Sun Peaks patients urged to join BC Health Connect Registry

With the departure of Dr. Catherine Nowierski from Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS), which operates the Sun Peaks Health Centre, Oct. 10, local health officials are urging patients to take an important next step: registering with the B.C. Health Connect Registry.

The registry, available through HealthLink BC, serves as the province’s centralized waitlist for residents seeking attachment to a family physician or nurse practitioner. 

“We encourage all of Dr. Nowierski’s patients to register with the BC Health Connect Registry, either by calling 811 or visiting the website,” a representative from STEPS wrote in an email to patients. “This is the best way to ensure patients are counted and connected when care becomes available again.”

While the STEPS Health Clinic, which currently serves the Sun Peaks area, continues to operate, space for new patients is limited. In order to be reattached to a primary care provider through STEPS when capacity allows, patients must already be listed in the Health Connect Registry.

“We want to reassure the community that we’re doing everything we can to ensure continuity of care,” the representative wrote. “But being on the registry is a crucial part of that process.”

The registry not only supports individuals in need of care, but also informs government decisions about where to allocate healthcare resources. By registering, Sun Peaks residents help demonstrate the ongoing need for primary care access in the region.

“It’s a small but impactful action,” the spokesperson wrote. “It ensures you’re in the system and helps us advocate for the services our community needs.”

To register, patients can call 811 or visit the website. 

In a letter to patients, Nowierski thanked the community.

“It has been an honour to support you and your family, and I am grateful for the time we have shared together,” she wrote. 

Editor’s Note: SPIN corrected this article to reflect that Dr. Nowierski will be leaving the organization that manages Sun Peaks Health Centre, Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society, not Sun Peaks. We apologize for any confusion this error may have caused.