Dr. Phillip Fourie has been announced as the new Senior Medical Officer (SMO), for the Sunrise Health Region effective Oct. 15.
"As Senior Medical Officer for Sunrise Health Region I will be part of the executive leadership team and be able to provide a physician perspective to help determine the strategic direction of our health region," said Fourie. "I am passionate about improving primary health care, because the health care system can be so much better."
Fourie said he sees his role as one of leadership.
"The key role of the Senior Medical Officer is to provide physician leadership in the health region," he said. "The portfolio includes overseeing quality assurance of care delivery, physician recruitment and retention, physician education, privileging of physicians to practice in the health region and occasionally disciplinary matters."
Dr. Fourie has practiced family medicine in Yorkton for over ten years, coming to Yorkton in 1999 from South Africa where he completed his medical degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 1995. Dr. Fourie also holds a Diploma in Anesthesia from the College of Medicine of South Africa. Past-president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association, Sunrise Health Region Medical Association, former Chief of Family Medicine for the Sunrise Health Region, and SMA board of directors member since 2005, Dr. Fourie has served on several regional and provincial committees since 2000: Primary Care, e-Health, Pharmacy Information Program, Recruitment, Ethics, and Finance. Dr. Fourie commenced the duties of Senior Medical Officer for Sunrise Health Region on October 15, 2012 and will continue working as a family physician in Yorkton.
"I am happy to have Dr. Fourie join our executive leadership team," said Sunrise Health Region President and CEO Suann Laurent in a prepared release. "We are fortunate to have someone with Dr. Fourie's experience to provide the leadership for continued transformation of our health region and to enhance team engagement."
Leaving the position is Dr. Michael Bishop who served as SMO since formation of the region and whose career in medicine has spanned 47 years.
"Dr. Bishop's steadfast leadership has fostered a positive environment upon which to grow our organization into the future," said Laurent. "Our region has benefited from his wisdom and experience and I am grateful to have witnessed Dr. Bishop's tireless dedication to his patients and his profession."
Dr. Michael Bishop served the region as a family physician in the Kamsack area since 1965. In 2003, Dr. Bishop became the first Senior Medical Officer for the newly formed region.
Fourie said he does not anticipate the position changing now that it is his.
"I don't foresee for the position to change as it is quite an open ended portfolio," he said. "I would like to focus on improving the system to be able to provide patients with consistent high quality care. I intend to do that by improving primary health care, which is the cornerstone of health care delivery. I believe that by having a sound foundation of an accessible, high quality primary health care system, we can make huge strides in improving the patient experience."
