Member Spotlight: Kate Dewhirst

Profile:

Founder of Kate Dewhirst Health Law

CEO of Something Orange Training Inc.

New Farmer and Country Living Extraordinaire at her 100 acre property outside of the city.

Although significant and momentous, most wouldn’t define policy, risk management, privacy and credentialing issues within the health care system as particularly fun and exciting. However, we’re continued to be impressed by our King West member, Kate Dewhirst and her creative, engaging and enthusiastic approach in transforming our health care culture.

While we admire her prestigious accomplishments, work and creative energy, we continue to be most impressed by her empathic and graceful approach to the complex challenges within her industry, particularly in these unprecedented times.

We were all inspired by Kate’s recent article, “You are not alone” that touched on timely issues that many of us face, regardless of our profession, that reminds all of us about the power and importance of support and community.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-alone-kate-dewhirst-1f/?trk=articles_directory

We’re honored that Kate continues to trust Workplace One with her workspace needs and that we’ve been able to shift and adapt with her business over the years. More importantly, it’s been a privilege to have her and her team as a part of our community.

We recently sat down with Kate to learn a little more about her and the businesses she runs and how she’s transformed health care culture with her powerful yet playful and creative energy.

WP1: Tell us a bit more about your professional journey? What brought you to where you are today?

KD: I’m a lawyer and educator. We work with health care organizations. I have always been fascinated by health care and the law because my mum was a nurse educator and my father was a police officer. Health law is in my bones!

WP1: How do you describe your company to a stranger?

KD: Our mission is to build trust in the healthcare system. We give legal advice to health care leaders and we teach health care teams about the laws that apply to them. When health care providers understand the law – they are better equipped to support their patients.

WP1: What do you enjoy doing when you aren't at work?

KD: I enjoy reading, films, making and eating delicious food and swimming. We have a 100 acres farm outside of Toronto. I love a good breakaway on the ride on lawnmower where I push it to rabbit level and get wind in my hair!

WP1: How many people does your company employ?

KD: We have 6 team members (and growing)!

WP1: Where do you and your team members live in Toronto? What neighbourhoods do you call home?

KD: We live in the west end and midtown. One team member lives North of the City.

WP1: What are some of your favourite local businesses in the West End?

KD: We love the Cheese Boutique, Chocolateria, I Deal Coffee; Cherry Bomb Coffee and I love a slice of pizza from the Pizza Nova. It’s my guilty pleasure!

WP1: How long have you been a Workplace One member?

KD: We’ve been with Workplace One for almost 6 years.

WP1: What made you choose Workplace One?

KD: The vibe. Love the quirky wallpaper and creative energy. I didn’t want a stuffy law office. I wanted to feel energized by my surroundings.

WP1: What are the 3 most important things for you in a workspace?

KD: Great energy in the common areas when we are looking for a lively work area but then also the quiet workspace in our private office when we need to get serious work done. We also really value the excellent service from the community managers.

WP1: What amenities do you take advantage of most?

KD: We love the locally roasted and complimentary coffee. The Workplace One staff have always been so welcoming and really great with our clients and visitors as well as handling /receiving packages. We also have really enjoyed using the meeting rooms for presentations and events in the past.

WP1: How has your company or you personally benefited by being part of the Workplace One community?

KD: It’s great having flexible space as we grow. We are now a hybrid team working both at home and in the office. We love having a place where we can get together, get some team time and store our important work paraphernalia. We’re looking forward to when we can enjoy in-person member events again in the future with the people we’ve met at Workplace One.

WP1: How has the pandemic impacted your company and the way your team works?

KD: Ugh. In all the ways. Our clients are health care organizations – so they have been overstretched and overworked in the pandemic. Our clients had to deal with life and death policy decisions – and we helped them write those policies. Our clients have had to switch to virtual care and we helped them navigate that transition. Laws have changed multiple times for health care organizations relating to employment issues, privacy issues, and vaccine mandates and we have explained those changes. For our team, we used to do a lot of in person training and that all went online. We miss seeing our clients in person!