BC's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 52
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
Caring means collaboration at Interior Health
W
hen Sheena
Brink went back
to school and
graduated with
her nursing
degree in 2024, she didn’t want her
learning to stop there. So, she took
advantage of an emergency room
training program offered by her
employer, Interior Health.
“As a new grad, I didn’t have
a lot of experience under my
belt,” says Brink, a registered
nurse and mother of five. “The
Regional Emergency Department
Education Program (REDEP) gave
me a lot more confidence.”
When people feel
respected and
supported, they
naturally bring the
best of themselves to
their work.
— Sheena Brink
Registered Nurse
Brink was hired after graduation
by Interior Health, the regional
health authority covering British
Columbia’s southern Interior, and
about eight months later jumped
into the REDEP program. Paid
for by her employer, the program
blends part-time study and
full-time training through online
and face-to-face learning. Last
June, she completed the program,
gained her emergency room
certification and took away more
specialized skills in how to access
and respond effectively to acute
and traumatic situations.
The IH Recognition Awards at Interior Health celebrate the achievements of employees and volunteers.
“Education is something I can
continue to pursue,” she says.
“There are opportunities to learn
and grow here.”
Brink now works in the
emergency room at Cariboo
Memorial Hospital in Williams
Lake. The rural location is one
of Interior Health’s 22 hospital
sites. As the biggest employer
in the region with over 30,000
employees, it serves almost
900,000 people living on the
ancestral, unceded and traditional
territories of the seven Interior
Region First Nations: the Dãkelh
Dené, St’át’imc, syilx, Tŝilhqot’in,
Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and
Nlaka’pamux.
Committed to a people-centred
approach in the workplace,
Interior Health’s leadership team
focuses on enhancing its work
culture by fostering listening and
collaboration as well as learning
opportunities for advanced
training and career growth.
“We want people to come
and we want them to stay, so we
provide specialized training and
leadership development — all
the things that will support career
progression over decades if people
choose to stay with us for the
whole of their career,” says Sylvia
Weir, president and CEO, who
started with Interior Health more
than 20 years ago.
To understand what matters
most to them, Weir and her
leadership team engage with
staff regularly and gather
their feedback to help develop
initiatives that resonate with and
meet their needs. Traditional
surveys and focus groups are held
across the health authority as well
as bi-monthly online open forums
with senior leaders where staff can
ask questions. Weir also travels
around the region frequently to
see and hear from staff in person.
“We have a commitment to
listening and then acting on what
we hear,” she says. “What I have
been promoting, and what my
senior team is very committed to,
