Nurses will rally in Trail on Tuesday on the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women while remembering one of their own who was killed a year ago.
The walk will remember Lindsay Batts Danchella, a nurse who moved to Montrose in 2018 and became patient care co-ordinator of the surgical unit at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. She was later community care co-ordinator for Trail home health services. She was survived her young son, mother, sister, and other family.
Her estranged husband is accused of first-degree murder in her death and is expected to have a preliminary hearing in February.
Tamara Roscoe, a regional lobby coordinator with the BC Nurses’ Union, said the rally is to honour Danchella and all victims of gender-based violence.
Roscoe said Danchella was “a compassionate, caring, dedicated nurse. And she really brought the community together, especially with us nurses working so closely together. We’re still honoring her through our daily lives at work and just carrying on her compassion and her dedication.”
Roscoe noted there have been some positives in the last year, such as the Canadian Federation of Nurses passing a resolution to create safe places for patients facing gender-based violence.
“But we have much work to do as British Columbia still exhibits high rates of intimate partner violence,” she said. “And so we are calling on the government and the local municipal councils to to keep the momentum.”
Tuesday’s event begins at 5 p.m. at the Trail Riverfront Centre and is open to all. Expected speakers include Trail mayor Colleen Jones, MLA Steve Morissette, BC Nurses’ Union regional chair Shalane Wesnoski, and a member of Danchella’s family.
A similar event was held last year.
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