Sun Peaks Health Centre (Image credit: CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

Sun Peaks Health Care

Search underway for new physicians to staff Sun Peaks Health Centre

Aug 31, 2025 | 10:00 AM

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — The search for new family physicians to staff the Sun Peaks Community Health Centre has begun.

The Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) has launched its request for proposals (RFP) as it looks for qualified family physicians to independently lease and operate the clinic it owns at 3115 Creekside Way.

“This is a rare opportunity to combine small-town continuity of care with the dynamic variety of a thriving four-season resort community,” the RFP document states.

At minimum, SPMRM is looking for a Family Practice physician (and/or Nurse Practitioner initially) to provide primary and urgent care services five days a week. The successful proponent will also be asked to offer walk-in and urgent care service during daytime hours seven days a week “to maximize accessibility for both residents and visitors.”

There is an expectation that service offerings will be expanded to include additional health care practitioners – like mental health, physiotherapy, and allied health services – as the community and practice grows “while adapting to emerging needs.”

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As well, the operator will be asked to prioritize care for permanent Sun Peaks residents to ensure there is continuity of care for the local population.

“Physicians may choose to collaborate with Sun Peaks Resort Ski Patrol to manage acute trauma cases on-mountain,” the RFP document added. “While ACLS/ATLS certification is not required at the outset, it is expected within the first year.”

“Emergency department experience is an asset but not mandatory. Obstetrics and anesthesia experience are not required.”

The successful proponents chosen to staff the clinic – which is part of the Lower Thompson Primary Care Network – will have collegial access to specialists at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops as well as the option to blend in-person and tele-health care.

Interested proponents have until Sept. 30 to submit their proposals to the Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality.

The current clinic operator – the Supporting Team Excellence with Patients Society (STEPS) – will wind down operations on Oct. 10, and they’re set to vacate the space by Oct. 22.

“The clinic had gone from operating five days a week as a family practice as well as urgent care to operating three days a week, no more urgent care and there just didn’t seem to be anything on the horizon that suggested that scenario would improve,” Sun Peaks Mayor Rob O’Toole told CFJC Today in July.

“Our goal is to limit the negative impacts to ensure that there are no gaps or very little gaps in healthcare provision over that period in the fall.”

STEPS began operating in Sun Peaks in 2023, and it told CFJC that it worked with the municipality to ensure the upcoming transition goes as smoothly as possible.

“We’re thankful for the work that STEPS did and when they stepped in and filled the gap for us that we were struggling, but we think going forward there is a better direction,” O’Toole added, noting he’s optimistic the new operator will be up and running by October.