Trudy Robertson may not have seen it all – but she’s seen a lot. Throughout a career spanning 40+ years, she’s worked as a licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse, a clinical nurse educator, and now, as the clinical nurse specialist for the Fraser Health Neuroscience Network.
In the final episode of season one of The Heart of It, she shares stories from when she was first deployed to the neurosurgical units at Royal Columbian Hospital 20 years ago, and how personal experiences, like her mother's brain aneurysm and her mother-in-law's Parkinson's disease, deepened her commitment to her practice.
She also discusses how artificial intelligence has transformed stroke care for patients and her continued focus on equity, diversity, inclusion and staff wellness throughout the health care system.
Guest bio
Trudy Robertson is a clinical nurse specialist and has worked as a health care provider for over forty years. She initially pursued nursing as a licensed practical nurse in 1980 and spent 20 years in various roles, primarily at Royal Columbian Hospital, before joining the neurosurgical units. Over the course of her career, she has been instrumental in the development of educational programs and protocols for nurses in neurosciences and her work has improved patient care and outcomes, particularly in stroke and neurosurgery.
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
Tina Hartnell and Elaine Chu know that food is an important part of disease prevention and injury and illness recovery. They also know that honouring diversity in food preferences is an integral piece of restorative, person-centred care.
In this episode, they share their journeys in the field of dietetics – including how their post-secondary education and first jobs introduced them to the link between food consumption and planetary health, and the many ways in which food can positively impact individuals.
They also discuss the ways in which ‘choice dining’ is helping transform the hospital food experience -through many of the five million prepared meals each year - the positive impact of reframing food as ‘plant powered’ and their goal of a more sustainable and inclusive health care food service community.
Guest bios
Tina Hartnell is the executive director of Food and Clinical Dietitian Services at Fraser Health. Working with a team of dietitians, nutritionists and other health care professionals, she is responsible for overseeing the food and nutrition services provided by the health authority to help ensure that patients and residents receive the best possible care. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the field of dietetics.
Elaine Chu is a registered dietitian, the regional manager of food operations at Fraser Health, and chairperson of the Lower Mainland Sustainable Hospital Food Operations Committee. She has been involved in a number of innovative food programs to rethink how patients interact with food in hospitals.
Learn more
Fraser Health Planetary Health strategy: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/planetaryhealth
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
Dr. Emily Newhouse and Darryl Quantz have always been interested in the intersection of science and social forces. It’s what drives their planetary health work and commitment to local and global community well-being.
In this episode, they discuss how access to education, food, the natural environment and health care is less available to communities most impacted by the climate crisis and how ‘once in a generation’ language can no longer by used when describing extreme weather-related events.
The solution? Listen to the kids!
Both Darryl and Emily believe the flexibility, adaptability, courage and commitment shown by young climate activists can spur others to believe in and support a climate resilient planet.
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
Both Carolyne Neufeld and Peggy Napope know that health care is their calling. In their respective roles – and as nurses by training – they help strengthen and promote Indigenous health and culturally appropriate care, across diverse settings and communities. A large component of this work? Reframing narratives around what it means to be Indigenous, through stories of resilience, pride and joy.
In this episode they share how their journeys in health care have been shaped by motherhood, anti-Indigenous racism, and their work in diverse and sometimes remote communities – and discuss practical steps anyone can take to advance Truth and Reconciliation in their personal and professional lives.
Guest bios
Carolyne Neufeld is vice president, Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety at Fraser Health. She leads a team that supports staff and medical staff to advance reconciliation and uphold relevant legislation; to improve health services for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people; to create a path forward that respects the human rights of Indigenous Peoples; and to integrate Indigenous knowledge into the values, policies and practices into our health care system.
Peggy Napope is an Indigenous health liaison and licensed practical nurse. Her role is to help provide a culturally safe experience for Indigenous clients as an advocate, navigator and connector to resources and cultural supports. She is of Cree, Dakota and Métis descents and originally from Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 territory.
Learn more
Indigenous Health Liaisons Program: https://ow.ly/45JT50Qwycq
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action: https://ow.ly/IFfq50QwyeC
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
Travelling by rail through floodwaters to a town inaccessible by vehicle and delivering medications by helicopter to communities isolated by rockslides – for Dr. Aseem Grover, providing rural health care requires near-constant problem solving.
