Community & Culture

We Are IH: Child care licensing officer loves keeping kids safe

Jennifer Turnbull takes a selfie while hiking the West Coast Trail this summer.

Name: Jennifer Turnbull (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Child Care Licensing Officer 
Years of Service: 16 
Worksite: Kamloops Public Health Unit
Community: Kamloops
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “Look for something positive in each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder.”

By day, Jennifer Turnbull is helping make sure daycares in the Thompson and Cariboo regions are running smoothly.

“I still really like working with children. I have an ECE [early childhood educator] background and worked in daycares for 10 years before I came here,” noted Jennifer, who has been in her role with Interior Health for 16 years.

Learn more about her journey with IH

As a child care licensing officer, Jennifer's job is to ensure health and safety measures at child care facilities, whether in a private home or at a public facility, are being met.

I’m working with children and families, making sure facilities are safe and healthy and children are getting good care. That’s really important to me.

-- Jennifer Turnbull
Woman with backpack in the sand.
Jennifer during her hike on the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island.

By night (and weekend), Jennifer loves to hike. This summer, Jennifer pushed the boundaries and completed 53 kilometres of the West Coast Trail.

“That was pretty incredible,” she said. “It was just amazing to be away from technology for 10 days. There were lots of people on the trail. But you're relying on the people you are with to make good decisions to be healthy and safe out there, while enjoying the beauty and the ruggedness of it.”

A woman in black posing in front of tree root.
Jennifer along the West Coast Trail.

Jennifer also loves being creative. In particular, she enjoys making greeting cards for any occasion, whether birthdays or holidays. In fact, she’s already gotten underway creating this year’s personalized, hand-written Christmas cards for friends and family.

Greeting card with flowers
An example of the greeting cards Jennifer makes in her spare time.

After the Christmas card-making season, Jennifer will turn her attention to running her first marathon in Honolulu.

“It's going to be a challenge, but the beautiful setting will make up for it – I hope,” she adds.

 

Explore public health Careers@IH

Have you thought about a career in public health at IH?

Explore career opportunities

 

A logo with the words 2023 written out in blue, in front of various graphics including a white maple leaf, grey and green mountains and a yellow sun. The words BC's Top Employers is underneath.A logo featuring a green letter y in the middle with parallel blue lines surrounding it. Circling the graphic are the words Canada's Top Employers For Young People 2023.

Stories@IH

Read our latest stories

View All Stories

5 Minute Read
Health & Wellness
Let’s talk about Advance Care Planning: Your Voice, Your Choice

Our 9-part video series teaches about the purpose and importance of advance care planning (ACP) and why it gives peace of mind to you and your loved ones.

/stories/lets-talk-about-advance-care-planning-your-voice-your-choice

2 Minute Read
Community & Culture
Funding helps Williams Lake Métis community support food security

A funding initiative is helping the Cariboo Chilcotin Métis Association (CCMA) grow food security in ways that reflect knowledge, culture and community needs.

/stories/funding-helps-williams-lake-metis-community-support-food-security

4 Minute Read
Community & Culture
We are IH: Psychiatric nurse finds meaning in crisis team role

Meghan Johnston became a registered psychiatric nurse after watching people struggle to navigate the health-care system and witnessing the barriers they faced.

/stories/we-are-ih-psychiatric-nurse-finds-meaning-crisis-team-role

4 Minute Read
Health & Wellness
How a primary care team changed one woman’s chronic pain journey

Jasmine Mingaud found relief and stability after connecting with the Central Okanagan PCN where a team helped her manage chronic pain and life challenges.

/stories/how-primary-care-team-changed-one-womans-chronic-pain-journey

4 Minute Read
Community & Culture
Saving time, improving patient care with intelligent automation

Behind every appointment, lab test and medical imaging test are a complex set of processes. A small but mighty team is transforming how that work gets done.

/stories/saving-time-improving-patient-care-intelligent-automation

3 Minute Read
Community & Culture
Celebrating and honouring Indigenous languages

March 31 marks National Indigenous Languages Day, a day to celebrate and honour Indigenous languages in Canada and the voices of the land..

/stories/celebrating-and-honouring-indigenous-languages

STAY CONNECTED

Receive news, alerts, public service announcements and articles right to your inbox.

Sign up today
mail