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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:
- Errol Winter, Executive Director Email me
- Candice Smit, Operations & Projects Lead Email me
- Meagan Ryan, Operations & Projects Support Email me
- Krystal Laforest, Executive Assistant Email me – UpToDate, membership, CME, other Division opportunities and contacts.
- Amber Metz, Finance Lead Email me
Recruitment & Retention:
- Division-Wide Support: Stephanie Rocheleau, Project Support Email me
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 Email me
Fort St. James: Ann McCormick, Community Ambassador – Recruitment & Retention Support Email me
Fraser Lake & Vanderhoof: Michelle Roberge, Community Ambassador Email me
Mackenzie: Stephanie Rocheleau, Community Ambassador Email me
Quesnel: Abby Giesbrecht, Community Ambassador Email me
Robson Valley (McBride & Valemount): Meagan Ryan, Community Ambassador Email me
Technology & Innovation: