Yarra brings many years of clinical and leadership experience and a passion for optimizing patient care to her new role as Geography 1 Midwifery Lead | Division Head. Yarra has been a midwife since 2009, with clinical experience ranging from working at BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver to being one of two midwives in the remote fly-in community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Having grown up in the Comox Valley, she returned in 2018 to raise her family, practice midwifery, and hold privileges as a Registered Midwife at Comox Valley Hospital. Yarra respectfully acknowledges the traditional unceded territory of the K'omoks people upon whose land she currently lives and works.
Yarra has been involved in provincial midwifery leadership through board member and committee positions at both the BCCCNM (previously College of Midwives of BC) and the Midwives Association of BC; she is a current board member at the Midwives Association of BC and co-chair of the BCCNM Registration Committee. In addition, Yarra is passionate about quality assurance and improvement is currently a member of the newly formed Comox Valley Hospital Perinatal Quality Committee and is excited to contribute to the quality and improvement initiatives across the health authority as a member of the Perinatal Quality Council.
Together her clinical, professional and leadership roles have allowed her to see beyond her individual role as a primary care provider and prepared her to join the VIHA leadership team. When she's not engaged in midwifery work, you will find Yarra at the local Farmer's Market searching out ingredients for a foodie endeavour or wandering a local beach with her family.