We sat down with our new President & CEO, Ashley Davidson, to hear her thoughts on healthcare, the importance of supporting community healthcare and more.
Here’s what she had to share:
Why is healthcare important to you?
To me, there is nothing more important than health – the health of our loved ones, friends and neighbours, and our own health and that of our entire community. When I think about my own life, many of my most meaningful and life-changing experiences, both positive and challenging, have centred on healthcare: the joy of the birth of a child, the anxiety and fear of a new diagnosis or the overwhelming sense of gratitude for lifesaving care and the hope it brings.
Healthcare is at the foundation of a vibrant and thriving community. I want everyone to have access to the very best healthcare, close to home and close to those they love and care about.
What are your goals and your vision for the Foundation?
JBHF exists to help our hospital thrive for the benefit of the health and wellbeing of our community. The last decade has seen tremendous growth for our Foundation, and I am excited to find new and innovative ways to engage our whole community, build upon our successes to date and lead the team to live our mission to inspire generosity and ensure the hospital has the support to be its very best.
What are the challenges your community is facing? How can we help to face these challenges?
Our community is in the midst of a mental health epidemic. Each year, the demand for mental health and addictions care at our hospital grows exponentially.
In January, we announced a remarkable $5M gift from Michael and Laura Paletta in support of the For All Minds Campaign to transform mental health and addictions (MHA) care at our hospital. This gift is an incredible catalyst towards our goal of raising the critical funds needed for the redevelopment of our mental health and addictions facilities, a project which is long overdue.
Our MHA teams provide unparalleled excellence in care, however, the facilities in which they provide that care are antiquated and not in keeping with modern standards. Our goal is to build therapeutic facilities designed to ensure dignity and respectful, person-centred care which support recovery and improve outcomes for every patient group we serve.
By coming together, we can enable a brighter future of mental health and addictions care for our community.
What is the best advice someone has given you?
Growing up, my mum often reminded me of the Golden Rule. You really can’t go wrong when you start from a place of treating others with respect, kindness and fairness.
What gets you up in the morning? What motivates you?
Every day I am inspired by the incredible generosity of our donors and their steadfast dedication to helping ensure our community has the very best healthcare, close to home.
I have seen firsthand all that can be made possible when vision and investment intersect, and to me, that is incredibly motivating.
I feel so fortunate to work alongside truly exceptional people – from our Foundation team, to our volunteers and donors, to the outstanding leaders, physicians, nurses and all the frontline team members who work tirelessly everyday to care for our community. The entire JBH team is incredibly dedicated to their pursuit to provide the very best care, but they can’t do it alone. Community support is essential to ensuring our teams can deliver exemplary care in state-of-the-art facilities, with innovative tools and technology. Together, we can be our best, and that is very motivating to me.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Outside of work, I like to spend time with family and friends, walk my dog, Burnsy (a Whippet and the world’s fastest couch potato), play soccer with the BWRSL, and just recently I have taken up yoga again.
