Meet Dr. Andre Truter

With an appreciation for small community hospitals, Dr. Truter has brought his wide-ranging experience, expertise and vision to SPH. Since his arrival in August 2010, Dr. Truter has been getting to know everyone, both staff and patients. He says, “The staff here are very tight-knit and because it’s a small hospital, everyone works closely together”.

“Everyone is on a first-name basis and all staff work to put patients first”

Before coming here, Dr. Truter spent five years in Newfoundland where he worked in another community hospital. “The kind of care a small hospital can provide is harder to find in large hospitals. The size of the hospital was really important to me when I was looking for a new opportunity”, says Dr. Truter. At SPH, he finds the camaraderie of family doctors and the personal contact of the team to be exceptional. “Everyone is on a first-name basis and all staff work to put patients first”.

Dr. Truter is a generous professional who shares his expertise and experience with less fortunate communities in other parts of the world. He does this by working as a doctor on missions in Africa. A South African himself, he loves the opportunity to travel a little closer to home and provide all types of medical procedures and services to those living out of reach of basic medical care. Last July, he travelled to Zambia for six weeks. 

He and his family are happily settling into west coast life. His two daughters play hockey and Dr. Truter is filling up what little spare time he has with training for half Ironman races. He is also keen to hike local trails, kayak and squeeze in some rounds of golf. He plans to stay close to home for now, focusing on the hospital and spending time exploring Vancouver Island and B.C.

-from an article by Jenn Ellsworth