Staff Spotlight
Celebrating the impact of dietitians on Dietitians Day
March 20th marks this year’s Dietitians Day in Canada: a day dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the role and contributions dietitians have in health care.
Meet Andrea Brand, Home Health Dietitian working at the Robert and Lily Lee Family Community Health Centre and at Pender Community Health Centre. She also works as a casual clinical dietitian at Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital and G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre. “I’ve always loved science, food and helping people, so choosing this profession just made sense,” she says.
After six years abroad in Melbourne, Australia, where she completed her Masters of Dietetic Practice and started her career as a clinical dietitian, Andrea returned home and joined Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). In her role, she provides nutrition services for clients who are homebound. “My team sees many marginalized community groups with a high prevalence of food insecurity, so I am often connecting clients with community resources or applying for government programs to support their health and recovery,” Andrea explains. “Additionally, I provide care for clients with cancer or gastrointestinal conditions who may rely on long-term tube feeding to meet their nutritional needs.”
Reflecting on her year and a half tenure with VCH, Andrea speaks on other aspects of her job, including the supportive work environment. “I am fortunate to be surrounded by a group of intelligent and dedicated dietitians who are always available for support, or a laugh, if needed. My community team is incredible and demonstrates a lot of resilience working in a challenging area.” Highlighting some perks of her job, Andrea mentions ongoing education opportunities, fair vacation hours, extended health benefits and staff discounts at businesses and services across the lower mainland.
Embodying the VCH values, Andrea shares the importance of continuous learning and how it helps keep working interesting. She also emphasizes how we as health care providers must continue to uphold the standard of exceptional care as we may require care ourselves at some point in our lives.
Join our team
Explore our current dietitian opportunities at Vancouver Coastal Health.