May 11, 2021
Building the bridges that bring us forward
Suzanna Ho, Manager, Client and Quality Experience, is a member of the Chief Nursing Office in the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA).Suzanna's role centers on building and implementing client safety frameworks, and her day is packed full of meetings that aim to design and prepare the policies, procedures and guidelines that support this process. By bringing the experiences and concerns of clients to the table for discussion, Suzanna works to find the best path forward.
At its heart, Suzanna's role centers on bringing people together and building understanding. By addressing difficult topics and bringing them to light, she seeks out ways through which we can improve and overcome the challenges posed by and for health care providers to ensure the safety of our clients.
“My favourite part is bringing optimism to my work," Suzanna explains. “Sometimes the challenges that I help people confront involve long-standing issues, or frustration with a feeling that things are moving too slowly. When I step in, I feel like I'm able to breathe some fresh air into the situation and approach it from a stance of understanding that history and that frustration, and acknowledging that we've inherited some ways of doing things and their related challenges. I want to express that I hear that these things haven't worked, and that I'm here to try again and will be by your side through the process."
Suzanna supports more than just her clients, and she answers the call by making sure that those she works with know it. By keeping an open mind about newly identified needs that arise and working to adapt to the circumstances of the day, she's able to do her part and act as a dependable presence for those around her.
“I want to help my colleagues feel comfortable in sharing if they feel overwhelmed, and safe in asking for help from myself or others. In general, I feel like nurses and health care providers are under a lot of pressure to keep the wheels turning and make things happen, and that can make it difficult to ask for help."
And she makes it clear that it isn't only her who goes above and beyond in this way. Suzanna highlights this when she shares what it means to her to be a member of the FNHA.
“I've felt very welcomed here, including by my Indigenous colleagues who welcome me as an ally of this work. It's so important and meaningful, and I especially feel this way when I see the way everyone supports one another. Even in the face of their own personal challenges, everyone has been willing to go the extra mile to help each other and the communities we work with. In that sense I find that the FNHA truly feels like a family."
