Joan Ford

Joan Ford (November 4, 1925 – October 31, 2021) was a British-born Canadian doctor who was the first woman physician at the Royal Columbian Hospital in British Columbia. She spent part of her career in Nepal serving the local Sherpa population.

Early life Ford was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme in England on November 4, 1925, to Margaret Jessie (née Coghill) and Ronald Mylne Ford. Her mother was a magistrate; her father was a lawyer who served as mayor of Newcastle. She was the third among four siblings; She graduated from medical school at Sheffield University in 1948. Ford used the opportunity to take a break at age 55 from her doctoral duties in British Columbia, moving to a village in Nepal, treating Sherpas in the mountainous region. She started out serving a locum for six weeks to provide coverage for resident doctors, but returned to do more than five locums over the next ten years. When weather conditions grounded flights, she had to trek over multiple mountain passes to reach the hospital. She also received the David M. Bachop Gold Medal for distinguished medical service from the BC Medical Association in 1991.

Personal life Ford was a mountaineer herself, hiking along British Columbia's coastal range. She was a member of BC's Mountain Rescue Group, which later became the North Shore Rescue group looking to rescue stranded hikers in British Columbia.