100Women

When Jocelyn Palm helped to launch the Friends of Women’s College Hospital in 1989, the need for the organization’s work was pressing. The hospital was on the verge of losing its independence—a change that threatened to widen an already massive gap in women’s healthcare and research.

“In those days, most of the health research was done on men. That was a problem because there’s a significant difference between diagnosis and treatment of men and women—and Women’s College Hospital was making a huge contribution to the health of women,” says Palm.

Palm, the owner of Glen Bernard Girls’ Camp for girls and the former national director of The Royal Lifesaving Society, managed a winning campaign against a proposed merger with Toronto General Hospital. It was only the start of a lasting legacy of supporting WCH and WCRI. Since then, Palm has been a volunteer, a donor, a board member, and a director of Women’s College Health Research, an independent charitable organization.

Despite a brief merger with Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Women’s College Hospital, with tenacious support from advocates like Palm, continued to champion women’s healthcare and, in 2006, was designated a Centre of Excellence in Women’s Health.

While enormous strides have been taken to improve equity in health research, Palm believes her work is no less important than it was 30 years ago. Today, this Order of Canada recipient continues to advocate for the importance of health research conducted through a gender lens.

“I’ve always respected that the majority of the scientists at WCRI are women and the attention they pay to the social determinants of health,” she says. “We don’t just require more research about women, we also need more women doing the research. That’s what WCH is committed to achieve.”

For most of her life, Alex Earthy’s mother, Urve, experienced fainting spells and a host of other unexplained symptoms. The Earthy family did their best to figure out what was going on. Urve’s family doctor referred her to a cardiologist who said her heart was sound. He in turn sent her to other specialists, who performed a raft of tests before sending her to more specialists. “We probably saw 12 to 15 different doctors over the years,” says David. “And each time we’d have to wait months in between.” None of them could come up with a definitive or even a tentative diagnosis.

It wasn’t until last December that the Earthys got some answers – as a result of Alex’s research, which led them to Dr. Paula Harvey, a cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital (WCH) and medical director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative at WCH. After reviewing the evidence, Dr. Harvey provided a diagnosis of dysautonomia, orthostatic hypotension—a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. 

Inspired by the life-changing care that Urve received at Women’s College Hospital, the Earthy family chose to make a significant donation to fund two fellowship positions in dysautonomia and heart health, as well as initiatives in virtual care. The family hopes their multi-generational gift will help raise awareness and improve treatment options for other patients suffering from this rare condition.

The use of technology to transform healthcare is an area of passion for Elisabetta Bigsby, a member of 100Women as well as Women’s College Hospital Foundation’s Advisory Council, a special committee of community leaders and donors who provide guidance and support for the Foundation’s activities. While she has long been impressed by the quality of care she receives at WCH, she is also an advocate for innovation and quality outcomes in healthcare.

“The care has always been so good, so prompt, so sensitive,” says Bigsby. “As time went by I quite spontaneously thought I needed to do something for this hospital.” She’s now a champion of the WCH Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV), created to transform the way patients experience their care through cutting-edge research and evaluation.

She’s taken her philanthropy further by sponsoring the chair position for WCH’s Quality Improvement Plan, which provides a system-wide platform for quality improvement through 2022 to improve the care experience and achieve even better clinical outcomes for patients.

For Jane Pepino, partner at law firm Aird & Berlis and a member of the 100Women initiative, it’s Women’s College Hospital’s unique approach to delivering care that’s creating change. “This is a hospital that’s doing things differently,” she says. “It champions a spirit of collaboration and consultation, putting the patient at the middle of everything, and that leads to equity at large and leads to innovation at large.”

In 2006, it was a community of women like Pepino who successfully rallied for Women’s College Hospital to regain its status as an independent institution following a brief amalgamation with Sunnybrook Hospital. They believed a hospital dedicated to the health of women was necessary.

“The reason I support Women’s is that it was not originally set up only to treat women, it was to train women to become doctors at a time when that was not otherwise permitted,” says Pepino. “It’s not simply improving women’s health but, as importantly, it’s driving women’s leadership in medicine and allied professions—nursing and pharmacy and hospital governance—and also in medical research about women’s health.”

