Lisa Daechsel’s Fight for A Better Health Care System

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Editor’s note: Lisa has been elected to represent HSA Region 5 on the Board of Directors and will join the Board of Directors on adjournment of the 2025 HSA annual convention Friday, April 11.

When a child walks into a hospital, it’s not only a sickness or physical condition they’re battling—it’s also their fear and uncertainty. For years, certified child life specialist Lisa Daechsel has worked with pediatric patients and their families to cope with their hospital experience through evidence-based, developmentally appropriate interventions such as therapeutic play, procedural preparation, and education.

“My favorite part of the job is getting to know the children individually and catering interventions to meet whatever their needs are,” Lisa says. “To have the ability to support them through a challenging time does feel like a privilege.”

Lisa’s journey into working in child life began with a desire to make a meaningful difference for children. Initially pursuing child protection in school, she later realized that her passion lay in providing direct support to children in health care settings. “I liked the idea of working with a range of ages and working from a prevention lens,” she explains. As a child life specialist, Lisa became an essential part of the interdisciplinary pediatric team at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH), guiding children through complex and often intimidating medical procedures like medical imaging scans. Her role focused not only on reducing fear but also on helping children and their families develop lasting coping strategies​.

But Lisa’s work as a child life specialist also exposed her to the broader challenges faced by health care workers—challenges that extend beyond the walls of patient rooms. The broader systemic issues confronting today’s health care workers, from staff shortages to inadequate resources, are obstacles that make it difficult for health science professionals to do their work. This motivated her to expand her focus from direct patient care to advocating for her colleagues’ rights and working conditions. She served two terms as the elected full-time lead steward at BCCH, dedicated to supporting health care workers and advocating for the highest standards of patient care.

“I was always interested in union work because I grew up with a parent who was really involved in their union,” she reflects. “My dad was a full-time steward for his workplace so I grew up going to job actions and protests. I liked the idea that the union could be a place where you could fight for social issues in a broader scale.”  Inspired by this upbringing and her experiences in health care, Lisa took on steward responsibilities alongside her clinical role before eventually transitioning to a full-time lead steward position three years ago​.

As lead steward, Lisa represented hundreds of health care professionals at BCCH, advocating for better wages, safer working conditions, and fair classifications. Lisa has seen significant developments in the way that hospitals operate; she was part of an initiative for the hospital to become certified in comfort and pain care for patients. This included reviewing and creating hospital policies to better promote patient comfort with clinical procedures, as well as changing policy language to support ideal measures that all staff can take to support patient coping.

Wages are also a critical issue, particularly in Vancouver, one of the most expensive cities in the world. BC Children’s Hospital, where Lisa works, is the only pediatric hospital in the province, and many specialists—like child life specialists—have very few options when it comes to jobs and therefore need to live in or around Vancouver. The cost of living and industry-wide low wages, however, are deterring people from becoming child life specialists. 

The new classification system saw the P1 wage lift for child life specialists. This lift recognizes the additional work and responsibilities these professionals take on like supervising interns, working without general supervision and at times working alone. The changes ensure that child life members are paid at this rate all the time instead of being coded up when performing such duties. This better reflects the scope and specialization of work that allied health care professionals perform and helps acknowledge their unique skills and responsibilities. But the work is not done yet. Child life specialists across the province are advocating for continued improvements in the classifications to better reflect the work being performed. Lisa and her child life colleagues will continue to advocate for the profession they care about dearly through this round of bargaining and beyond.

Another significant area of Lisa’s advocacy involves improving respectful workplace policies. “I see lots of issues with the respectful workplace processes and I really think the language needs to be strengthened to better support all members,” she explains. Lisa is pushing for stronger language in the collective agreement to create a safer and more supportive work environment so that members have a strong process to rely on when they need it most.

It’s clear that Lisa’s dedication isn’t just a professional endeavor; it’s deeply personal, shaped by her values and the connections she’s built along the way. As she continues her work, Lisa’s mission remains rooted in a simple, but powerful, belief: when health care workers are supported, they can deliver the best care to patients.