When Sun Peaks was just beginning to grow into the thriving community it is today, visitors and residents alike could find medical support during ski season through the resort, but once the lifts closed, so did healthcare.
John Gossage, was a retired pediatrician who always helped with medical situations in small municipalities.
“He would get calls from time to time,” his daughter Anne Terwiel recalled. “People would say, ‘Hey, I know you’re a doctor, could you look at this for me?’ or ‘We’ve had an incident, could you come help?’”
While he was happy to help, he was a pediatrician, not an emergency physician or a cardiologist, Terwiel said. He was also retired, but “he really saw the need for a proper health clinic that could serve multiple purposes.”
From that realization, the Sun Peaks Health Association was born. Formed in the 1990s, the association gathered a dedicated group of residents, medical professionals and resort representatives.
“He put together a really good, focused, dedicated committee with a number of different skills and representation from the communities that would be served,” Terwiel said. “Because it was such a strong organization, it was able to continue after he was gone.”
The association’s vision was broader than emergency response. It included family medicine, dentistry, counseling and preventative health.
“He was particularly concerned about the young people who were away from home for the first time,” Terwiel said. “He thought about nutritional issues, sexual health, drug and alcohol use and how to take a preventative, positive outlook, rather than just treating problems once they arise.”
Long-serving members such as ER nurse Marg Kosolofski, eye doctor Mario Pozza and the late John Hatchett, who chaired the board for over a decade, carried the vision forward. Their dedication ensured the project endured leadership changes and evolving community needs.“He actually drew up an initial vision statement for getting a health centre… it’s not quite to the level that he wanted, but it certainly provides the services to the community,” Pozza previously explained to SPIN in 2024.
Though Gossage passed away in 1999, his work left a lasting legacy.
Over two decades, the association raised funds for the Sun Peaks Community Health Centre while operating a small temporary clinic. As previously reported by SPIN, $800,000 was raised, and the association donated $600,000 to the construction of the clinic, which began in the fall of 2016. This donation was matched by the Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality using money it received as part of a start-up grant in 2010.
Throughout 2017, the community brought in around $405,000 through private donations, provincial government and Thompson-Nicola Regional District. In December of 2017, the municipality received a $100,000 donation from Gail and Ron “Shorty” Stiles, putting the equipment fund over $500,000.
The search for a full time doctor brought forth Dr. Shane Barclay, who relocated from Salt Spring Island.
On Dec. 11, 2017 Sun Peaks’ first full-time family medical practice opened its doors. The need for the clinic was immediately clear, with 450 patient sign-ups during the first week of operation.
Barclay continued working at the clinic, alongside Dr. Signy Frank and staff, until June 28, 2024 when he retired, passing the baton to Dr. Catherine Nowierski.
The Sun Peaks Health Association continued management of the health centre for nearly 20 years, raising funds and building momentum before operations and assets were passed on to the municipality on Sept. 22, 2024.
Relationship between municipality and the health centre
On April 1, 2023, Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) and the Sun Peaks Health Association partnered with the non-profit society Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS) to manage physicians, staff and business operations.
The Sun Peaks Health Association continued management of the health centre for nearly 20 years from its inception, raising funds and building momentum before operations and assets were passed on to the municipality in September 2024.
On July 14, 2025, SPMRM council voted to end STEPS’ lease of the health centre effective Oct. 22, following weeks of conversation where council discussed operational challenges facing the clinic, such as reduced hours leading to long wait times, lack of locums and limited access to urgent care. The municipality retained ownership of the building and most medical equipment.
“[The municipality’s] role was always to help build the clinic and then find the right partner to run it,” Sun Peaks Mayor Rob O’Toole said in an interview with SPIN in July.
“We’re still committed to that approach. We’re not the operators, but we are the landlords and the community stewards of this facility,” he added. “We appreciated STEPS stepping in when they did and helping us bridge a critical gap, but after a year and a half, it became clear that their service model was not meeting the long-term healthcare needs of this community.”
Following this transition, Sun Peaks Resort Municipality arranged a working group to develop recommendations for running the clinic moving forward, “whether that’s with another nonprofit, private operator or potentially a hybrid model,” O’Toole said. These recommendations were used to create a request for proposals (RFP) for interested parties to submit their plans for operating the clinic.
On Aug. 29, the municipality shared the RFP, seeking a family physician to lease and operate the Sun Peaks Health Centre independently.
“I want to acknowledge the efforts of the working group that was quickly formed and worked very hard in a very short amount of time to assist in providing information and recommendations that really helped inform the RFP,” municipal chief administrative officer Deanna Campbell said during the Sept. 2 council meeting.
Once the RFP closes on Sept. 30, council will look into releasing the report to the public. As the working group is not a formal statutory committee of council, it is not governed by the same requirements Campbell said.
The future of health care in Sun Peaks
Today, the Sun Peaks Health Centre is an integral part of the resort community. It houses physicians and integrates closely with ski patrol, while other health professionals including massage therapists and acupuncturists serve the village independently.
Though the future of how the centre will operate is unclear, the community’s passion for a community-driven health centre remains strong.
Throughout the transition away from STEPS, community members have voiced their concerns, attending council meetings, writing into SPIN and connecting via social media. Community support for an integrated and cross-discipline health centre is ever-present, a testament to the health association’s reason for being. What began with one doctor’s concern for his neighbours grew into a cornerstone of the community — a health centre built by and for Sun Peaks.
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