Breathing Easier: Tim Heimpel Balances Patient Care and Workers Rights

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From his early days growing up in Ontario, where he first learned about the potential of unions through his father’s union activism, to his current dual role as a respiratory therapist and lead steward at Lions Gate Hospital, Tim has built a career that embodies compassion and a commitment to making a difference.

Almost 20 years ago, Tim made the decision to pursue a career in health care, motivated because, as he puts it, “money wasn’t a good enough reason to go to work every day. Helping people was.”

Over the years, Tim has found respiratory therapy to be a profession that challenges him while offering the reward of knowing his work makes a tangible difference. At Lions Gate Hospital, his role takes him to many corners of the facility, from the ICU to the emergency department, and even at Evergreen House, a long-term care facility on the hospital campus.

“I’m everywhere,” he says with a laugh, explaining how his day often involves working with multiple teams, including nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and medical laboratory technologists. Respiratory therapists play a crucial role in life-saving situations, particularly those involving the airway, breathing, and the circulation chain, making them an integral part of the hospital’s response to emergencies.

“Truth is, you don’t want to see us,” he admits candidly. “Essentially, 98% of the hospital isn’t sick enough for me to see.”

Tim’s career hasn’t been without its challenges. Prior to working at Lions Gate, he spent a decade at St. Paul’s, where he was exposed to some of the most complex and emotionally taxing cases in health care. Many of the patients he treated came from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, facing not only serious medical conditions but also the impacts of homelessness, addiction, and systemic neglect.

“The problem I found with health care in general is there’s a huge missing piece—and its mental health and social services,” Tim says. “We put a ton of effort and work into getting people patched up but we’re sending them back to the same environment that put them here in the hospital in the first place.”

These experiences eventually prompted Tim to seek a position at Lions Gate, a move that allowed him to find a better balance between his professional and personal life.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Tim found himself on the frontlines of one of the most challenging periods in modern health care. He recalls the physical and emotional toll of the early days of the pandemic, with constant isolation, grueling shifts, and the ever-present worry about keeping patients and staff safe. Yet, he remembers how his department pulled together during this crisis.

“We were burnt out, but not a single one of us called in sick,” he says. “We knew that if one person stopped showing up, it would be a domino effect, so we just picked each other up. And as devastating as that was to the system, our department came out stronger.”

In addition to his clinical work, Tim has taken on the role of lead steward at the hospital, representing nearly 700 HSA members at Lions Gate. He stepped into the position after a colleague stepped down, encouraged by coworkers who believed in his leadership and advocacy skills. “I jumped in with both feet,” he admits, explaining how he was elected shortly after attending his first union meeting.

As a steward, Tim works tirelessly to support his fellow HSA members, helping them navigate workplace challenges and advocate for their rights. His experience as a respiratory therapist, working alongside a variety of health care professionals, has given him a unique understanding of the interconnected roles that make up the health care system. Whether it’s addressing workplace concerns, preparing for changes brought about by the recent classification review, or simply being a point of contact for members, Tim approaches the role with the same commitment to helping others that drew him to health care.

Nowadays, one of the biggest challenges Tim faces as a steward is managing the significant changes introduced by the new classifications system for health science professionals, which determines where jobs fit in the pay hierarchy based upon the level of work required by the job.

“Most people I think are in a good spot: over 68% of our members got a raise through the new classification system, on top of the general wage increases (GWI) [and cost of living adjustments (COLA)] all HSPBA members received from the last collective agreement. That’s amazing,” Tim says. “But that still leaves a significant number of members who didn’t see an additional increase beyond the GWI/COLA, and about 7.6% were ‘green circled.’ When you look at the total membership, that’s still a lot of people who have concerns. I understand being in it now, how it happened the way it did, and it needed to be done, but there’s new challenges we still need to figure out.”

Tim has been proactive working with members through these changes, bringing member concerns forward so that grievances were filed when the new system rolled out last December. 

Looking ahead, Tim sees pay and workplace flexibility as two critical issues that need to be addressed to combat the staffing shortages and workload pressures facing BC’s health care system. “People want to see flexibility in their lives,” he emphasizes, noting how his own move to a part-time schedule has improved his quality of life. 

Despite these challenges, Tim finds his dual roles as a respiratory therapist and steward deeply rewarding. Whether he’s helping a critically ill patient or advocating for fair treatment for his colleagues, his motivation remains the same: to make a difference. For Tim, it’s a career and a calling, one that continues to inspire him every day.