Stronger
by association
CME
WELLNESS
INNOVATION
RECRUITMENT
Advocacy
AWARDS
Our purpose is to be a cohesive voice for better care in our community
We are the voice of the Penticton Regional Hospital medical staff, ensuring that we are heard, supported, and valued. Established in 1976 by local physicians, we represent the medical staff at Penticton Regional including physicians, dental surgeons, midwives, and nurse practitioners. The MSA brings members together in a culture of wellness, celebration, advocacy, learning and innovation.
We are
Members elected by peers to empower medical staff to ensure quality patient care through innovation, learning, wellness, and advocacy.
We serve
A passionate and resourceful medical staff who work in a complex, high stakes environment that is not yet fully optimized for their success.
We want
To ensure that every member can focus on providing quality patient care in a hospital system that clearly needs, values and cares about them.
We will
Maximize member return on involvement by supporting member success, an inclusive community and better innovation.
The future we want to create:
PRH MSA Human Impact Framework
Moving from purpose to impact
PRH MSA
Human Impact
Framework
– – – – – – – – – – –
opportunities to belong to a strong and supportive peer community.
opportunities to access benefits, information and friendly support.
opportunities to focus on their own success, health and wellness.
opportunities to celebrate and be recognized for contribution.
opportunities to enhance professional skills, knowledge and qualifications.
opportunities to enhance professional skills, knowledge and qualifications.
opportunities to assume a leadership role in the community
How we maximize return on involvement
Our STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
and ANNUAL PLAN SUMMARY
Executive
Leading our future together
The Penticton Medical Staff Association is governed by a President, Vice President, and Secretary treasurer as well as the past-president and a Member at Large as an integral part of successions planning and sustainability. The MSA Executive represents the medical staff at the Medical Staff Advisory and Executive Committee, towards advancing the involvement and input of staff in all aspects of hospital life. To get in touch with the executive, please email us.
Dr. Michelle Scheepers MD, FRCPC | President
Dr Michelle Scheepers is an Anesthesiologist practicing at Penticton Regional Hospital. Her interests are in pre-habilitation and incorporating innovative virtual platforms into clinical workflows. Michelle is a graduate of the BCPSQC Clinical Quality Academy as well as the UBC Sauder Physician Leadership Program. She is the Physician Advisor for the Interior Health Physician Quality Improvement Program. Michelle finds it very rewarding to be involved in physician led projects that can inform clinical practice changes and foster engagement and resilience by building capacity for ‘joy in work’. She is also involved in teaching in her role as a Clinical Instructor with UBC, and more recently has been pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Michelle and her husband own and operate a commercial apple orchard in Summerland and enjoy spending time with their two children, four cats and two dogs on the farm when they’re not at the rink playing hockey. In her spare time, Michelle paddle boards and reads!
Dr. Danielle Weisgarber MD | Vice-President
Dr. Danielle Weisgarber is a full service family physician in Summerland/ Penticton. Her work includes longitudinal practice, inpatient care, long term care, and emergency room coverage. She has an interest in supporting physician and resident wellness in the Okanagan, and has graduated from the GPSC Leadership and Management Development Program in 2021. She is hoping to continue to pursue leadership roles in this community and connect with team members from various areas to support and improve models of sustainable care delivery. When not working, she enjoys biking, painting, and bouncing on the trampoline with her husband and 2 young children.
Susie Lobb, RMW | Secretary-Treasurer
Susie has been a Registered Midwife since 2010, working always in Penticton. She is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Family Medicine at UBC. As founding member of a collaborative maternity care centre, she regularly teaches and learns alongside midwifery students, medical students, and family practice residents. She has served as Chair of the PRH Perinatal Committee and member of LMAC, and has been a longtime member of BCCNM (and formerly CMBC) Quality Assurance Committee. Her passion is facilitating confidence and comfort around the seminal event of birth. In her free time she is found with her three kids, riding her bike or skiing!
