St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is excited to introduce our new Senior Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Consultant, Lisa Jeffs! While Lisa has been with St. Joe’s for 18 years in a variety of roles including Manager of the Youth Wellness Centre and the Eating Disorders Clinic, we wanted to learn more about what experiences and insights Lisa is bringing to this new role, and to learn more about equity, diversity and inclusion at St. Joe’s.

What does equity, diversity and inclusion mean to you?

For me, the emphasis is on fairness. There are systems that traditionally haven’t been fair and have been biased in favour of certain groups of people, while disadvantaging other groups of people. In order to level the playing field, we first have to recognize the ways that systems haven’t been fair, and we need to think about what we can do to help make things better.

What experiences and insights do you bring to this role?

I remember being in high school and noticing a student who had Down syndrome. I saw she was being bullied and treated poorly by some people and that really bothered me. I felt it was important to intervene. I noticed that she had a great sense of humour so I came in one day with one of those joke cans that you open and a snake pops out. She thought it was hilarious and went around to as many classrooms and teachers as she could setting off the snake into the air. We both ended up in the principal’s office, and I remember the principal asking me if I wanted to talk about ways that I could actually help – as opposed to doing things that could get both of us in trouble. So I helped to form a circle of friends around her and supported her and we really became quite close.

What that story reminds me, is that we all have a role to play when we see unkindness and injustice—even if our attempt at intervening turns out to be a can of snakes! Throughout my career I’ve worked with people who are advocating for equity– whether it be people with physical or developmental disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+ people, Black, Indigenous and/or racialized people, or young people struggling with mental health and addictions concerns. I’ve been motivated and inspired by their strength and resilience to work for meaningful change. For example, at the Youth Wellness Centre, I led the development of services that are designed specifically for 2SLGBTQ+ youth and for Black, Indigenous and Racialized youth. I have done the work of putting the principles of EDI into practice by creating responsive and safer programs.

Why is equity, diversity and inclusion important at St. Joe’s?

Across the healthcare system, the lack of fairness that I mentioned earlier has led to decreased access to care, and poorer quality care for certain groups of people. We have a responsibility to reduce experiences of discrimination in order to help improve everyone’s health.

It is also crucial to make sure that the workplace is a comfortable, equitable and fair place for all of our healthcare workers, physicians, learners, and volunteers.

We are on an EDI journey at St. Joe’s. All of us are at different points on this path, but we are moving forward together.

What work is being done at St. Joe’s in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion?

There is a lot of work going on through our EDI Council. One key piece coming up is our EDI listening tour.

We have an EDI action plan framework that’s connected to the strategic plan and St Joe’s three priorities, and part of my work is to start implementing that plan. Before we do that though, we really need to hear from our St. Joe’s community —particularly those from equity-seeking groups—to if see they think our action plan framework is on the right track and speaks to them. It’s an opportunity to give feedback on the plan, and to share their stories and experiences so we can integrate that feedback into our plan. 

How do you see efforts to be inclusive in the context of a Catholic organization such as St. Joe’s?

The Sisters of St. Joseph started this hospital because there were people who were new immigrants arriving in Hamilton and some of them were very sick. The immigrants were being mistreated and neglected and they weren’t getting the healthcare they needed. The Sisters saw what was happening and stepped up to help and tried to level the playing field. I think that really speaks to the commitment to justice and equity that is core to what St. Joe’s has always done, and I see today’s EDI work as a natural extension of that. I think the Sisters would be proud of what we are doing.

Also, I think it really says something that St. Joe’s hired me for this role, someone who is out as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. That is a big deal, and fairly unique for someone like me to be in this role.

What is one thing each of us can do to support EDI?

There are many facets to EDI work! It’s important to do some learning and research of your own. Where you choose to start will depend on where you are at in your own EDI journey.  June is National Indigenous History Month—one place to start might be to read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and recommendations. It is important for each of us to learn and grow, and to think about the parts of our own identity that perhaps give us privilege, and parts where we may not have as much privilege as someone else.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m a huge animal lover. I have two cairn terriers named Wicket and Chewie. They have an Instagram account @wicketandchewiecairns and I’m their account manager. I like to spread a little laughter and light-heartedness through this account, given how much heaviness there is out there on social media.

Other than that, I have a pretty low-key life! I enjoy spending time gardening, cycling and taking the dogs on long walks. I have two teenagers that I try to convince to spend time with me between their screen-time, friends and homework (in that order lol). I’m the cook in our house, and my wife is the baker. We enjoy working side by side in the kitchen making meals together.