Northern Interior Rural Division of Family Practice

Who We Are - What We Do

 

 

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Who We Are

We are a network of rural practitioners united by our shared commitment to strengthening care for patients, families, and communities across the Northern Interior of BC.

 

Purpose

We are a group of rural practitioners who value rural patients, rural medicine, and rural communities.

 

Mission

Rural practitioners supporting rural practitioners, helping to build healthier communities together.

 

Vision

Healthy communities connected by a strong, collaborative practitioner network within a stable and sustainable health system.

 

Values

  • Collaborative    

  • Authentic (Integrity & Accountability) 

  • Respectful   

  • Proactive

What We Do

Recruit & Welcome New Providers: Personalized onboarding, community tours, family integration, housing options, and relocation support, in collaboration with our partners.

Support Students & Residents: Coordinate with our partners to offer shadowing experiences, rural exposure, career planning, locum opportunities, and housing/community support through Rural Interest Group events and local mentorship.

Foster Team-Based Care: Connection to local Primary Care Network, nursing, allied health, and Indigenous health partners.

Coordinate Continuing Education & Quality Improvement: Organizing local CME opportunities such as Pills of Knowledge and other professional development events. Providing project support for provider-led QI initiatives, as well as applying for funding through the NIRD Microproject Initiative or external funding sources like Shared Care.

Navigate Systems: Liaising with Northern Health, FNHA, CSFS, RCCbc, FPSC, and Ministry of Health partners to address rural healthcare challenges and opportunities. Carrying the physician voice to make policy amendments.  Working with partners and coming to the table with a collective community voice.

Share Resources & Enable Collaboration: RTVS Updates & Provider-to-Provider Collaboration - Virtual case conferencing, mentorship, and shared specialist consults; support timely patient access through virtual consults and cross-community care pathways.

Support Technology Solutions: Virtual allied health services - Bridging service gaps in physiotherapy, dietetics, mental health, and other roles through virtual models; Ambient AI Scribe - Enhancing provider efficiency and work-life balance with innovative tools; Virtual Primary Care Support - Enabling locum coverage, after-hours care, and shared virtual care teams across rural communities.

FPSC Funding Supports: Administering programs such as Inpatient Care Funding and the Long-Term Care Initiative (LTCI).

Encourage Wellness & Peer Support: Building a community of practice for practitioners in the PRA program and supporting social connection through gatherings, dinners, and peer networking.

 

 

Contacts

Division Operations:

 

Recruitment & Retention: 

  • Division-Wide Support:   Stephanie Rocheleau, Project Support (srocheleau@nirdbc.ca)
  • Community Ambassadors: Are local, on-the-ground contacts with first-hand knowledge of their communities. They support incoming and existing providers, as well as students and residents, with community-specific questions, local navigation, and personal connections. Serving as community connectors, they help ensure providers and their families feel welcomed and supported beyond the clinic walls.

Burns Lake: Teri Cutsforth, Recruitment & Retention Coordinator (teri@lakesideconsulting.co)

Fort St. James: Ann McCormick, Community Ambassador – Recruitment & Retention Support (amccormick@telus.net)

Fraser Lake & Vanderhoof: Community Ambassador - Michelle Roberge (michelle.mrconcepts@icloud.com)

Mackenzie: Stephanie Rocheleau, Community Ambassador (srocheleau@nirdbc.ca)

Quesnel: Abby Giesbrecht, Community Ambassador (abby.giesbrecht@gmail.com)

Robson Valley (McBride & Valemount): Meagan Ryan, Community Ambassador (mryan@nirdbc.ca)

 

Technology & Innovation: 

Resources

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Contact Us

Northern Interior Rural Division
PO Box 114
Prince George, BC
V2L 4R9

Errol Winter
Executive Director
ewinter@nirdbc.ca
Direct: 778-281-2887

Krystal Laforest
Executive Assistant & Project Support
klaforest@nirdbc.ca
Direct: 403-669-6122

Doctors of BC trifecta logo

The Divisions of Family Practice acknowledge that we work on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of many different Indigenous Nations throughout British Columbia.

Acknowledging that we are on the traditional territories of Indigenous communities is an expression of cultural humility and involves recognizing our duty and desire to support the provision of culturally safe care to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in BC.