(w)healthy

If you live in the Central Okanagan, chances are you've heard of Parade with a Purpose, now an annual tradition where our downtown streets are literally transformed into a scene that looks like it’s come straight out of a Hallmark Holiday special. And if you've been lucky enough to experience it, you know that despite the chill of December, everyone leaves with a warmest heart and the feeling that we live in one of the greatest communities ever.

But what makes Parade even more special are the people and the stories behind it.

Which is why today on the (w)healthy Podcast we are joined by Pam Turgeon to share the stories behind the Parade and why this cause matters so much to her family.

What happens when treatment is no longer working? How much suffering is too much? What does it mean to have a good death? And, perhaps most difficult of all, should we be able to decide when our own life has reached its end? Medical Assistance in Dying — or MAiD — has been legal in Canada for a decade now. But despite being part of our health care system, for many of us it remains something we know about without really understanding.

This week on the (w)healthy podcast we are joined by, Dr. Sarah Broder, Senior Medical Director for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Services with Interior Health. Shauna and Sarah talk about those difficult questions, to better understand what happens when someone is facing the end of their life, what choices are available to them, and what that experience can mean for the people who love and care for them.

Mentioned publications:

- Being Mortal - Atul Gawande

- A Shared Journey - Interior Health

- MAID Family Support - National Organization

Strength training is about muscle, bone density and aging well physically. But it can also give us tangible proof of what we are capable of. Sometimes we have to experience our own strength before we can truly believe in it. And a strong body can become a doorway to a strong heart and a strong mind—which, when it comes to aging, matter just as much.

In this episode of The (w)healthy Podcast we are joined by Tracy Steen, a health and fitness coach who has built her platform on helping women over 40 train for strength, energy, and long-term health. Tracy answers all the burning questions on what's "trending" in the fitness world and breaks down what's fact. It's a conversation you won't want to miss!

Today, we’re tackling one of the most overlooked foundations of kids’ health: physical literacy. It’s time we stop treating movement as optional. Like reading or writing, it’s a skill every child deserves to master. And few people understand that better than Dr. Ali McManus, Director of the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan where she also directs the Pediatric Inactivity & Exercise Physiology Research Lab, or PERL lab. Her work explores how physical literacy develops across the lifespan and how early experiences with movement influence our physical and mental well‑being for decades to come. Ali’s research bridges science and everyday life — connecting lab data with the realities of classrooms, families, and communities. Today, we’ll talk about what the evidence is showing, the real‑world choices shaping our kids’ relationships with movement, and how we can all play a part in steering this ship back in the right direction.

Today on the (w)healthy podcast we’re talking about an area of women’s health that needs to be talked about way more. It affects far more women than most of us realize — and for many women, the impacts last long after treatment ends. About a year and a half ago, thanks in part to a sizable donation from the Mississauga-based FDC Foundation, the Gynecologic Oncology Surgical Program was brought to Kelowna General Hospital. This was huge for the hundreds of women each year who are diagnosed with gynecologic cancers — those of the cervix, uterus, ovaries, vagina, and vulva — here in the Southern Interior. And now, we have the capacity to perform these delicate, life-saving surgeries right here at KGH!

In this episode of the (w)healthy podcast we are welcoming back Dr. Sophia Capo, a pediatric optometrist and founder of A B See Vision Therapy in Kelowna. When Dr. Capo first joined us, she helped us understand that vision is about so much more than eyesight. It shapes how children learn, move, regulate their emotions, build confidence, and experience the world around them. And yet, children’s vision challenges can be incredibly easy to miss. According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists, it has been estimated that only 14% of children under the age of six receive professional eye care — even though early detection and treatment of vision problems can have a significant impact on a child’s development, learning, and well-being! This is a conversation you won't want to miss!

To learn more about the projects and initiatives that Dr. Capo is currently working on please visit ABSee.ca

Today we're joined by Pediatrician Dr. Alysha Mackenzie-Feder for a conversation about the inward experience of medicine, the realities of raising a family while working in health care, what it means to witness suffering every day, and how we can remain connected to others without losing ourselves in the process.

A Deeper Well | Discover Inner Peace

Heart disease is the broad term used to describe many conditions — problems that affect the structure and function of the heart or the blood vessels that supply it. Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of illness and death in Canada, affecting millions of people and placing enormous demand on our health-care system. But it’s also one of the areas of medicine where prevention, early detection, and rehabilitation can dramatically change outcomes. Understanding how the heart works — and what happens when something goes wrong — can help people recognize risks earlier, recover more effectively, and in many cases avoid serious cardiac events altogether. Which is why today on the (w)healthy podcast we are joined by Dr. Kevin and Anne Pistawka, they are the Medical and Executive Directors of the Central Okanagan Association for Cardiac Health (COACH) — a community program that helps people living with heart disease recover, rebuild confidence, and adopt heart-healthy lifestyles. Together, they can provide comprehensive insight on the subject of cardiac care: treatment and recovery, medicine and lifestyle, hospital and community.

Multiple Sclerosis, commonly referred to as MS, is a condition that many of us have a limited understanding of. But with Canada having some of the highest rates of MS in the world many Canadians are wanting to learn more. In this episode we are joined by Dr. Scott Meckling, a leading neurologist here in Kelowna who specializes in multiple sclerosis. This conversation is about unpacking both sides of the MS story; what we know, what we're learning, and what it actually means for people living with MS today.

As of 2025, about 8.1 million Canadians are aged 65+, roughly 19.5% of the population. That proportion is expected to rise to about 23–25% by 2040. Meaning that the “oldest old” population is growing fastest! So what can we do to prepare ourselves for aging? In this episode of the (w)healthy podcast we are joined by Dr. Jenn Jakobi, Director of the Institute of Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention and Professor of Health and Exercise Science at UBCO, to talk about how we can support healthy aging through movement, community design, and research that centers the voices of older adults themselves.