For Terri Lynn Hansen, Director of Acute Medicine, Critical Care, Respiratory Therapy and Transitions, giving back through William Osler Health System’s (Osler’s) Employee Giving Campaign isn’t just about generosity—it’s about gratitude. After 28 years at Osler, she’s seen health care from every angle: as a team member, as a daughter, as a mother, and as a patient herself.

Terri Lynn’s connection to Osler runs deep. Her career began with a role her mother—a nurse at Peel Memorial Hospital—spotted on the job posting board. She’s grown from a physiotherapy assistant to director, worked across nearly every department, and helped shape the care countless patients receive today. But it’s the care her own family received that moved her to become a donor.

She remembers racing between wedding preparations and hospital visits when her mom had a heart attack just two weeks before her big day. “The nurses weren’t just caring for my mom—they were cheering me on,” she recalls, eyes welling up at the memory. “They brought sunshine into a really hard moment. I’ll never forget that.”

Both of her sons were born premature—one at Peel Memorial Hospital, the other at Brampton Civic Hospital—and spent their first days in the NICU. “Those nurses held our hands—sometimes literally—and made us feel like our baby was their baby.”

It’s that personal connection that fuels Terri Lynn’s passion for employee giving. “Every time I talk to staff about the campaign, I tell them: if you or your loved ones come here for care, you’re investing in the kind of experience you want them to have. That’s what giving does—it builds the hospital we all count on.”

She’s the first to say that every gift matters. “Skip a few coffees a week and put that money into the campaign. You don’t need to give big. You just need to give. It adds up.”

For Terri Lynn, Osler has never been just a workplace. “My mom worked here. My kids were born here. I’ve built my career here. We’re all part of this place, and that’s why I give.”