Patient Partners

Lise Berube

Lise has worked for Island Health since 2014, when she began working on the development of iHealth, Island Health's electronic health record system, before moving over to the position of Case Manager with the Patient Care Quality Office, where she worked for 4 years addressing patient care concerns and facilitating care reviews. Lise has recently moved on to the role of Consultant, Quality and Patient Safety, at Island Health, and continues to work to pursue quality improvements in health care with a strong advocacy for patient engagement.

She has a background in Sociology and a Masters degree in Dispute Resolution from the University of Victoria. Since receiving her diagnosis of breast cancer in early 2016, Lise spent over a year receiving weekly and often daily treatment in Victoria, and hopes she can use her recent and ongoing experiences as a patient in BC to inform sustainable positive changes to the health care system. Lise enjoys spending time in the outdoors, running, camping, and hiking with her husband, two young children, and her dog Lucky.

Sunny Loo

Sunny is a volunteer with the Patients as Partners/Patient Voice Network. A pharmacist by training with a focus on technology and innovations, Sunny’s 35 years in the profession included development of innovative patient support programs, implementation of medication management pilot programs in several provincial jurisdictions, and participation in the Ontario e-Health initiative as Director of e-Health for the Ontario Pharmacists Association. Currently Sunny and his wife operate a consulting practice that strives to better understand physician practices. However, most importantly, Sunny is a patient living with a rare form of vasculitis (Wegener’s Granulomatosis) for the past 10 years. Having been a part of the health care system as both a professional and as a patient, he looks forward to sharing his experience with others.

Kent Cadogan Loftsgard

Kent has been a Patient Partner to the BC SUPPORT Unit since the summer of 2016. In addition to his lifelong cerebral palsy and asthma, as well as his endless efforts as a patient advocate and caregiver, Kent contributes his diverse professional expertise in health media production, health specialty journalism, interdisciplinary health care education, and health research to complement the collaborative development and growth of the Unit.

Penny Henderson

Penny lives in Victoria. She has had Parkinson for the last 3 years. Physical exercise is one of the crucial things that slows down her disease and she has been doing this for the past 6 years. She is currently doing boot camps, weight training, spin classes and walking. She was also a runner until recently.     

Laura Parmar

Laura is currently working currently for the Prince George Division of Family Practice as a Practice Support Coach. She is the Lead for the Prince George chapter of Hacking Health and recently managed the organization of their first weekend Hackathon. She sits on the Prince George Committee Supporting Primary Care Homes with representation from family physicians, the Northern Health Authority, and the Division of Family Practice. She has also sat on various boards and committees including the BC Cancer Agency Provincial Steering Committee for Palliative Care, Pain and Symptom Management. 

Laura was a caregiver to her husband who passed away from cancer. He was a firm believer in exercise and used a variety of physical activities to manage pain and other symptoms and side effects of medications. Physical activity has also always been an important part of her life and has been helpful for her in dealing with health challenges including asthma, high cholesterol, stress of being a caregiver, and the grief of becoming a widow.  

Willeke van Linden Tol

Willeke was a financial advisor in until April 2010. Till last year she worked as a lunch helper in extended care. Physical activity is an important component of her life, but it has been challenging since a diagnosis of severe refractory Myasthenia Gravis 8 years ago. Currently Willeke is on the board of her local yoga society, as well as on the committee which awards Scholarships for the Society. In addition, she is working on the SP/GI Quality Council.