Many would shy away from starting a new infection-themed job during a pandemic. Castlegar, British Columbia’s Olga Hallborg, however, does not shy away from a challenge. As a registered nurse, mother, student, wife and volunteer, she is a busy bee. Olga works at Trail’s Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital as an Infection Prevention and Control nurse, and occasionally, she still works at her previous nursing job with elderly patients in long term care at Nelson Jubilee Manor.
Olga, originally from Ukraine, lives with her husband Murray and 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. The family moved from Saskatchewan to Castlegar for Murray’s job at Castlegar’s Celgar pulp and paper mill six years ago. After living and working in the Kootenays for only two years, Murray lost his job unexpectedly, and the family faced some challenges. For the past four years, he has driven weekly to Vancouver to work as a mechanic at the Swiss Water coffee company plant. Murray still applies to Kootenay jobs regularly.