Name: Marie May Zubot (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Manager, Clinical Operations, Long-Term Care
Length of Service: 5 years
Worksite: Poplar Ridge, Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital
Community: Trail / Kootenay Boundary
Ancestral Territory: Ktunaxa
Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing, it's having the courage to show up and be seen when you have no control over the outcome.” —Brene Brown
Marie Zubot moved to the Kootenays in 2004 with her husband and three children for a better quality of life and access to the beautiful outdoors and activities that the B.C. Interior offers. They love fishing, hiking, camping and swimming, and in the winter, head to the hills for some snowboarding and ice fishing.
“I fell in love with life in the Interior," says Marie. "Our communities are tight knit and comprised of the hardest working people you’ll ever meet. Everywhere you go, you can find a place to belong, and people truly come together in times of hardship.”
Inspired by her community, and what quality of life can be, Marie began her career in health care with a desire to broaden her understanding of what well-being truly means. For Marie, choosing health care as a career meant the opportunity to use her clinical knowledge, lived experience, and lessons to improve the quality of life of her communities, with the person in care at the centre.
Learn more about Marie’s journey with IH
Marie began her nursing career in Calgary when she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Calgary in the late 90s. As a new grad, she was encouraged to not specialize in any one area of health care, but to explore as many different avenues as she could.
For the first five years after graduation, that's exactly what she did. She tried a little bit of everything and was fortunate to have so many opportunities to use and build on her skills in both community and acute care settings.
In 2004, Marie moved to the Kootenays and worked mainly in the private sector. Fifteen years later, in 2019, she joined Interior Health and shifted her focus to leadership. Since then, she has furthered her education and recently completed her Master’s in Interdisciplinary Studies majoring in organizational development and leadership.
I would be remiss to not mention the amazing leaders that supported my ambitions along the way. Without their faith in me, I would not be where I am today.
Marie’s day begins with reporting to her frontline teams which helps inform the priorities of the day. She then dedicates a portion of her morning to assisting her team on the floor prior to completing her management responsibilities.
Marie always works to have time available in her day to connect with her staff, complete check-ins, follow up on concerns, or manage any issues.
“What motivates my work everyday are my frontline teams—not only our nurses, care aides and recreation assistants, but also our administrative assistants, Environmental Services teams, Food Services, Logistics and Maintenance staff," she shares.
When I think of the ways that we serve and impact those in our care most, I think of these people. These are the people that show up everyday, that are at the bedside, that are delivering services, that deal with the most challenging situations and are seeing people at their most vulnerable. These are the folks who make things possible, who solve problems, who advocate for patient needs and who shorten the stay of those in our acute care sites. Every success I have ever had was because of the amazing people I work with every day.
In her role as manager, Marie is responsible for sitting on committees that support work in long-term care in the Kootenay Boundary and across IH. She also helps support various projects that are important to her site, Poplar Ridge.
“The best part of my day is spending time with those in care at Poplar Ridge. It’s my goal to create an environment that is as home-like, inclusive and as accessible as possible. The time I take to connect is incredibly important to me—it ensures that our people in care and their families feel heard and valued, and are at the centre of what we do.”
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