Valley Today]
👍 Langley Township residents were mostly supportive of three proposed neighbourhood plans for Brookswood that call for more density [Langley Advance Times]
👮🏻♀️ Chilliwack RCMP were called to a report of stabbing Monday night; those involved refused to cooperate with Mounties [Fraser Valley Today]
🦺 A busy Chilliwack crosswalk on Yale Road and Kipp Avenue will receive safety improvements [Fraser Valley Today]
🚔 An Abbotsford gangster’s killer was extradited to Thailand to face trial [Vancouver Sun]
⚖️ A sentencing hearing has begun for a man convicted in connection with a 2020 killing in Mission [Mission Record]
🪶 An Abbotsford elementary school is the first in the district to get an eagle-feathered crosswalk [Abbotsford News]
🚓 The man accused of shooting at Chilliwack RCMP officers on Victoria Day refused to come out of his cell during a bail hearing [Chilliwack Progress]
🅿️ Parking violations jumped in Harrison last year [Agassiz Harrison Observer]
🎷 The Current is partnering with the Georgia Straight to offer readers a chance to experience two nights of blues performances at the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival Cool Blues Show in July. Check out the details here. [FVC/Instagram]
🎫 Single tickets and six-packs are now available for the Fort Jazz Fest Cool Blues Show, Jul. 21-22.*
*Sponsored Listing
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The Agenda
The owner farm property near Fraser Highway and Ross Road wants Abbotsford council to approve its use for truck parking. | Google
Owner of illegal truck parking site asks council to hold off decision
Abbotsford’s council is leaving a decision on a Fraser Highway farm property used for storage to another day. The site is currently being illegally used for commercial purposes; the owner had applied to the city and Agricultural Land Commission for permission to continue using it for truck parking and machinery storage and repair purposes. City staff, though, had recommended council refuse the request when it came before them on Monday. We wrote about the issue in Monday’s Agenda section.
However, before Monday’s meeting was held, the owner asked council to hold off on a decision. Council agreed to do so. Such requests usually come attached with a promise to amend the application, or provide more information to council, in the hope of receiving a more enthusiastic response.
Some of you sink. Most of you float
Last week, Current editor Tyler Olsen wrote briefly about how he sinks in water. We asked you to take a poll to see how many are like him. Of 159 respondents, about 60% of you said you float, while around 40% sink.
That’s a far higher proportion of sinkers than Tyler expected. One reader wrote that “In a totally relaxed state, my body will come to a vertical position with only the top of my head above the water line.”
🤝 Now hiring
• Experienced mixologist at Beatniks Bistro
• Tobacco control officer at Fraser Health
• Letter carrier in Chilliwack at Canada Post
• Teacher-librarian at Mission Public Schools
• HR administrator at Seabird Island Band
Hiring in the Fraser Valley? Reply back and let us know!
📸 Current Cam
Each week we showcase a different photo from across the valley and invite readers to share their best guesses about where it was taken.
Any guesses as to where this week’s Current Cam was taken? Fill out this form with your best guess—or with a picture we can use in a future edition.
Things to do
📚 Book club: Books and Borscht, a weekly lunch and book discussion at the Mennonite Heritage Museum, will feature author and pastor Walter Weins on Friday. Call 604-758-5667 to register.
🍷 Wine walk: Downtown Mission’s 2nd annual Sip & Stroll Art Walk takes place Friday from 4 to 8pm. Tickets online.
⚽️ Soccer: The Vancouver Football Club is taking on Pacific FC at Willoughby Community Park on Saturday. Tickets online.
🥕 Farmers market: The Abbotsford Farm & Country Market happens every Saturday from 9am until noon in Jubilee Park.
Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.
Catch up
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Hi folks, it’s Tyler 👋
Not long ago, I learned of an interesting quirk of local geography. I was fascinated by it so one of the first things I did was run a quick Google search to learn whether anybody else had written about the topic before.
I came across one news story that looked promising, opened it up and discovered that a reporter had covered the topic before… and that the reporter was me. I had no memory at all of the topic. (I still pursued the story. It’s about a local earthquake fault and will be running in The Current soon.)
I’m thinking of the earthquake story because it’s not the only old article that has resurfaced recently.
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