Patient & Family Advisory Committee

Southern, AB (rural residence between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge)

Alta recently retired from her position with Alberta Health Services (AHS) as Site Manager of Bow Island Health Centre. Previously, she worked in various roles at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and as a healthcare educator. She has been involved with the Bow Island & District Health Foundation since 1996 in a variety of roles including Trustee, AHS Liaison, and volunteer. Additionally, Alta is a member of Bow Island & District Physician and Health Care Professional Recruitment Committee; is a member of Gas City Dog Club, where she enjoys working with and training animals; and, is a volunteer with the Annual Joy of Giving Campaign and Victims Assistance.

Alta joined the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) in November 2017. Not only has she worked as a nurse within Alberta’s healthcare system for 44 years in various roles and on numerous patient safety initiatives at the local, regional and provincial levels, but Alta has had personal experience as a healthcare ‘consumer’ for herself, with family members and with friends in areas such as diagnostic procedures, surgery, cancer care, trauma, and palliative care. She is looking forward to bringing both her professional and personal perspectives to continue to contribute to patient and family safety initiatives within healthcare.

Stettler, AB

Retired paramedic from rural East Central Alberta, B Adair (he/they) is an accomplished equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) speaker, educator, and facilitator. Through his company, Just B Diversity & Inclusion Consulting, B takes pride in providing safe and non-judgmental spaces for folks of all backgrounds to learn and ask questions comfortably.

B shares his life experiences, sense of humour, and passion for advocacy while facilitating conversations that increase knowledge and improve EDI practices with educators, business owners, healthcare organizations, students, and community groups across the country.

Calgary, AB

Jamie retired in 2014 as City of Cranbrook Director of Engineering Services, completing 40 years of municipal engineering in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. He, and his wife of 33 years, Katie then set to fulfill a lifetime dream as full-time RVers. Their adventure was cut short in 2015 when Katie was diagnosed with stage 3 vaginal cancer which claimed her life in 2016. Jamie subsequently re-located to live with a daughter and family in Calgary later in 2016. He quickly became involved in healthcare activities as a way to “give back” after experiencing the care given and compassion shown by doctors, nurses, and all the other clinicians who tried so hard to preserve Katie’s life and ease her suffering.

Jamie has volunteered at South Campus; and later, Rockyview General Hospital, serving on the Alberta Health Research Ethics Board’s Community Health Committee; as a Food Bank volunteer; and participating in the Primary Health Care Integration Network through Alberta Health Service’s Strategic Care Network. Most recently, Jamie was sponsored by the Strategic Care Network to complete in PaCER training, which educates patients on becoming research-informed voices to benefit health system research, planning, and policy.

Jamie remarried Cathie in 2019 and they live quietly with new puppy Molly. They attend St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Calgary where they are both active on various church committees.

In his spare time, Jamie enjoys gardening, fly fishing, reading and building models of old-time sailing ships. Pre-COVID-19, Jamie has also volunteered as a timekeeper for numerous jumping events at Spruce Meadows. He hopes to continue his volunteer role when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

PFAC provides Jamie with another opportunity to both “give back” to the healthcare system in general, as well as the privilege of working with wonderful, dedicated folks who are striving to improve the health outcomes of Albertans.

Calgary, AB

Jenny has lived in Calgary since she moved to Canada over twenty years ago. As the primary caregiver to her ageing parents, who have some complex healthcare issues, Jenny understands very well the challenges Albertans are facing navigating the healthcare system. Being a first-generation immigrant whose native language is not English, and through her experience of getting medical help and supporting family members and friends with their healthcare needs, Jenny has also gained insights into the language and cultural barriers many immigrants experience trying to access healthcare services. Jenny is inspired by HQCA’s mission of patient safety, person-centred care, and health service quality on a province-wide basis. She appreciates the opportunity to join the PFAC team and to inform and support HQCA’s work.

Professionally, Jenny has comprehensive experience in information technology, data management, and data engineering. She currently works as the Director of Data Engineering at the Canada Energy Regulator. She has a strong interest in seeing how patient health care information can move seamlessly between providers and the patients themselves, with the goal to put the focus on the patient/family and remove barriers to continuity of care.

Calgary, AB

I am a person who has lived experience with mental health and addictions. I found the obstacles these experiences created to be extremely difficult to overcome in my youth. I was always heavily involved with the social work system, mental healthcare system, addictions system, and foster care system. I now use these experiences as a source of strength and perspective in my role as a Youth Peer Support worker.

Authentically connecting with people and reducing stigma is my passion. I love bringing humor, fun, and creativity to my work in councils, research, consulting, knowledge translation, and beyond! I am proud to be a part of communities working so hard to reduce these obstacles for other young people who are going through what I once did. There is still a lot of work to be done. I believe caring authentically for people and their health will change healthcare outcomes in a beautiful way!

Edmonton, AB

Krystal Reusch was born in Toronto, grew up in Red Deer, and has been a proud Edmontonian for the past eight years. She works in an ophthalmologist’s clinic as a technician and receptionist.

Krystal was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at eight months. Her younger sister also has CF. Her lived experience as a patient with CF and as an advocate for her sister, motivates Krystal. She’s passionate about patient care and is always looking for creative solutions to improve it. She believes that communication between a patient and their healthcare provider is the key to having a positive impact on the patient’s wellbeing.

Krystal's passion and creativity inspired her family to suggest for her to become a patient advocate. She looks forward to sharing her lived experiences of the healthcare system and collaborating with the other members of the Patient and Family Advisory Committee.

Krystal’s hobbies include crocheting, crafting, reading, decorating her apartment, and playing the occasional video game.

