It has been an exciting time for the Emergency Department at Kelowna General Hospital with the recent launch of the Southern Medical Program, and planning the expansion of the Kelowna Royal College Emergency Medicine residency. As KGH makes the transition from a non-teaching community hospital to an academic center, we have had an increasing involvement in research, both collaborative and locally led.
We are currently participating a number of multi-center studies including the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), a UBC based study linked to a DEM Strategic Initiative on the association between MVCs and cannabis use, and a clinical trial comparing oral and intravenous antibiotics for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections.
A recently completed local research project named FEARS (Frail Elderly Admission Rate Study) examined factors associated with admissions in frail elderly patients.
We expect to see an expansion of our research activities in the future and are interested in collaborating whenever possible on multisite DEM research initiatives.