A Memorable Impact on Burnaby Hospital’s Perinatal Team

Joanne “Jodi” Timlick’s professional legacy in Burnaby began as a Registered Nurse at Burnaby Hospital in 1982. When retiring in 2021, Jodi had devoted 39 years of her 44-year  career to the perinatal department.

With any great legacy, several distinguished milestones took place during her career — most notably, developing and implementing a childbirth education series starting in 1986, a program that would run for 20 years.

Jodi’s position and gentle nature allowed her to make a memorable impact on the lives of many families, including the McCarthy family.

“My wife Dolores and I first met Jodi in 1990 during our first ever pre-natal courses. She was amazing. So professional, positive and reassuring throughout the classes, and a great help during the birth of our first child, John, that May,” says William McCarthy, Chair of the Burnaby Hospital Capital Campaign Fundraising Cabinet.

John, who now also serves on the Burnaby Hospital Capital Campaign Fundraising Cabinet, remembers hearing about and then meeting Jodi when he was older. “Burnaby Hospital and all the patients who have benefitted from her commitment to care have indeed been very fortunate to have Jodi with us these many years,” he shares. “As I can personally attest, she has made a real difference!”

Not only did Jodi coach, empower and provide care to countless families during her career, she also became a clinical instructor for the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) perinatal program. This allowed her to share her knowledge and expertise with the future generation of nurses who were beginning their perinatal careers.

“It was not my career that defined me, but what I did with it,” Jodi explains. She hopes that her career is used as a platform to create change, influence others and positively affect the trajectory of someone’s life.

The perinatal team provides care for an expecting parent during pregnancy and after birth. The team at Burnaby Hospital is comprised of a group of devoted, hardworking and kind-hearted professionals. New facilities for perinatal care at Burnaby Hospital will allow maternity services to be streamlined, which will provide Burnaby residents with the finest family-centered care possible. It will also provide medical staff with modern technology and equipment for diagnoses and treatments to help bring innovative care to Burnaby families.