Brooks, AB

Leona recently retired from her position as a nurse with Alberta Health Services, South Zone. During her 42 years as a nurse, she worked in a variety of healthcare settings in front line patient care and management roles and was involved in all aspects of patient care (planning, delivery and monitoring). Her management roles were in home care, acute, continuing care and at one point, she was the director for four rural hospitals.

Now, Leona is extremely active in her community and is currently the president of the Brooks Rotary Club. She also serves on several boards, including: the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA) Education Standards Advisory Committee, Brooks & District Museum, and her church board. In her free time, Leona feeds her passion for travel and is a grandmother to two teenage granddaughters who keep her active and smiling. Leona also supports a family member with dementia who resides in a care facility.

Leona joined the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) in November 2017. She joined the PFAC because enjoys being involved and informed about health service delivery and has a particular interest in quality assurance.

Grande Prairie, AB

Leonard is a Health and Safety Management consultant who specializes in heavy equipment, off-road, all-terrain vehicle training and certification in northern Alberta and northeast British Columbia. Leonard worked in a variety of professional roles prior to obtaining his heavy equipment operator certificate from Keyano College, including technical and safety management roles with Procter & Gamble/Weyerhaeuser.

Leonard is extremely involved in his community and has extensive volunteer experience. This includes his volunteer work with the Canadian Red Cross, where he supported the Northridge earthquake response in Los Angeles in 1995. Leonard currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre, actively participating on several committees, representing the Centre as an elder, and partaking in elders and youth gatherings. Through his role on this Board, he is also involved with the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association (ANFCA) as chairperson of the Climate Change Committee, which is part of the ANFCA’s Indigenous Climate Leadership Initiative (ICLI). Leonard also sits on the City of Grande Prairie’s Community Advisory Board on Homelessness (CABH).

Leonard joined the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) in 2018 with a desire to create a positive environment that fosters change within Alberta’s healthcare system. He has a professional and personal interest in safety topics and how to effectively pursue quality improvement. Leonard and his wife Rosemary have two adult children, Matthew and Elizabeth, who are both pursuing careers as healthcare professionals. Leonard and Rosemary enjoy traveling, camping, ATVing, fishing and visiting with friends and relatives.

Edmonton, AB

Haitian-born spoken word artist Medgine is a person for whom the love of language and the alchemy of words is second nature. Her multi-lingual upbringing (french, creole, english) not only prompted her to begin experimenting with the potential and magic of language, but naturally compelled her into a deep love of poetry. Her work has been featured in CBC, CBC Radio-Canada, Global TV, Skirtsafire Women’s Arts Festival and the Edmonton Poetry Festival.

Over the years, Medgine has been diagnosed with Lupus (SLE), CIDP, Polymyositis and Raynaud’s, all of which has fueled her desire to merge her storytelling into patient advocacy especially those living with chronic illnesses. Medgine is currently an Improvement Facilitator, working in Primary Care and constantly brings her patient-lens when supporting family physicians and clinics. Medgine is passionate about providing tools and resources to equip discouraged dreamers living with chronic health conditions, so that they can live their most fulfilling lives. She is currently working on her first collection of poetry.

Nana’s professional career has focused on the non-profit sector and she recently moved into post-secondary education, working with the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. She enjoys working on projects that impact Albertans in terms of better health treatment, care, and research.

In her personal life, Nana identifies as part of the “sandwich generation,” meaning that she and her husband provide care to her two children, and her senior parents who are deaf. Nana enjoys listening to podcasts and audiobooks, as well as volunteering in areas where she believes she can make a difference. She served previously as a board member for an organization that supported deaf and hard of hearing individuals and families. Recently, she has been volunteering more in the health sector, trying to help create a path of accessibility for those who might find it harder to access healthcare. This is the primary reason Nana joined the Patient and Family Advisory Committee, to make a difference in the area of accessibility. Because of her parents’ hearing impairment, she feels keenly aware of the layers of complexity they experience when accessing health care services that she, as a hearing person, does not.

St. Albert, AB

Sue works as an Improvement Advisor with Primary Care Networks in the North Zone with the Alberta Medical Association’s Toward Optimized Practice. She has worked in healthcare her entire career both in the public and private sector.  As a certified Audiologist, Sue spent 13 years at the Glenrose Hospital and served as Coordinator for the Northern Alberta Cochlear Implant Service. Her interest in quality improvement and making care better for all patients took her to working for Advanced Bionics, a cochlear implant manufacturer, and then onto PWC as a healthcare consultant focused on quality improvement. In addition to her work as an independent healthcare consultant, Sue is also the mother of “two amazing kids.”  After losing her sister to cancer, Sue and her family live to make the most of everyday and seek adventures around the world.

Sue joined the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) in November 2017. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she has experienced many aspects of the health system as a patient and with family members. Sue acknowledges that there is great work underway in the province, but that there are also many gaps in care and many opportunities for improvement.

Lethbridge, AB

Teena serves as an active and avid volunteer in her community. Currently, she focuses on her work as a Toastmaster and as a literacy tutor for adults with Read On, a program through the Lethbridge Public Library. Prior to receiving a disability pension, Teena held many professional positions, including her 15 years of service as an air traffic controller in the military.

Teena’s experience with the healthcare system started with her diagnostic journey regarding multiple sclerosis (MS). This journey included her family, and uncovered other important experiences and details about care she received during infancy and childhood. Teena joined the Patient and Family Advisory Committee because believes in the value of oversight of the healthcare system by a third-party organization. Without outside oversight, she believes a system will fail or stagnate. Teena has seen first-hand the spectacular elements, as well as the struggles, of Alberta’s healthcare system. Teena is proud to inform and support the HQCA’s work to monitor the system and recognize where good work is happening.