In 2022, Anne Brace joined VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) as a member of our volunteer Board. Since then, Anne has played an important role in VHA’s governance, bringing her deep finance expertise and board experience to strategic discussions and leading VHA’s Board Audit & Finance Committee. Now, in 2026, we are pleased to announce that Anne has stepped into the position of Board Chair. We had the opportunity to ask Anne a few questions about what inspired her to get involved at VHA and what excites her about the future for VHA and home care in Ontario. Here is what she had to say:

1. What inspired you to initially join VHA’s Board in 2022 and what are you looking forward to as Board Chair?

There are 2 main answers to this question – 1 personal, 1 more intellectual.  On a personal level, my mother-in-law lived with me for the last 11 years of her life. For the last 3 years we had home care support from personal support workers (PSWs), so I understand at a very personal level, what it means to be a caregiver and client. I found our PSWs to be caring, thoughtful, responsible and sometimes funny and chatty. I have enormous respect for the work that they do and the difficulties they can run into. My mother-in-law used to object to being changed and she used to try to bite and scratch them. This is, of course, unacceptable behaviour, but we could also understand her discomfort with that level of personal care and were sympathetic to her dementia. The PSWs found that by putting mittens on her hands, they could avoid being hurt at all, and she found it funny, so it was a win-win situation. I was impressed with their creativity. This experience inspired me to become more involved with VHA.

On a more intellectual level, I feel that the advancement of home care in Ontario is absolutely critical for the efficiency, and indeed, survival of our health care system. It needs to be integrated into primary and urgent care systems to be its most effective. I am so impressed with VHA’s research and advocacy on behalf of the overall health system in Ontario. I think we are working to improve the health of Ontarians by pushing for change at a system level. I find these initiatives to be really exciting and fascinating.

As Board Chair, I want to continue the outstanding work of our previous Chair, Ian Brunskill, and help the Board to support management as much as we can. It is important that we continue to improve our understanding of the client experience and to ask questions from perspectives that may be different from the management team. The Board directors are a group of people with a wide variety of perspectives and expertise, and I am looking forward to working more closely with them.

2. When you think about VHA’s future, what excites you? 

VHA is uniquely positioned to work within the health care system – both to influence change and to respond to it – due to its long history and deep expertise and experience with multiple partners across the sector in various regions. The increase in hospital-to-home programs and bundled care initiatives will provide both challenges and opportunities for VHA. There is enormous change happening in the industry now and being part of that is interesting – and lots of fun!

3. In your opinion, what are the most important priorities for home care in Ontario right now?

The top priority in home care in Ontario now is to improve wages for home care workers. We are dealing with a scarcity of health human resources, and I think more consistent wages across the health care sector will make the whole system more effective. I also think that the linking of home care with other areas of the health system, such as primary care clinicians and hospitals is critical.  I think the government and other players are moving in this direction, but we need to move more urgently and effectively. It is a very interesting time to participate in Ontario health care.

4. If you could share one message with the care providers at VHA, what would it be?

My message to care providers would be that your work is an absolute Godsend to families struggling with illness, disability or old age. Whether your client is elderly, requires chronic care, a child with special needs, or someone with short term complications, the work you do makes their lives better. You also have a tremendous impact on the families of your clients – providing respite, alleviating worry, and giving peace of mind that their loved one is being cared for properly.  I say this with the conviction of someone who has experienced this care. I know what I am talking about!  Remember that your work has incredible value to all concerned. And most of all, Thank you!!