In my latest travel writing for The Vancouver Sun, I explore the true beauty of Vietnam through its local food (photos in this gallery). One of the delights of this South Asian nation is that the produce is so exceptional, the standards of cleanliness so high and the street food so sensational, that even though the country’s cuisine has earned the endorsement of  celebrities like TV chef Anthony Bourdain and former President Barack Obama, anyone can afford a culinary adventure.

In the spirit of Bourdain my motto for my two-week foodie tour of Vietnam is: go beyond pho. And as I wrap up a bicycle tour through the Mekong Delta to Ben Tre and putter up the Song Ham Luong river’s water palm lined canals in search of a meal, I’m deliciously off-book. Read more of all Vietnam has to offer, on and off the table, in my article, “Vietnam: A Peasant Food Pilgrimage.“

Are you ready for the future of medicine? At some of Fraser Health’s hospitals, the future is now, with the introduction of cutting edge germicidal robots.

These machines use ultra-violet light to completely disinfect patient rooms in about 20 minutes, eliminating up to 99 per cent of dangerous antibiotic-resistant infectious agents, including C. difficile and MRSA.

The February 2017 edition of Hospital News features a piece I wrote detailing the recent trials of this new Xenex Robot technology in three of our facilities.

Read more about the next wave in infection control in, “A New Weapon Against Infection.” Stay tuned for more stories from the front lines of health care.

Gourmets may argue endlessly over the composition of Italy’s gastronomic holy trinity — but ask most Italian food afficionados and their top three likely include pizza, gelato and a glass of rich, red Barolo.

But in the past decade, a new Italian vintage has emerged to challenge this dogma — in-country and abroad, Italy’s own Prosecco is gaining popularity. And there’s much to explore in the Northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the ancestral home of the Glera grape, the varietal responsible for Prosecco.

In my latest travel article, “Bubbly and Beauty in Northern Italy,” (published in The Vancouver Sun; photos in this gallery) follow along on a journey through Trieste and the hilltop town of Prosecco-Contovello, with its stunning, sun-dappled scenes of vineyard-quilted hills, and down through the wine region to hidden wineries on Venetian islands, all in search of the perfect Prosecco pour.

Cuddling babies in withdrawal. Comforting Aborginal youth in crisis. Helping palliative patients pass peacefully. Saving people from overdoses.Fraser Health staff have incredible stories.

For our 2016 employee special publication, Year of Caring, I shared some of these moving moments from the front lines of health care with readers.

Have a read for inspiring insight into the nurses, physicians, volunteers, mental health workers whose small actions make an enormous difference to patients in need of care.

The November edition of Hospital News features a profile of Fraser Health care providers, “Innovators put the ‘care’ in patient care.” The piece was part of a special edition highlighting the role of innovation and technology in improving the patient experience.

Among the dedicated care providers featured: a family doctor who is leading programs to improve care for seniors, a clinical pharmacy specialist working to improve medication safety for infants, and a group of paediatric doctors and nurses who created a children’s observation unit to help make hospital visits more comfortable for their smallest patients.

Have a read of these inspiring B.C. health innovators, who were also recipients of 2016 Above & Beyond Awards for their exceptional service.

British Columbia is in the midst of a public health emergency. Fentanyl-tained drugs have flooded into the province, triggering an epidemic of drug overdoses and deaths. In the first nine months of 2016, 555 people died from drug overdoses, compared to 508 in all of 2015.

In response, health authorities, law enforcement and government have mobilized to keep the public safe. Fentanyl does not discriminate. Just a few grains can be fatal, and people from all walks of life, from youths partying in suburbs to street-entrenched habitual users are falling victim.

In the midst of the crisis, parents have been scrambling to find the right facts and words to say to help keep their children safe. I spoke to RCMP drug experts and mental health professionals in the course of writing this Healthier You Magazine  cover story, The Overdose Epidemic: How to keep your kids safe. Have a read and start this important conversation today.

Chronic disease is Canada’s most pressing health care problem, costing our country an estimated $80 billion each year. Three out of five Canadians live with a chronic disease and four out of five are at risk of developing one.

Fraser Health’s Royal Columbian Hospital cares for some of B.C.’s most vulnerable babies.

The hospital’s high-acuity NICU provides life-saving support to more than 500 infants each year, and is consistently ranked one of the top hospitals in the country in caring for newborns, according to the Canadian Neonatal Network.

In this feature article in the August edition of Hospital News (page 10), a Canadian health care trade publication, I take a closer look at one of the incredible stories born in this NICU.

Read the moving story of a first-time father to a son in Royal Columbian’s NICU who owed his own life to hospital staff who saved him from a stroke almost 40 years before. He says the hospital gave him new life, twice.

Stay tuned for more stories from the front lines of health care.

Sometimes childhood impressions come full circle and turn into adult vocations.

That’s what happened to Surrey Memorial Hospital physiotherapist Chiara Singh. As a girl she watched a friend fight her way back to recovery from cancer. Now, as a health care worker, she helps children recovering from cancer to regain their strength, their mobility, and their lives.

In the Summer issue of Fraser Health’s Healthier You magazine, I talk to Chiara about the inspiring work she does helping her patients reclaim the joys of movement, in the article, Partner in Recovery.

Fraser Health’s Communications and Public Affairs team was recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) recently with a Gold Quill Award of Merit, one of the organizations most prestigious honours, recognizing excellence in corporate communications.

We’re proud to have brought home this international award for Fraser Health’s digital publication, Year of Caring, which highlighted the exceptional work of our employees and told stories of the touching and deeply personal patient care they provide.

Learn more about the IABC and their annual Gold Quill Awards program.