One of the four new pediatricians joining the Kelowna General Hospital team over the coming weeks was revealed at a Ministry of Health press conference on Wednesday.
During the presser, Health Minister Josie Osborne discussed the status of British Columbia’s efforts to lure healthcare professionals from the United States.
According to the Province, 780 job applications from “qualified health professionals” across the US have been received in just two months since those efforts began.
Interior Health has received 181 of those applications, including one from Dr. Avi Kopstick, a Canadian doctor who has been training and practising in the US for several years.
Kopstick will make the move from Texas, specifically Austin, up north to Kelowna this summer and begin work as a pediatrician in mid-August.
The Toronto-born physician says he’s “thrilled to be coming home.”
“I chose Kelowna specifically because of the opportunity to contribute to a growing tertiary referral centre,” he told Wednesday's press conference over Zoom, noting that he specializes in critical care as a pediatric intensivist.
“For the last four years, I focused on delivering trauma-informed, highly-precise pediatric critical care with a strong emphasis on early intervention and keeping kids close to home.”
Kopstick, who will be making the move alongside his husband and two Maine Coon cats, Rummy and Bella, says he’s excited to bring that same commitment to the BC Interior.
He’s also hoping some healthcare-worker friends in Texas will follow his lead.
“We have some American friends who are nurses here in Texas who mentioned they also saw the new pathways to practising in BC and they are very jealous of our upcoming move,” Kopstick added.
“We are hoping we will be able to convince them to follow us in the near future.”
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The new pathways Kopstick is referring to are bylaw changes made by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC) earlier this month.
US-trained doctors can now become fully licensed in BC, without the need for further assessment, examination or training, as long as they hold certification from one of three American medical boards.
It means they can become registered to work in BC in a matter of weeks.
"CPSBC is always looking to evolve its bylaws, processes and procedures as health-care needs evolve," said Dr. Patrick Rowe, CPSBC registrar and CEO.
"These bylaw amendments are part of our work with government to find opportunities that will help British Columbians receive more accessible and timely care."
Kopstick is one of four new pediatricians set to join KGH over the coming weeks, with two beginning part-time work later this month and the fourth expected to arrive in September.
The hospital’s beleaguered pediatric unit, which began a phased reopening on Monday following a seven-week closure, is also welcoming in four associate physicians.
