Interior Health (IH) is proud to be recognized once again as one of British Columbia (B.C.)’s top employers for 2026, an achievement that reflects the incredible people who make IH such a great place to work. This is the eleventh time IH has received the award, which recognizes exceptional workplaces where culture cultivates collaboration, engagement and innovation.
“Our 31,000 staff members are Interior Health,” says IH President & CEO Sylvia Weir. “Our people are at the heart of what we do – making a meaningful impact on the lives of the hundreds of thousands we serve in the interior. It’s the entire team at Interior Health that makes this such a unique and fulfilling place to work.”
Weir notes that the complexities of today’s health-care systems demand that IH looks beyond traditional recruitment and retention. In conjunction with the Province’s Health Human Resources Strategy, IH is advancing initiatives under four key pillars to strengthen its workforce and enhance care delivery across the Interior region:
- Recruiting for the Future
IH partners with schools, communities and the Province of B.C. to attract new health-care workers through incentives, relocation support, pathways for internationally trained professionals, new graduate transition programs, and initiatives that guide high school students toward in-demand health careers
- Retaining and Training Staff
IH is strengthening workplace culture and professional growth through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, peer support and mentorship, leadership development, “Earn and Learn” programs, and specialty nursing training pathways.
- Supporting Health and Wellness
IH is committed to providing safe, supportive workplaces by expanding occupational health and safety resources, implementing a violence prevention framework, enhancing protection services at major sites, and broadening the employee and family assistance program.
- Redesigning the Way We Work
IH is modernizing systems and practices by implementing workload standards through implementation of provincial minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, expanding associate physician and nurse practitioner roles, optimizing nursing and allied health scope of work, growing virtual care in rural and remote communities, and introducing an integrated system for workforce planning.
In addition, IH’s Indigenous Health & Wellness Strategy serves as a framework for staff to provide high-quality, safe and effective health services to Indigenous Peoples and communities.
“People choose to join, grow and build lasting careers because they experience a strong sense of belonging, purpose and opportunity. We are committed to continuing to find ways to support career education, development and exploration and growth, because when people feel seen and supported they return that to the patients we serve,” says Susan Dolinski, vice president, People & Engagement.
The focus on supporting employees is helping with retention rates. For example, IH’s new graduate nurse attrition rate – the number of nurses leaving before completing their first year of employment - has fallen to an all-time low of two per cent. IH nursing specialty education programs also see over 14,000 hours of education delivered annually. A partnership with schools that facilitates nursing students to gain specialty training to prepare for emergency, perioperative, and critical care roles has helped achieve over 90 per cent retention in those specialties.
The BC Top Employer award is an annual competition that considers a wide range of criteria, including diversity and inclusion; benefits; physical workplace; student/new graduate opportunities and training; recruitment and retention; employment standards; community involvement; and more.
Watch the IH Top Employer video to learn more about why IH is one of the best places to work in B.C. Find in-depth coverage in the Vancouver Sun.
With more than 31,000 staff, IH provides a wide range of integrated health services across B.C.’s southern Interior. Since its inception in 2001, IH has been working and partnering for the health and well-being of almost 900,000 people living in a region spanning 215,000 square kilometres and located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Dãkelh Dené; St’át’imc; syilx; Tŝilhqot’in; Ktunaxa; Secwépemc; and Nlaka’pamux Nations.
Explore exciting new career opportunities with IH at Jobs.Interiorhealth.ca.
