Toby lives with his wife, Susan, in a small rural village located in southeastern Ontario called Newboro. Since his home is an hour away from any acute-care hospital with no access to public transportation, he identifies and is passionate about addressing diverse health needs of rural residents. To this effect, he volunteers to drive rural patients who lack accessible transportation to their scheduled medical appointments.
Professionally, Toby has worked with economically, socially and geographically-disadvantaged communities, mainly in Western Canada. He has also consulted on program evaluations and taught strategic risk management. He uses his professional mindset to inform his volunteer work with the Patient and Family Advisory Councils at his district hospital and at Health Quality Ontario.
Toby’s first memory of a healthcare ‘lived experience’ was in 1951 when he had his tonsillectomy. He started his advocacy work on behalf of his parents during their last years, his wife during her knee replacement surgeries, and her longer emergency hospital visits.
In his later years, Toby has become an advocate for improving less-privileged Canadians’ health and quality-of-life by promoting government investments to lessen adverse social health issues. Nearing his own end-of-life, he also advocates strongly for the decriminalizing and expanding access to Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) for anyone who chooses it.