Quick facts about Northern Health

Northern Health is responsible for the delivery of health care across Northern British Columbia, including acute care, mental health, public health, addictions, and home and community care services.

Geography
Northern Health covers almost two-thirds of British Columbia’s landscape, bordered by the Northwest and Yukon Territories to the north, the BC interior to the south, Alberta to the east, and Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the west. For a more detailed view of our region, please click here to launch a PDF version of our map (Adobe Acrobat reader is required).

Northern Health is divided into three operational areas called Health Service Delivery Areas (HSDAs): the Northeast, the Northern Interior, and the Northwest. This structure helps to provide a greater degree of local operation and decision-making for health facilities across Northern British Columbia.

Population
About 300,000 people live in Northern BC. The North has the highest projected growth rate of seniors in BC. About 17.5% of the population is Aboriginal, the highest proportion in the province.

Governance
Northern Health is governed by a ten-member board, made up of individuals from throughout the North. The Chairman of the Board is Dr. Charles Jago.

Administration
The CEO of Northern Health is Cathy Ulrich. Within each of the three health service delivery areas, a Chief Operating Officer has been named. They include Michael McMillan in the Northern Interior, and Betty McCracken Morris in the Northeast. The COO position in the Northwest is currently vacant.

Operating Budget
Northern Health's annual operating budget for the 2007/2008 fiscal year is $560 Million.

Medical Staff and Employees
Over 7,000 people work for Northern Health. They hold about 4,000 full-time equivalent positions.

Facilities
Within Northern Health, there are over two dozen acute care facilities, 14 long term care facilities, public health units, and offices providing specialized services.

Service Delivery