Jennifer Monaghan was a healthy, active stay-at-home mom when she was diagnosed with a heart condition.

“I came downstairs one night after tucking my daughter in, and no words would come out,” she recalls. Her husband recognized immediately that she was having a stroke.

Foundations in the Interior Region raise funds that support medical equipment, care needs, and innovative local initiatives in their communities. Each organization includes respected community leaders, volunteers and staff who are passionate about meeting the needs of patients and families in Interior Health. Thanks to the generosity of their supporters, we all have a stronger health system. 

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.