Dr. Jean Oosthuizen MD | Member at Large
Dr. Jean Oosthuizen is a general surgeon practicing at Penticton Regional Hospital. He enjoys the broad scope that community general surgeons manage and could not imagine a better place to be doing it! His clinical interests centre around colorectal cancer, breast disease, hernia repair and endoscopy. He also enjoys teaching and is a clinical instructor for UBC. When not working he and his wife are chasing their two kids up and down the hills, whether that be on skis or bikes.
Dr. Brian Forzley MD, FRCPC | Past President
Dr. Brian Forzley is a nephrologist and general internist practicing at Penticton Regional Hospital. He is a clinical assistant professor of medicine at UBC and site medical director of the Penticton Renal Program. His interests are focused around palliative care, patient centred care and also medical leadership. He is an active facilitator for the Serious Illness Conversation workshops through the BC Hospice, a recent graduate of the NAVIG8 leadership course, and active participant on the provincial renal palliative care committee. He currently serves as past-president of the Penticton Regional Hospital Medical Staff Association. He’s an enthusiastic rookie sailor, loves time on the trails running and biking, and now tries to just keep up with his sons at Apex Mountain.
Engagement
Building meaningful physician involvement
In 2016, the Facility Engagement Initiative (FEI) was launched as a BC-wide initiative to strengthen communication, relationships and collaboration between facility-based physicians and their health authorities. Our FEI Working Group administers over $300K in annual funding, to cover time, expertise, and coordination so that physicians and health authority leaders can work together and make informed decisions about patient care, physician experience, and cost-effectiveness. The following members sit on the MSA FEI working group, representing each medical department.
- Michelle Scheepers, President | Anesthesiology
- Danielle Weisgarber, Vice-President | Family Medicine
- Susie Lobb, RMW | Family Medicine
- Brian Forzley, Past-President | Internal Medicine
- Jean Oosthuizen, Member at Large | Surgery
- Amieleena Chhabra | Pediatrics
- Said Jumaa | Psychiatry
- Carl Peters | Ophthalmology
- Bree Harris | Surgery
- David Stoll | Emergency Medicine
- Jose Goncalves | Obstetrics-Gynecology
- Tom Oliver | Family Medicine
- Chad Dyck | Internal Medicine
- Majid Zolein | Pathology
- (vacant) | Radiology
- Neil Crofts | Chief of Staff, PRH
- Jen Begin | SOS Division of Family Practice
- Tracy St. Claire | SOS Division of Family Practice
- Helen Crocker | Program Director, Facility Engagement Initiative
- Kirsty Brenneman | Program Administrator, Facility Engagement Initiative
Research
Building knowledge that informs progress
The Interior Health Research Department offers on the ground support to physicians, clinicians and allied health professionals interested and engaged in clinical and community-based research and quality improvement work. Our Research Office (located on the 4th floor of the main pavilion) is also home to the Interior Node of the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc). A full-scale clinical research unit will also soon be operational on the 2nd floor of the main pavilion.
Advice and Support
- Research question and study design development
- Evidence review and knowledge synthesis
- Project and research ethics support
- Knowledge translation and implementation science
- Epidemiology and data analysis support
- Clinical trials research
Contacts
Web Resources
- Interior Health Research page (external): interiorhealth.ca/sites/Partners/Research/Pages/default.aspx
- Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc): https://rccbc.ca/
Membership
Investing in value for our community
All PRH medical staff are required to pay annual medical dues. Medical dues are collected between April to June of each year, and go towards continuing medical education initiatives, medical staff social events, recruitment dinners, student scholarships, and more.
A cohesive voice for better care in our community.
Penticton Medical Staff Association
550 Carmi Avenue
Penticton, BC V2A 3G6
Email
President: Dr. Michelle Scheepers
Vice President: Dr. Danielle Weisgarber
Secretary Treasurer: Susie Lobb
Past President: Dr. Brian Forzley
Member at Large: Dr. Jacqueline Bourdeaux
Member at Large: Dr. Alison Turnquist
Program Director: Helen Crocker, MPH
Program Administrator: Kirsty Brenneman