Vernon, B.C. housing project for medical residents aims to address doctor shortage – Okanagan | 24CA News
Like many elements of B.C., the North Okanagan offers with a scarcity of each household medical doctors and housing.
Now a brand new housing venture particularly for medical residents is aiming to assist sort out each points directly.
Next summer time, the primary doctors-in-training collaborating in UBC Faculty of Medicine’s new North Okanagan household drugs residency program will get to the area.
However, for the reason that space has an especially low rental emptiness price, there have been questions on the place these household medical doctors trainees would stay throughout their three-year residencies.
The Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation measures emptiness in Vernon every fall and for the final two years has decided the non-public residence emptiness price is simply 0.7 per cent.
So a neighborhood non-profit known as Community Futures North Okanagan and a improvement firm are offering an answer by constructing two new rental properties on Vernon’s 25 Street that may home as much as six medical residents at a time.
“We recognize to attract skilled workers we need workforce housing, so this seemed like the perfect fit,” mentioned Leigha Horsfield, govt director of Community Futures North Okanagan.
Community Futures believes that offering housing for among the trainees will make them extra prone to keep and follow as household physicians within the North Okanagan which might assist deal with the physician scarcity.
“We are trying to attract and retain other skilled workers. Having prompt access to medical care is a feature that will assist in attracting additional skilled workers to our community,” Horsfield mentioned.
Community Futures mentioned the venture wouldn’t have been potential and not using a native improvement firm, AIM Development, promoting the land to the non-profit and managing the development at a lower-than-normal worth.
“We were introduced to Community Futures through the City of Vernon…and we found that they are a really good fit with what we’ve been trying to do for a number of years now, which is bring attainable housing to the community of Vernon so by doing,” mentioned Ian Murphy, proprietor of AIM Development.
“What they are doing in encouraging doctors to come here, it’s only going to grow the community more.”
Construction is predicted to start quickly so the properties may be in place for when the primary trainees get to the North Okanagan in July 2024.
The household drugs residency program is predicted to simply accept 4 trainees annually for a three-year program.
The housing complicated will solely be capable of home half of the 12 medical residents anticipated as soon as the household drugs residency program is totally operational.
The venture is primarily funded by Community Futures North Okanagan.
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