We Are IH: Kelowna RN finds working in health care rewarding

January 5, 2023

Franz Huber at the top of Cerro Chirripó, Costa Rica's highest mountain at 3821 meters.

Name: Franz Huber (he/him/his)
Job Title: Registered Nurse (RN)
Years of Service: 25
Worksite: Rutland Community Dialysis Clinic
Community: Kelowna
Ancestral Territory: Syilx Okanagan
Advice to live by: Work hard and be disciplined, but also have fun, and spread love and kindness

Franz Huber has been a registered nurse with Interior Health (IH) for over 25 years. He moved to Canada from Austria in 1986, settling in Kelowna in 1990.

Franz describes himself as a hardworking, caring, practical and "well-rounded" experienced nurse. While he is very much a self-sufficient survivalist and an environmentalist, Franz also considers himself a farmer/cowboy with a good sense of humour.

In this Story…

Learn more about his journey with IH

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Learn more about his journey with IH

As a nurse, Franz loves being able to help patients in a multitude of health-care settings “so I can make a difference for them and they feel cared for.” He especially enjoys meeting patients from his own community and getting to know them.

Man wearing a short-sleeved purple shirt, sitting at desk with blue screen on computer monitor. — Franz at his desk in the Rutland Community Dialysis Clinic.

He genuinely appreciates having excellent coworkers and support staff to help manage challenging situations, and he takes time to encourage new staff members to maintain a positive spirit as they develop their skills to work as part of a team.

I always look forward to seeing new nurses take on their role, and how they grow into our health-care team.

-- Franz Huber

Here’s an interesting fun fact about Franz: he was the first male at Okanagan University College (OUC) to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) straight through from first to fourth year.

Man wearing a grey t-shirt and backpack holding onto a wooden rail in front of a waterfall that is falling into a light blue body of water. — Franz at the Rio Celeste waterfall in Costa Rica.

Franz has been a preceptor (a type of working relationship between an experienced professional and a student) for about 60 nursing students while working for IH, and is proud to have received numerous thank-you cards for being a preceptor to them. He was also part of the renal team that moved the old dialysis unit to the new dialysis unit in Kelowna.

The rewards of working in the health-care field are really worthwhile; I feel that way about every moment that I have worked in this field. Meeting former patients somewhere out in the community while shopping, at the bank or at the YMCA, or just on the street, and they still recognize me – this has transformed the city into my home town now.

-- Franz Huber

When Franz has time off, he is never short of hobbies and interests to explore. Among them are: mountain climbing, gardening, preserving fruits and vegetables, hiking, waterskiing, downhill skiing, country music and country dancing.

Man sitting in garden holding a small beet and a huge beet, with pumpkins next to him. — Franz holds a ‘Big Red’ beet, next to pumpkins and Brussel sprouts.

Something unique about Franz is his experience with food and foraging. As an environmental and agricultural advocate, as well as an ex-dairy farmer and dairy inspector, Franz prides himself on living from what local nature and the garden provides. This means trading fruit and veggies for wild meat and fish, and foraging the forests and lands for edible food. On top of all of this, Franz is a do-it-yourself ‘Mister Fixer’.

Man wearing a helmet, backpack, grey jacket and khaki pants, looking down from climbing a grey rock face. — Franz climbing Needle Peak in the Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area.

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