A Haven of Natural Beauty and Community Spirit
The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM), nestled deep in the northeastern region of British Columbia, is a hidden gem that boasts a unique blend of natural beauty, cultural diversity, and a strong sense of community. This remote and relatively unexplored region is home to breathtaking landscapes and innovative thinkers, making it a special place for residents and visitors alike.
The NRRM is a vast wilderness of over 85,000 km2 of land, encompassing the northern portion of the Canadian Rockies, Muskwa-Kechika Management Area, and other protected lands. Beyond its breathtaking landscapes, the NRRM is defined by its unique and resilient communities. The people who call this region home are an essential part of what makes it so special.
The NRRM is a gathering of cultural backgrounds, fostering an environment of diversity and inclusivity. Various communities, including Fort Nelson, Fort Nelson First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Fort Liard, Toad River, and Muncho Lake welcome individuals from different walks of life, making it a vibrant and enriching place to live. Despite the distance between the communities of the NRRM, the people are closely connected creating a sense of belonging and neighbourly support. Fort Nelson, the largest community making up 2,600 of the 4,000 residents, is the main resource hub.
Fort Nelson is the regional business and service centre of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. It offers all the essential amenities – varied housing stock, restaurants, retail and grocery stores, services to meet your needs and a range of cultural and recreational facilities. The community’s economic base is built on the small and medium-sized businesses and public sector employers who provide the products and services needed in a sustainable community, while traditional resource industries including natural gas, forestry and tourism continue to be mainstays in the region.
At the heart of healthcare in the Northern Rockies are the Fort Nelson General Hospital, Airport Way Medical Clinic, and dedicated secondary health providers and emergency services. The Fort Nelson General Hospital contains 25 acute and 8 long-term care beds, lab and diagnostics, emergency medicine, and integrated care (mental health and addictions, public health, environmental health, and home and community care). Airport Way Medical Clinic is the community’s home of family practice with 5 physicians who also provide on-call services at Fort Nelson General. Fort Nelson is fortunate to have a broad range of secondary health providers including dentistry, optometry, chiropractic, virtual physiotherapy, mental health supports, and a thriving community paramedicine program delivered through BC Ambulance Service (BCAS). Contributing to the sustainability of emergency medical services in the community, Northern Rockies Fire Rescue members are trained Emergency Medical Responders and attend all First Response calls along with RCMP and BCAS.
Given the vast distances between Fort Nelson and neighbouring urban centres (400 km to Fort St. John and 800 km to Prince George), where many have travelled for care, the local medical professionals and community must be innovative in their approach to providing healthcare. A few of the NRRM’s major accomplishments include:
- The NRRM has offered complimentary housing for new physicians to the community for the past 15 years, coupled with an approach to supporting new health professionals settle into the community and maintaining relationships with locum physicians who choose to return to the community year after year to provide local doctors with some well-deserved downtime. In 2022, these programs were formalized with the Recruitment, Retention, Education and Training Incentive Program and the Regional Health Recruitment Liaison role.
- The NRRM created the first Regional Health Recruitment Liaison role in Northern BC. The Liaison works closely with health employers to facilitate the development and coordination of recruitment campaigns including design and marketing approaches, on-site logistical, promotional and community-level supports such as site visits, navigating the housing market, school system and spousal/partner employment options. The position proactively markets the Northern Rockies by participating in major healthcare conferences, economic development and industry events.
- The Recruitment & Retention Education & Training Incentive (RRETI) Program provides financial assistance and incentives to attract, retain and train priority healthcare professionals to work in the Northern Rockies. The RRETI program is open to eligible healthcare professionals recruited by, and working for public, private or non-profit sector employers, in addition to secondary school students whose primary residence is in the Northern Rockies region, including the Fort Nelson First Nation and Dene Tsaa Tse K’Nai First Nation (Prophet River Band).
- The NRRM is a founding and contributing member of the Community Health Steering Committee, made up of members of NRRM staff and elected Council, Fort Nelson First Nation staff and elected Council, BCEHS, Northern Health, and Doctors of, among others. By amplifying the efforts of local physician, Dr. Marius Mostert, the committee demonstrated the need for a CT Scanner at FNGH and lobbied the health authority to begin capital planning. Through efforts and collaboration, it has brought doctors, local government, business and service organizations together to make it happen.
- Fort Nelson General Hospital acquired ‘RUDi’ – a virtual technology to sustain acute care services including Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) that runs 24/7 365 days. The collaboration sees an RTVS RUDi emergency doctor providing the Most Responsible Provider (MRP) coverage for an Emergency Room over Zoom. The in-community physician is also available but only needs to be called in for high acuity cases, allowing them to get the rest they need. This innovative collaboration between RTVS, Northern Health, and on-the-ground nurses and physicians has supported the stability of care in Fort Nelson during times of physician shortages and has allowed FNGH to avoid diversion of services. The work makes it possible for local doctors to get needed rest, resident physicians to get some hands-on training while being supported by an experienced physician and rural communities with a small number of providers to have increased healthcare stability.
- Community leaders have long pursued achieving equitable access to health care for the community, acknowledging that while the most effective solutions are home-grown, the responsibility for health care delivery rests among organizations outside the local government. To that end, the NRRM developed a Regional Health Advocacy Strategy which speaks to three main goals: health provider recruitment and retention, supporting patient transport, and enhancing virtual care.
- The NRRM has instilled a great relationship with travelling services/clinics. Understanding that specialized services are not likely available in-house, travelling clinics/physicians have enabled residents to receive these services and care without patient travel. In some cases, patients can be seen within the month based on the timing of visiting clinics (children’s OT/PT) where there are months-long waiting lists for similar services in more urban locations.
- The NRRM is a family-centered community. Within the close-knit community, there is a high level of awareness about the available services. Family and child development programming offered by local organizations (NRAWS, NRCDA) is understood, valued and referred to by local physicians for both formal and informal development assessments, wellness checks and family support. These referrals can lead to engagement in community programming resulting in social connection which improves mental health – a world of preventative healthcare.
The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality is a place where slow small-town living and innovative forward-thinking intersect. The people are resilient and friendly, while nature is vast and wild. Whether you’re looking for your next travel route or a place to call home, the NRRM offers an experience like no other.