In this episode of The Heart of It, Dr. Grover shares why unrelenting positivity is at the heart of his work, how he balances risk when finding solutions to complex challenges and why he loves practicing rural health care.
Guest bio
Dr. Aseem Grover is a rural family physician in Hope, B.C.
His responsibilities are diverse, encompassing patient care at a family medicine clinic, serving as site medical director for the 10-bed Fraser Canyon Hospital, and providing primary care and medication delivery to remote areas.
His medical interests are chronic complex care, rural emergency medicine and addictions medicine.
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
As health care organizations across the world grapple with challenges, how can we emerge better, stronger and kinder than before?
Marika Sandrelli has worked in community education and development projects for more than four decades. In this episode of The Heart of It, she shares why being a mission-driven person is more powerful than any policy or legislation. She also discusses what pulled her into the health system, why compassionate trauma and resiliency-informed practice (TRIP) is needed in health care now more than ever, and the impacts of “brave” spaces in achieving lasting, systemic change.
Guest bio
Marika Sandrelli is a strategic leader with Mental Health and Substance Use Services at Fraser Health.
As a community organizer and activist she saw the health care system as confusing and advocated from the outside. One day someone said, “You have to learn the rules before you break them.” So, she joined the system and in 2015 won Fraser Health’s Health Care Hero Award for changing how learning and practice are approached in mental health and substance use.
Marika co-developed a Trauma and Resiliency Informed Practice course for researchers and evaluators, which she continues to facilitate along with her colleagues. Her caring approach has resulted in more skilled, confident, supported and supportive health care providers who are both better equipped to serve vulnerable patient populations with confidence and compassion, and take pride in the work that they do.
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
What matters to seniors? And how can deep listening ensure that we are not only meeting their needs, but driving compassionate and connected systems of care? In this episode of The Heart of It, Dr. Victoria Lee is joined by Dr. Akber Mithani for a journey into seniors’ care. He shares how he felt pulled to a calling in medicine at an early age, and how his family and community’s reverence for older relatives and friends drove him to this specialized field.
Over the course of their conversation, Dr. Mithani shares stories from his own practice, including a 100th birthday that he will never forget, and what he envisions for the future of senior’s care in his own communities and across the globe.
Guest bio
Dr. Akber Mithani is the regional medical director for long-term care and assisted living at Fraser Health. He is also a clinical associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia. He has a lifelong passion for the care of the elderly, a well-respected expertise in long-term care and a robust experience with medical leadership.
He received his medical doctor training at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He has worked in various clinical service areas including geriatric psychiatry and medicine, long-term care and acute specialized geriatric programs. He is an active researcher and educator in the field of geriatrics and has participated in over 30 peer-reviewed funded research projects, abstracts, book and journal publications. He currently supervises and teaches family practice residents in their mandatory clinical geriatric rotation and has lectured extensively across the world in areas of Islamic ethics and spirituality, especially in relation to end-of-life decision making and a palliative approach to care.
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
We're thrilled to launch The Heart of It – a new podcast that informs, educates and inspires anyone interested in learning about health care. In each episode, host Dr. Victoria Lee invites guests to take us to a part of – and the heart of – health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
In season one, Dr. Lee gets to know her guests through their personal stories. We’ll learn what drives their work, why they love what they do and how they knew that health care was their calling.
We can’t wait to share these stories – these conversations and revelations – with you. Don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite podcast player app so you don’t miss a beat.
About The Heart of It
Every episode, Dr. Victoria Lee, president and CEO of Fraser Health, invites guests take listeners to the heart of health care, where passion, dedication and innovation drive individual, community and planetary health.
Listen and watch more episodes of The Heart of It here. And be sure to subscribe to The Heart of It in your favourite podcast player app so that you don’t miss a beat.
The Heart of It is recorded on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen First Nations, and the home of the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.
Time is brain
23:20
Five million trays of opportunity
22:12
The kids say 'just do it': collective action for planetary health
26:22
The medicine people are chosen
32:09
Unrelenting positivity fueling new solutions
20:34
Compassion as a superpower
27:55
We want fish and chips: care before cure
30:19
Welcome to The Heart of It
1:05