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Foster Health

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It focuses on lifestyle to improve life & prevent disease.

Foster Health is a health habit behaviour change program led by Eileen Patterson — the healthcare leader who brought the first peer leader training for chronic disease self-care programs to CAN.

11/02/2026

How long does it take to build a habit?

It's not 21 days. In a well-known study from University College London, people took a median of 66 days for a new daily habit to feel automatic, with a wide range from person to person.

Two findings stood out for those of us with busy healthcare schedules:

✔️ Small, simple habits became automatic faster than complex ones.
✔️ Missing a day here and there didn't derail progress. Consistency over time mattered more than perfection.

So if you've ever given up on a habit after missing a few days, you're in good company, and you probably didn't fail. The habit may just have been too big.

Start smaller than feels ambitious:

Not "30 minutes of exercise," but "put on my shoes and walk to the corner."
Not "be in bed by 10," but "phone on the charger at 9:15."

Small enough to do on your hardest day. Then let it grow.

That's the approach we'll use on November 5. You'll leave with one small habit, ready to start the next day. Free, one hour, 12:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET.

What's one habit you'd like to start, if you made it small enough for your hardest shift?

Register free: https://www.fosterhealth.ca/too-busy-to-be-healthy-healthcare

10/29/2026

"I'll exercise when things calm down."

If you work in healthcare, you know how that one goes. Things rarely calm down. That's why vague intentions so often let us down.

The behaviour change research points to a simple fix: an if-then plan that links a new habit to something you already do.

"After I hang up my coat, I'll do 10 squats."
"After I scrub out, I'll take five slow breaths."
"After I sit down for lunch, I'll put my phone away."

A large review of 94 studies found that plans like these meaningfully improve follow-through. They don't rely on motivation. The cue tells you when, so you don't have to remember, decide or find willpower at the end of a 12-hour shift.

At my free webinar on November 5, you'll build your own if-then plan for a habit that matters to you.

Too Busy to Be Healthy? A Session for Healthcare Providers
12:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET

What's one routine you already do every day that could carry a new habit? I'd love to hear your examples in the comments.

Register for free: https://www.fosterhealth.ca/too-busy-to-be-healthy-healthcare

10/27/2026

Here's a bit of my own story, and why I'm running this session.

A few years ago, I passed out one morning. I'd spent a year in a really demanding phase of an executive role, living in a constant state of high stress. I knew better. I'd spent my career helping healthcare teams change how they work. But I'd set my own wellbeing aside for so long that my body finally made the decision for me.

I didn't stop working hard after that. But I started protecting time for myself. I joined a training group and ran the Toronto half-marathon.

The race wasn't the real lesson. The people were. Being around others who were building health habits into their busy lives made it so much easier to keep going. The behaviour change research says the same thing: group support helps people sustain change.

That's why I now bring behaviour change science to healthcare providers and leaders, the people I've worked alongside for more than 25 years.

If you've ever thought "I'll deal with my own health later," this free one-hour session is for you.

Too Busy to Be Healthy? A Session for Healthcare Providers
Thursday, November 5 · 12:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET

Who are the people in your life who make it easier to keep going with your health?

Register free: https://www.fosterhealth.ca/too-busy-to-be-healthy-healthcare

10/23/2026

Nearly half of Canadian physicians (46%) reported high burnout in early results from the Canadian Medical Association's 2025 national survey. In a 2024 national survey of nurses, 9 in 10 reported some level of burnout.

If you work in healthcare, those numbers probably don't surprise you. They might describe your own unit.

And they're not about individuals failing to take care of themselves. Workloads, staffing, admin demands and system pressures are real, and fixing them takes action at the organizational and system level.

Providers need support at every level: safe staffing, manageable workloads, supportive leadership, and practical support for their own health habits.

That last one is the layer each of us can draw on now, alongside the bigger changes that are also needed. It's also the one that tends to slip first when work gets hard.

That's what my free webinar on November 5 focuses on: practical, evidence-informed ways to protect your energy and build health habits that hold up under real clinical schedules. Two sessions, 12:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET.

For those of you in healthcare, what's one small thing that helps you protect your energy on the hard weeks?

Free registration: https://www.fosterhealth.ca/too-busy-to-be-healthy-healthcare

10/22/2026

A question for the people I know who work in healthcare.

You know what healthy looks like. You probably explain it to patients every day. So why is it so hard to live it yourself?

It's not a personal failing. It's about behaviour change.

A lot of us in healthcare spend our days helping other people manage stress, sleep, activity and chronic illness, and then put our own health last. The problem isn't knowledge. It's the knowing-doing gap, the space between what we know we should do and what we actually do. Long shifts, stressful days and the habit of looking after everyone else first make that gap wider.

So on Thursday, November 5, I'm hosting a free one-hour webinar for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare leaders.

Too Busy to Be Healthy? A Session for Healthcare Providers
🗓 Thursday, November 5 · Online
🕛 12:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET

You'll get the behaviour change evidence, draft a health goal that matters to you, and leave with one small habit you can start the next day.

If you work in healthcare, what's the first thing that slips when your week gets busy?

Register for free (choose either session): https://www.fosterhealth.ca/too-busy-to-be-healthy-healthcare

10/13/2026

One of the simplest health habits takes less than two minutes, and you can do it anywhere.

