Name: Tiova de Kok (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Regional, Project Lead, Perinatal Substance Use
Years of Service: 21
Worksite: Regional role, based out of 100 Mile District General Hospital
Community: 100 Mile House
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc

Yanmei (Mei) Chen never thought she was cut out for a job in health care. The former educator from China, who immigrated to Canada in 2020, was skeptical about changing careers later in life. But the financial pressures of the pandemic on her family eventually compelled her to make a change.

Thanks to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) Health Foundation and its generous donors, Interior Health will be able to keep more Kootenay Boundary expectant families facing early deliveries closer to home.