A place to call home at Vernon Jubilee Hospital

VERNON – Medical students now have a place to call home after the new medical space promised for Vernon Jubilee officially opened this week.

University of British Columbia Southern Medical Program students will have access to centralized education areas, two video conferencing rooms designed for learning and training, as well as a clinical skills room. There is an on-call sleep area, a lounge and lockers for students completing their clinical training at VJH, and for those training in community clinics, according to a media release from Interior Health.

A ceremony marking the occasion March 13 was attended by Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster, UBC's regional associate Dean for the Interior Dr. Allan Jones and Vernon Jubilee Hospital physician Dr. George Borchert. Also in attendance were medical school students, physicians and administrators from the Southern Medical Program and Interior Health.

“The new facilities will better support our program’s ability to deliver medical education and training both at Vernon Jubilee Hospital and within the Vernon community,” Jones says in the release. “We are most appreciative of our partnerships with government and Interior Health in developing these exceptional learning spaces for our students, faculty and staff.”

The new space is located on the fifth floor of Polson Tower. Students will take it over immediately with medical education programs ongoing. It cost roughly $983,000 to complete the project which was funded by the Ministry of Health.