Linda Warner
Presented by the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC), the BC Health Care Awards were created in 2007 to celebrate excellence and innovation in B.C.’s health care community by recognizing deserving teams and individuals that are improving health care delivery in B.C. and individuals whose achievements and actions inspire those around them.
“I feel very lucky to have had a 30-year career at BC Children’s Hospital and I have loved every minute of it,” she says.
Linda began her career nursing babies of mothers who were addicted to narcotics at Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children. After a brief stint as a school nurse and educator in Japan, she returned to Vancouver as a nurse at BC Children’s and then moved into research.
Now, as clinical research coordinator, she’s managing the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) cohort study in Vancouver, with the goal of advancing the health and well-being of children.
“Linda is the heart and soul of CHILD study,” says Dr. Stuart Turvey, co-director of the CHILD Cohort Study and the Vancouver site study lead. “Really, probably, her greatest contribution has been to engage with the children and their families as true partners in research… This true commitment to having the patients as our partners is Linda’s legacy to the CHILD study.”
But Linda hasn’t been content to practice her passion for pediatric nursing solely through paid work. A humanitarian at heart, Linda has volunteered with charities in communities devastated by destruction and poverty, including Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Tanzania.
For four years, Linda dedicated her compassionate spirit, time and nursing expertise in Haiti, running a pediatric clinic to care for impoverished children with Rose Charities, a Canadian charity that helps people overcome poverty through education, community support and health care.
In Haiti, Linda worked as a first responder and provided pediatric care and assessment. However, Linda and Rose Charities knew that in order to provide sustainable support, it was important to ask the Haitian health-care providers their priorities. In response to the concerns they identified, she helped facilitate a neonatal resuscitation teaching program for Haitian doctors and nurses, while living in adverse conditions herself. Her focus has always been on listening to the needs of others, providing education and empowering people to be active partners in their own care.
From the moment she started nursing, Linda knew she’d found her calling, and with each new experience – be it heartwarming or heartbreaking – she learned that she could make a difference. Her path has always been clear: to improve the health care and lives of children.
Original post: https://pod.phsa.ca/news/Pages/Health-Care-Hero-Linda-Warner.aspx