Dr. Marie Michaud

Dr. Michaud gained an appreciation for simple living and a respect for the environment growing up on the family farm. She learned to work hard caring for cows and chickens. In her mid-thirties, she chose to attend medical school and completed her internal medicine and nephrology fellowship in Calgary.  Dr. Michaud’s love is clinical nephrology as she especially values the long-term relationships she has with patients.  As she says,  "It's like being a primary care physician for people with a complex, chronic disease. I love my job."  She desires to work closely with her patients to develop goals of care that reflect their own values and wishes in the context of their health challenges.As renal medical director for Interior Health, and working with the Provincial Renal Association, she works to continue to improve the consistency of care for renal patients across BC.  Dr. Michaud and her husband live on a quarter-acre property in Kelowna where she loves to garden in her inviting oasis, filled with native plants attracting local wildlife and insects.  

Dr. van der Merwe completed medical school in South Africa after which she pursued subspecialty training in medical biochemistry.  After moving to the UK, she did additional post graduate training in medical biochemistry and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology.  Dr. van der Merwe then moved to Canada to complete a one year research Fellowship also in medical biochemistry at the University of Toronto.  She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Saskatchewan and Fellowship in Nephrology at the University of British Columbia.  Dr. van der Merwe practiced general nephrology in Saskatoon prior to moving to Kelowna. She is currently working as a general nephrologist in Kelowna, with an interest in Polycystic Kidney Disease.  Dr. van der Merwe also enjoys spending time with her family hiking and kayaking. 

Dr. Hochman attended medical school at the University of Manitoba, then went on to complete a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Calgary. In 2011 he joined the division of nephrology at Penticton Regional Hospital where he provided general nephrology care in addition to internal medicine and critical care. He moved to Kelowna and joined the division of nephrology at Kelowna General Hospital in 2021.Dr. Hochman enjoys looking after a wide variety of nephrology patients including those with electrolyte abnormalities, recurrent kidney stones, chronic kidney disease, dialysis and transplantation. During his fellowship he spent extra time training in home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. He continues to have an interest in home-based dialysis treatment.Outside of medicine Dr. Hochman has a young family and enjoys a variety of activities within the Okanagan including skiing, snowboarding, golfing, mountain biking and wake surfing. He can often be found at the beach playing in the sand with his two young boys.