Those with B.C.鈥檚 Interior Health Authority are expressing sadness following the death of Dr. Doug Cochrane.

For more than three decades Cochrane operated as a pediatric neurosurgeon, mentor and educator, said Interior Health president and CEO Susan Brown.

Cochrane was acting as the board chair of the Interior Health Board of Directors at the time of his death.

鈥淒oug鈥檚 contributions to British Columbia鈥檚 health-care system overall are unparalleled,鈥� said Brown.

Cochrane chaired the B.C. Patient Safety Task Force from its inception in 2003, assisted in the creation of Health Quality B.C., worked as the provincial patient safety and quality officer and was a past chair of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

Cochrane also was appointed Professor Emeritus by the UBC Department of Surgery in 2016 and served as faculty for Health Quality BC, Quality Academy and Clinician Quality Academy programs, as well as the Sauder Physician Leadership program at UBC.

Interior Health said that Cochrane will be remembered for his 鈥渒ind and gentle approach to leadership, his enduring passion for his work to improve patient care, quality and safety, and his personal and professional commitment to listening and learning from Indigenous peoples in the Interior to guide our reconciliation efforts.鈥