Chalk up another win for the Creston Valley Health Working Group (CVHWG). Dr. Susan Hopkins will be arriving in Creston from England next month to take up practice at the Osprey Medical Clinic at the Creston Valley Mall.
“We are very pleased that Dr. Hopkins has chosen Creston from among many opportunities,” said recruiter Marilin States. “She has been practicing with a partner for 13 years and has a very well-rounded background that includes doing locums and sessional work, family planning, and accident and emergency work.”
A graduate of University of Birmingham Medical School in England, Hopkins is married to Greg, who is originally from Wisconsin. The couple has two children, Natasha, 5 and Alexander, 2.
States said she first learned of Hopkins’ interest to relocate through a referral from Health Match BC.
“I immediately wrote to her and told her about our community, its culture and geography,” States said. “Within three weeks, she came to Creston for a site visit that included some other Kootenay communities.”
Hopkins said by email on Sunday that she first saw a presentation by Health Match BC in 2008.
“I realized that I have all the qualifications and work experience that would allow me to work in Canada,” she said. “After our daughter, Natasha, was born in 2006, my husband, Greg, and I started to talk about moving to somewhere that our kids could experience more of an outdoor lifestyle. Greg is originally from Madison, Wis., but has been in England for 10 years.
“Alexander arrived in 2009 and I reconnected with Health Match BC early last year. After deciding that the Kootenay area might fit the bill, I flew over last October and toured around several towns.
“While I was in Creston I was impressed by the sense of community that came from everyone I met. Marilin was a great host and I had the chance to meet some of the physicians in town, who gave me the impression they worked hard but also had a good work-life balance and were enjoying raising their families in the valley. We think that the climate and spectacular surroundings will make for the perfect place for our family to grow up, too.”
Hopkins will be working out of the Osprey Medical Clinic, where Dr. Raphael Elemuo, another CVHWG recruit, began to practice last October.
“While she was in Creston I could sense her falling in love with the place,” States said. “In correspondence later she talked about the community’s opportunities and about our many culture events, along with things like the farmers’ market and the community complex. I think she felt that we were what we said we were.”
“This is a very exciting announcement for the Creston Valley,” Mayor Ron Toyota said on Monday. “It shows that the town and [Regional District of Central Kootenay] directors’ commitment to funding the health working group is a good investment, and a good indication of what we can do when we all work together.”
An announcement about when Hopkins will begin to accept patients will be made by the clinic in the coming weeks.