Photo: Contributed

The Town of Osoyoos has received a financial boost from the province which will help fund the future of health care in the community. 

Osoyoos received a $100,000 grant from the provincial government, as part of $10.1 million that has been awarded for rural projects across B.C.

Mayor Sue McKortoff said the funds will go to conducting a thorough study of medical facilities, and evaluating what the town needs in that field.

The town had applied for the grant in May.

"We've had a great deal of interest and concern about the lack of medical facilities, the lack of doctors. So we decided to apply and get somebody to come and do a study," she said.

The emergency room at the South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, the closest hospital to Osoyoos, has been closed on several occasions this year due to a lack of physicians available.

McKortoff said the study won't happen overnight, as the town's Chief Administrative Officer, Barry Romanko, will be putting together a request for proposal and speaking to medical practitioners in town beforehand on what they would like to see get done.

She said one option could be building a medical centre and renting the space to doctors and other medical professionals.

"We've had so much concern about it in the town, that we decided it was our job to have a look at this and see what a professional would come up with... for our present medical facilities and how we move ahead."

McKortoff said a qualified professional who will conduct the study hasn't been sought out yet, but the next step is finding one.

"We're quite pleased that we got this money, now we need to start looking at what's the best way to use it."