We Are IH: Digital Health leader’s work and colleagues bring joy

Jo immigrated to Canada and joined Interior Health (IH) in 2006. As she gained more experience in health care, she realized that tackling health system issues and improving care provided her a great deal of joy.

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Jo was appointed executive director of Seniors Specialized Care Transformation. She saw the tremendous strain, loss and sadness due to the pandemic in long-term care homes and recognized that support had to be amplified “to an exponential level.” Over the next three years, Jo led the creation and development of IH’s Seniors Strategy 2022-27 to transform seniors health-care services across the region.

During that time, she was also a member of the Emergency Operations Centre. She helped respond to the immense impacts the pandemic, wildfires and floods were having on IH’s long-term care homes.

In 2024, Jo was promoted to executive director, Clinical Informatics in the Digital Health portfolio. She leads the strategies to develop and implement technologies that improve the health and well-being for people, their families and communities.

“I do love working on complex, system-level challenges. This might sound too cliché but making life better for others—inside and outside of work—really grounds me,” Jo explains. “My role in Digital Health motivates me to think differently about how technology can be leveraged to make a positive difference for patients, clients, residents and their loved ones.

Jo explains she likes to bring a sense of playfulness and humour into her work. She strives to create belonging by fostering inclusivity and accessibility, so everyone feels welcome and valued.

Her work, both in Seniors Specialized Care and Digital Health, was recently recognized with Health Quality BC’s Doug Cochrane Leadership in Quality Award, for which she won runner-up.

“The award was such a surprise. I couldn't help thinking, Me? Really? Surely, they must have made a mistake!” she says. “But the responses and recognition I received from others was the most wonderful experience I have ever had. In health care, we spend so much time in pursuit of helping others, that taking the time to recognize our own successes and achievements can get lost.”

Outside of work, Jo likes to explore the beautiful B.C. outdoors. She enjoys hiking in the mountains and trail running in and around Kamloops. She loves home renos and yard projects, even if it means “15 trips to Home Depot and then 15 more.” 

She usually starts her day off with a cup of coffee and her 90 lb. Bernese Mountain dog Lily on her lap “demanding maximum attention.” Says Jo, “Life can be complicated enough. I like to bring simplicity into my day to day.”

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