KERPA welcomes new doctor, new vehicle to team
By Contributor
Dr. Serena Deketele, CCFP(EM), has joined the KERPA team, bringing with her a strong background in emergency medicine, trauma care, and learner, interprofessional, and physician education.
After completing her training, Serena began practicing Emergency Medicine in 2019, gaining frontline experience in busy emergency departments where she managed a broad spectrum of acute and critical presentations, including resuscitations. She thrives in collaborative interprofessional environments and enjoys mentoring learners and early-career physicians.
Her clinical training and practice span rural and regional centres across Canada, with focused experience in emergency medicine and a special interest in trauma and orthopaedics.
In addition to her clinical work, Serena is an accomplished educator in crisis resource management, trauma, and clinical skills. She currently serves as an instructor for Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) and is involved in simulation-based training through the SCORE (Simulating Crises for Optimal Response in Emergencies) program, as well as critical care simulation initiatives at Kootenay Lake Hospital. Her work emphasizes team-based performance, high-acuity decision-making, and improving outcomes in emergency settings.
Outside of the ER, Serena enjoys biking, paddling, and hiking. Her combination of hands-on emergency medicine expertise, educational leadership, and collaborative approach makes her a valuable addition to KERPA, supporting high-quality emergency response and advancing clinical excellence throughout the Kootenays.
And along with the new KERPA Doc comes a new KERPA vehicle:
A new ERV3 has been purchased and is currently being outfitted and customized to replace their aged ERV1.
ERV1 is their oldest vehicle – the 2009 Tahoe has served the Kootenay region for 16 years. It’s reached it’s end-of-life with mounting reliability issues and approximately $6,200 in annual maintenance costs.
Thanks to the incredible investment and unwavering community support, they are thrilled with the purchase of a new 2025 6.2l Tahoe RST. This represents a massive leap forward for their Regional Physician response capabilities. This vehicle ensures enhanced safety, reliability, and rapid response times when seconds truly matter.
To every community member, donor, and supporter who made this possible: Thank you.
Right now, ERV3 is just a civilian vehicle, but over the coming weeks it will be transformed into a state-of-the-art physician emergency response vehicle.
As the first physician led service in Canada to achieve CAMTS Special Operations accreditation, KERPA is deeply honoured to help serve this region and support the emergency services. They couldn’t do this without you!
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