With less than one month to go until the start of classes in the Northern Medical Program, Fort St John doctors are contributing $100,000 to help support future medical students.

“This monetary donation to the Northern Medical Programs Trust displays the support and commitment we as physicians of Fort St John place in the importance of training and retaining new physicians in the North, for the Northern communities, so that continuity of quality primary health care will continue to be accessible to all people who live and work here,” says Dr. Kevin Page, President of the Medical Staff and Clinical Instructor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. There are 21 general practitioners and six specialists in Fort St John.

The contribution comes a month after communities in the North Peace joined together to create the North Peace Community Pledge, which is aiming to raise nearly $550,000 to support the Trust. The pledge includes Hudson’s Hope, Taylor, and Fort St John, along with Areas B and C of the Peace River Regional District.

“This generous donation to the Northern Medical Programs Trust demonstrates outstanding leadership from our medical doctors of Fort St. John.  It represents 20% of our goal in the North Peace,” says Kathleen O’Neill, Chair of the North Peace NMPT Support Group. “I would like to thank our local physicians for their commitment to the future health of our residents.” 

The Northern Medical Programs Trust is partnership involving the University of Northern British Columbia and nearly two-dozen communities from around northern BC. The goal is to create an endowment of $6 million, with different communities pledging different amounts based on their populations. Together with the University, the communities themselves will manage the Trust, and determine the criteria for how students will be able to access funds that will help them offset the costs of their medical education.