Photo: Contributed

Interior Health will have a new face at the helm in the new year.

John O’Fee of Kamloops will take over as board chairman, replacing Erwin Malzer as he completes his tenure on Dec. 31. 

“In his 10 years as a director and two years as board chair, Mr. Malzer has served Interior Health with distinction, with a strong focus on building patient care and improving health outcomes for the residents of the Interior region,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. 

Malzer has overseen the opening of new community health centres in Grand Forks and Kelowna, the Royal Inland Hospital Clinical Services Building in Kamloops, and the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre in Kelowna. In that time, digital mammography services at Cariboo Memorial Hospital were also introduced, the Intensive Care Unit at East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook was expanded, and the Polson Tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital was completed. 

Malzer also championed investments in technology, including the launch of MyHealthPortal, which gives patients 24-hour electronic access to their health information, the expansion of electronic health records to Royal Inland Hospital’s emergency department, and broadened the reach of telehealth services. Most recently, Williams Lake and Cranbrook were connected with BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver for child audiology telehealth services.

In his new role, Mr. O’Fee will guide IH as the organization realigns its resources with a goal of shifting the focus of health care from hospitals to enhanced primary and community care. The intent is to support people to live healthy at home and in their communities for as long as they can.

O’Fee has served as a school trustee and board chair, city councillor, regional district director, and chair of the Thompson Nicola Hospital District. Other service includes a term as a director of the BC Municipal Finance Authority, president of the Kamloops Airport Authority Society, and president of the Thompson Rivers University Foundation.

He currently serves on the Health Professions Review Board, and left his role as a director of the finance and audit committee of the Provincial Health Services Authority this summer to join the board of Interior Health.