WCH invests in women, but also in innovation, health equity and health system solutions. As part of its new mandate as an independent hospital, WCH became the first academic ambulatory hospital in Ontario, which required a new building. “One of the proudest days of my life was when they cut the ribbon of that building,” says Pepino.

Wendy Daniels, a retired financial services professional, experienced her reason to give at the hospital 21 years ago when her son Jack was born five weeks premature and delivered by emergency Caesarean section. “It was a very scary time but the medical staff was amazing and very reassuring,” she says. The compassionate medical attention she received at this crucial juncture in her life is one of the reasons she chooses to support this hospital. “When you really feel the connection with an organization you want to take the bigger step.”

That bigger step includes her recent appointment to the WCH Foundation board as well as a substantial donation to support the Peter Gilgan Centre for Women’s Cancers, a collaboration between WCH and the Canadian Cancer Society. Daniels is supporting the Centre because of its groundbreaking work in educating women on preventative measures they can take to keep themselves and their families healthy and because it has a vision to transform care for women’s cancers by sharing its research with healthcare facilities across the country. “I’m passionate about preventative medicine and the work the Peter Gilgan Centre is doing goes beyond the walls of the hospital—it’s about improving healthcare for all Canadians,” she says.

“WCH is changing the way healthcare is being delivered through initiatives such as virtual care, innovative patient electronic records and ambulatory care.” Improved ambulatory (or outpatient) care is an issue that’s close to Daniels’ heart. Her mother died from diabetes complications when she was just 73 and was frequently in and out of hospitals. “It was difficult for her and I think she could have received better and more efficient care at home. The kind of care that WCH is leading now.”

The first time Lynn Damp set foot in WCH was in 1989 to visit her daughter (born 27 weeks/ 890 grams) in the NICU.
 
Many years later another unplanned medical event resulted in Lynn becoming a patient of the talented Dr. John Semple.
 
Both experiences left a lasting impression of exceptional quality and compassionate care.
 
When it was appropriate to support a medical institution WCH was a natural fit. The history of the hospital is a fascinating tale beginning with the struggle to establish a place in Toronto where women would be allowed to study medicine.
 
The story continues to be one where new boundaries in healthcare are challenged in pursuit of equity and excellence. With two daughters, the Damp family is proud to be associated with WCH champions of women’s healthcare and leaders in ground breaking research.
 
Being involved with the hospital is rewarding for Lynn who is inspired by the outstanding dedicated staff and thrilled to learn about their healthcare initiatives and medical advances. 
 
 

Nancy Ruth has been a staunch feminist all her adult life. She is a passionate advocate for women and girls, and is a committed supporter of quality, research-informed healthcare for women. 
 
She is a tireless social activist who supported Henry Morgentaler and worked to protect a woman’s right to choose to carry a fetus, and is a champion of Dying with Dignity, believing strongly in a woman’s right to choose the timing of her death. Nancy Ruth has committed her life to ensuring women are empowered to make informed healthcare decisions for themselves without fear of questioning, judgement or persecution.
 
Early on, she recognized the glaring gaps that existed for women, particularly in the healthcare system - that until the 1990s, women were left out of most healthcare research studies and many drug prescribing protocols for women were developed based on research done solely on men. Women’s College Hospital was the only hospital focused on breaking down barriers to care and conducting research that focused on the unique needs of women. 
 
When the future of Women’s College Hospital was threatened following an amalgamation with Sunnybrook Hospital in the late 1990s, Nancy Ruth stood up for women’s health and was among a powerful community of women and allies who successfully raised their voices to help Women’s College Hospital regain its independence. She knew that the only place where women’s health was the focus had to be saved.
 
Nancy Ruth has been a proud supporter of Women’s College Hospital since the 1980s and served for several years as a volunteer member of Women’s College Hospital Foundation’s Advisory Council. But, her attachment to the hospital began well before that - she was born at Women’s and, as the daughter of philanthropist and long-time Women’s College Hospital supporter Mary Rowell Jackman, Nancy Ruth’s attachment to the hospital comes naturally.  

Nancy Ruth hopes that the work being done at Women’s College Hospital will continue to inspire change across the healthcare system, and lead to more equitable access to healthcare for everyone. When asked what message she would share with other women who are considering supporting Women’s College Hospital, Nancy Ruth responded, “As Nellie McClung almost said, ‘Give and get the thing done.’”