#IamMGH Black Voices - Meet Jennifer Sampson

#IamMGH tells the stories of our people. In honour of Black History Month, we’re centring the voices and lived experiences of our Black staff and physicians throughout February. Meet Jennifer Sampson, manager of the Emergency Department (ED) at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH).

“I am a registered nurse and I have a master's degree in Disaster Planning and Emergency Management. I’ve held various progressive positions at MGH, including working as a frontline nurse in the ED and roles where I’ve supported primary care as a project manager and opening the province’s first COVID-19 Assessment Centre. Previous to this role, I served community members as the manager of Acute Respirology, General Internal Medicine and the Prolonged Ventilation Weaning Centre of Excellence.

I got into health care because I’m passionate about health equity and access to care. Through my experiences as a clinician, I’ve been able to see first-hand the barriers that make it difficult for some people to access care and what happens when health care providers don’t have a deep understanding of a community’s cultural needs. Often, these inequities stem from gaps in education and are amplified by a lack of diversity in the teams that are designing health care programs for community members accessing health care services.

Throughout my career, I have remained dedicated to building partnerships and fostering environments that address social determinants of health that negatively impact the ability of a diverse member of the community to access care. There is evidence-based literature that illustrates the negative implications these barriers have on the health outcomes of diverse populations, including Black and Indigenous people and those who identify as LGBTQ2+. I believe it’s imperative to review this literature so we can co-design strategies that ensure positive health outcomes for our diverse community.

To do this work, we will need to continue a multifaceted strategic approach that involves educating staff, physicians and patients, as well as fostering an environment that creates space for sharing diverse patient experiences and implementing anti-racism and anti-oppression tools. We need allyship from leaders and health care executives to amplify this important work. It would also be beneficial to collaborate with community members and other organizations in the health system that are leading diversity and inclusion work so we can look to our strengths and learn from one another. There’s definitely been progress in this area over the years, but there’s more work for us to do.”