In this 30th edition of Women in Business, women were interviewed who are employed in front-line positions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These women share their stories of overcoming negativity, working with the community and turning unpredictable situations into something positive乌鸦传媒� in the hope that their perseverance and success will become the guiding light for the next generation of women in business.
Women in Business shows who the movers and the shakers are in Kelowna and that there is always a space to share stories of successful women.
As soon as you walk through the doors of Outreach Urban Health (OUH) in downtown Kelowna, you know you乌鸦传媒檙e amongst people who care.
The clinic houses nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social workers, mental health and substance use clinicians, and family doctors. All of them support those who are homeless or dealing with mental illness, substance use, as well as people without access to traditional healthcare services.
Dana Jones is a member of this unique team. She graduated from the University of British Columbia乌鸦传媒檚 Masters of Nurse Practitioners program in 2008, arriving at OUH in 2013. She has also worked on Vancouver乌鸦传媒檚 downtown eastside, in hospital emergency rooms in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
乌鸦传媒淚t probably stems from my childhood,乌鸦传媒� said Jones. 乌鸦传媒淚 actually wanted to be a marine biologist. Then I realized you don乌鸦传媒檛 actually get to swim with the dolphins, you乌鸦传媒檙e pretty much stuck in a lab all the time and I乌鸦传媒檓 a much more sociable person than that. I liked biology. I liked people so nursing seemed like a good fit.乌鸦传媒�
Personal tragedy and a need to help others were also factors in her decision to focus on nursing.
乌鸦传媒淢y favourite uncle died of HIV when I was 11 years old,乌鸦传媒� added Jones. 乌鸦传媒淲hen I was in nursing school, we had two extended friends and family members die of HIV, secondary to drug use. When I was working in nursing school at St. Paul乌鸦传媒檚 (hospital), which had a lot of marginalized IV drug-using population, and the poor quality of care that I saw these people receiving within the healthcare system really drove me, and I focused my whole undergrad basically on the marginalized population. I乌鸦传媒檝e always sort been driven for that social justice, social equity, health equity lens of providing care.乌鸦传媒�
Another member of the team, Catherine Birtwhistle, received her Masters of Nursing from the University of British Columbia in 2012, and then her Nurse Practitioners Masters while living in Toronto, graduating in 2016. She also felt a draw and a need to help others.
乌鸦传媒淚 grew up in Yukon and worked with many First Nations people,乌鸦传媒� said Birtwhistle. 乌鸦传媒淲hen I did my masters, I did research that focused on improving health outcomes for Aboriginal women, and so all of my positions I乌鸦传媒檝e primarily worked with marginalized populations where health care was difficult to access and it was just shocking that a lot of people weren乌鸦传媒檛 getting any primary care, in particular in rural settings.乌鸦传媒�
Birtwhistle also spent time working in northern B.C., as well as Haida Gwaii. She joined OUH after her husband had a job transfer to Kelowna in August 2021.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e connecting with people who struggle to get equitable care,乌鸦传媒� explained Birtwhistle. 乌鸦传媒淚 feel like our clinic, our team, our whole mindset here is to try and reach people who are struggling and work within their parameters. That means we乌鸦传媒檙e going into shelters, going out on the street, and helping people who typically have a hard time going into a clinic or a hospital.乌鸦传媒�
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged OUH in providing care, services, and resources to their clients, Birtwhistle and Jones credit the entire team for going above and beyond.
乌鸦传媒淥ur clinic was sort of a meeting place for the community and the waiting room was quite busy at times,乌鸦传媒� said Jones. 乌鸦传媒淚t drew people in, having the comfort of a safe place to be, and we could capitalize and grab those people and say 乌鸦传媒榟ey, you乌鸦传媒檙e overdue for this, or hey, you need to come in for this.乌鸦传媒� What was really amazing is the medical office assistants upfront, they knew everybody. They know where they live, where they乌鸦传媒檙e staying, who their friends are, who to pass messages on to because they don乌鸦传媒檛 have phones or emails. So it乌鸦传媒檚 really cool to see how that whole team has to come together to make this clinic work.乌鸦传媒�
Talking with Birtwhistle and Jones you understand that they feel the struggles of their clients. They乌鸦传媒檝e seen how they are marginalized. They乌鸦传媒檝e seen some die. It can be difficult to process. Again, they credit the team they work with to get through difficult circumstances.
乌鸦传媒淥ur staff here, we all care so much and genuinely you just have to push through,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淪eeing people do well with the work that we乌鸦传媒檙e doing with them is what helps us keep going. Seeing someone finally get treatment for their addiction, HIV or Hep C, that乌鸦传媒檚 where we乌鸦传媒檙e making a difference. You have to focus on that because you do get bogged down. COVID has been extremely hard. A lot of our patients choose not to be vaccinated. We understand the trauma people are going through, and it乌鸦传媒檚 okay. We乌鸦传媒檙e still going to care for you.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e in it together, we support one another,乌鸦传媒� added Jones.
Jones took the whole month of October off, saying she was burnt out and sick as was her husband.
乌鸦传媒淚 was overloaded. I come into work and I乌鸦传媒檓 busy on a Friday and I乌鸦传媒檓 stressed and it乌鸦传媒檚 like okay, what can we do? We乌鸦传媒檒l support that. Everybody pitches in and that乌鸦传媒檚 what makes it manageable. It乌鸦传媒檚 relationship building. That乌鸦传媒檚 what gets people in. That乌鸦传媒檚 what gets people connected. That乌鸦传媒檚 what gets people staying engaged with care and making changes in their lives,乌鸦传媒� she said.
It乌鸦传媒檚 the connections they make with clients that are the most rewarding part of what they do.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 always been the relationships,乌鸦传媒� said Jones. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 why I stopped working emergency. I乌鸦传媒檇 follow my patients up when they were 乌鸦传媒榯ransferred to ICU to make sure the transfer was right and the patient was safe. But it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 my job. I needed to pull back. So to do primary care and have that longevity and the longitudinal care, that really suits me.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淲e do it because we care,乌鸦传媒� added Birtwhistle. 乌鸦传媒淭his is the kind of work that you have to care about people. It乌鸦传媒檚 not just a job. I would say our leaders are totally aligned with us. They listen when we say 乌鸦传媒榯his is the issue, we need more support for this.乌鸦传媒� I think so many of the people in our population that we serve, feel so judged. There乌鸦传媒檚 so much stigma, and when they come here that乌鸦传媒檚 out the window. They truly feel accepted.乌鸦传媒�
