Stories Listing Page

Brynn and Hayden are youth in the Interior who have lived experience with substance use. They teamed up with Interior Heath to promote new services for their youth peers. The SAY project was launched in 2023 to promote the new substance use services Interior Health created specifically for youth across the region. Hayden and Brynn (not their real names) helped create the campaign to spread the word about these services.*

Name: Edward Schaffer (he/him/his)Job Title: PhysicianYears of Service: 7Worksite: Invermere & District Hospital and East Kootenay Regional HospitalCommunity: Invermere/CranbrookAncestral Territory: Born in the Treaty 7 Territory in Alberta; currently working in the Akisqnuk (part of the Ktunaxa First Nation) and Secwépemc Growing up in a small town of 1,500 in southern Alberta, Edward knew early on he wanted to work in rural medicine. Inspired by a view of the Rocky Mountains from his childhood home, he dreamt of one day settling in a place surrounded by mountains, lakes, and wilderness. Fast forward several years, and Edward has realized both his professional and geographical ambitions. He’s now based in Invermere and works as a physician with Added Competence in Emergency Medicine (CCFP-EM) and head of the emergency department at Invermere District Hospital. He’s also a locum emergency department (ED) physician at East Kootenay Regional Hospital, supporting the facility as needed.

Vinaysinh (Vinny) Chauhan was enjoying a game of cricket on a warm June night in 2023 in Merritt when he started feeling unwell. “My neck was feeling sore, and I was dizzy,” he recalls. He sat down on the field. His teammates brought him some snacks and juice, but he continued to feel poorly. They brought him home to sleep, but his symptoms continued. By the time his teammates took him to Nicola Valley Hospital, his blood pressure was very high and he was obviously very ill. The next thing he remembers is waking up in Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Vinny had had two strokes: one in his brainstem, and one in his spinal cord. Not only was Vinny’s condition rare, but it was also surprising given his age—just 42 years old.

Dr. Kyle Merritt realized he had to do more for the planet during a two-week stretch of thick wildfire smoke in 2021 that saw his family sheltering inside their Nelson home. “As a parent of two young children, I was wondering how dangerous it would be for them to go outside,” remembers Kyle. “I also thought about the childhood I had growing up in Castlegar, playing outside in the forests – there were no wildfire seasons then. It hit me things are changing and changing quickly.”Wildfire smoke affects the most vulnerable in our community (Nelson Star) The emergency department physician at Kootenay Lake Hospital was also seeing the effects of climate change in his patients. “My patients were being impacted by the heat and smoke, especially seniors and those with mental and chronic illnesses. They described feeling trapped and oppressed by the polluted air, and the number of people with depression and anxiety seemed to double,” he explains. “They were asking me for advice on how to adapt, whether they could take their newborn for a walk, or exercise outside.” At around the same time Kootenay residents were suffering from heat and wildfire smoke, Kyle attended a climate emergency conference at UBC. Kyle is an enthusiastic cyclist and supporter of active transportation.“Physicians from B.C. and all around the world were talking about planetary health,” shares Kyle. “This was a new term for me. It struck me, how can we think about human health without clean air and water? I also realized this kind of work could be part of my professional role at Interior Health.” Kyle has long considered himself an environmentalist; he is a member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. However, he knew then he had to do something bigger.

Name: Coreen Duncan (she/her/hers)Job Title: Patient AmbassadorYears of Service: 34Worksite: Columbia HouseCommunity:  InvermereAncestral Territory: Ktunaxa and SecwépemcFavourite Quote / Advice to live by: It is important to be kind. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Coreen spent her high school years gaining experience volunteering at care homes and Meals on Wheels. Her volunteer experience and working as a housekeeper led her to Invermere with her current role as a patient ambassador in long-term care (LTC) at Columbia House.  “I remember thinking that I loved being with the elderly residents and clients. I felt that I could help make their days brighter. Thirty-four years later I still feel the same!”

Welcome to the Meet Your Recruiter series, where we bring you closer to the dedicated professionals behind Interior Health's recruitment team. In this series, you'll have the opportunity to get to know the recruiters who play a vital role in attracting and selecting talented individuals to join our dynamic health-care team. Discover their passions, expertise and invaluable insights as they share their experiences and shed light on the exciting opportunities that await you within Interior Health. As one of the largest health-care authorities in B.C., we are committed to providing exceptional care to the communities we serve. These are the people who help us fulfill this commitment.