In this video, I share the 5-5-7 breath: inhale for 5, hold for 5, exhale for 7. The longer exhale tells your body it is safe to slow down.
That helps you move out of stress mode before a meal, after a long day, or before sleep.

It is one of five small habits we will practise together at my free webinar, Too Busy to Be Healthy?
Proven health habits that work, even on your busiest days.

Join me Thursday, October 15, at 12:00 pm MT on Zoom. Everyone who registers will receive the replay.
Link to register in the comments.

10/12/2026

Something I keep coming back to since straining my back at the gym: every healthy behaviour has a point where more starts working against you.

→ More exercise becomes less healthy. Push past what you can recover from, and you end up with injury, poorer sleep and time off.

→ More food becomes less energy. A big, heavy lunch on a busy day leaves you sluggish rather than fuelled.

→ More work becomes less productivity. Long hours look like commitment, but over time they show up as fatigue and mistakes.

→ More stress becomes less performance. A bit of pressure can help you focus. Pressure with no recovery is how burnout builds.

→ More information becomes less clarity. Another podcast, another article, another plan. If none of it gets acted on, it's just noise.

None of this means doing less of everything. It's about knowing where your line is.

I see this most with health plans in busy seasons. When life gets full, a lot of us decide the answer is a bigger plan. New routine, earlier alarm, three new habits at once. Then one rough week hits, it all falls apart, and we file it under "too busy to be healthy."

The fix is usually smaller than we think. One habit, attached to something you already do, small enough to survive your busiest day.

That's what I'll cover in a free one-hour webinar on Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 pm MT (2:00 pm ET). It's online, so you can join from your lunch break, and you'll leave with a 12-month health goal and a first small habit ready to start the next day.

Which one of these "more becomes less" moments feels closest to home for you right now?

10/07/2026

How many of us keep saying, "I'll get back to healthy habits when things calm down"?

I said it for years. In 25 years of healthcare improvement, I never had a job anyone had held before me. I was the first Leader of Integration, the first Director of Quality Improvement and the first VP of Quality Improvement. None of these roles came with a map, and the work improved care for whole populations. I was honoured to be part of it.

So yes, I sometimes put my own health on hold. I expected it to be temporary. I trusted my body to wait for me.

It didn't. Stress, eating on the go and skipping workouts do matter. Our bodies don't care about deadlines. Health isn't a place we arrive and stay. It's built on everyday habits.

A lot of us plan for the week we hope to have. Then new demands and interruptions show up, and our good intentions get pushed aside. Here are three ideas that help habits hold up anyway.

Use a cue. Attach the new habit to something you already do every day: after you pour your morning coffee, when you park the car, as you close your laptop. The cue does the remembering for you.
Start with a mini-habit. Two minutes of stretching. One glass of water. Two flights of stairs. Make it small enough for your busiest day. Doing it consistently starts to change how you see yourself, as someone who follows through. Build up once it's steady.
One habit at a time. Habits take longer to settle in than we expect, and that's normal. Trying three new ones at once can get overwhelming fast. Pick one, track it, and add the next only when the first feels like part of your normal routine.

This week I'm wrapping up my Health Habits Beta Bootcamp. The participants are busy, well-informed people, and these simple supports still made a real difference for them. I'd like more people to have access to this, so I'm hosting a free webinar.

Too Busy to Be Healthy? (free, one hour, online)
Thursday, October 15
12:00 pm MT / 2:00 pm ET
Join from your lunch break

Link to join in the comments

You'll leave with your own Health Habit Trail: a 12-month health goal that matters to you, and a first small habit ready to start the next day.

So I'm curious: what's one small habit you've managed to keep, even in a busy season? Share it below. Your answer might help someone else get started.

10/05/2026

Are you too busy to be healthy? You're not alone.

So many of us know what we should be doing for our health. It's fitting it in between work, family, and everything else that's hard.

On Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 pm MT, I'm hosting a free one-hour webinar to help with exactly that. We'll talk about simple, evidence-based ways to build habits that hold up when life gets busy, and everyone will leave with their own Health Habit Trail mapped out: a 12-month goal and a first small habit to start the next day.

It's free, it's one hour, and you can join from your lunch break.

You can register with the link in the comments

Please share with anyone who's been saying "when things calm down…"

10/01/2026

Have you come across Choosing Wisely?

It's an international movement that encourages patients and clinicians to have honest conversations about unnecessary tests and treatments. In Canada, Choosing Wisely Canada works with clinical societies to name the tests and treatments in their own fields that often aren't needed.

I really like this idea because it pushes back on something most of us believe without questioning. More testing feels like more certainty. More treatment feels like more care. But too many diagnostics and too many interventions can create their own problems: follow-up tests for findings that didn't matter, side effects from treatments that weren't needed, and a lot of worry along the way.

It got me thinking about how we manage our own health, too.

When a lot of us decide to get serious about our health, we add. A new supplement, a stricter plan, another app to track something. Each one feels responsible on its own. Together, they can become more than anyone can keep up with.

Sometimes the better move is to take something away and see what actually matters.

More isn't automatically better. In medicine, or in our own lives.

Has a clinician ever told you that you didn't need a test or treatment you expected? How did that conversation land for you?

Address

Calgary, AB

Telephone

+15872244468

Website

http://www.fosterhealth.ca/

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