BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre is led by the executive team, comprised of senior staff in leadership positions across the organization.
Sarah Bell has been the Chief Operating Officer of BC Children’s Hospital since her appointment in 2019. Previously she held successive leadership roles across various program areas including, pediatrics, mental health and professional practice.
Sarah completed her Diploma in Technology, in General Nursing in 1994 and began her nursing career at St. Paul’s Hospital. She has a baccalaureate degree in English and Classical Studies from Western University, a Masters in Business Administration from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia and a Certificate in Mental Health Law from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.
Sarah is a practising member of the BC College of Nursing Professionals, and is a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders. She is a recipient of the Leader’s for Life Scholarship, and holds the Certified Health Executive designation. Currently Sarah is the Vice Chair of the board of Children’s Healthcare Canada, serves on the board of the Active Aging Society as secretary, and is a member of the British Columbia Institute of Technology INSPIRE Campaign Cabinet.
Sarah is committed to making BC Children’s an inclusive, diverse and welcoming place to work, and is passionate about the implementation of trauma-informed care, and the Canadian Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Dr. Jana Davidson is the chief medical officer for BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre. In this role, Jana has oversight over all medical staff, including physicians, midwives and dentists, working at BC Children's and BC Women's as well as, quality and safety, overall academic mandate, and both research institutes.
Jana was previously BC Children's Hospital's psychiatrist-in-chief and was the Head of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia (UBC) from 2008-2019.
She is a proud BC native and completed all her medical training at the University of British Columbia. Over the course of her career, Jana has provided consulting psychiatric services to virtually all BC Children's mental health clinics, as well as to community-based teams around the province via telehealth.
Jana is driven by her passion to ensure that all those who require care, receive education, undertake research and work at Children's and Women's are welcomed, valued and respected. She is focused on ensuring the highest quality of care and in fostering integrated clinical research.
Among her many accomplishments, Jana received the Premier's Award in 2016 for implementing a Telemental Health service in northwestern BC to create equitable access to child and adolescent psychiatry in that region and the Joint Collaborative Committee's "Champion of Change" award in 2018 for her work in child and youth mental health system transformation in BC.
Ruth Appanah is the executive director of Inter-Campus Operations for BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre.
Ruth began her career working in laboratories at the UK Medical Research Council and the Medical Genetics Department at the University of British Columbia. She has both Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees.
Ruth has held a number of operations leadership roles across academia and health care. She served as an operations coordinator at BC Cancer’s Genome Sciences Centre for six years. Following this, she spent seven years at Simon Fraser University as an operations manager and was later promoted to director of Operations, Safety and Facilities; and director of Strategic Planning and Analysis. She helped lead the SFU Faculty of Science through the pandemic, and paved the way for researchers and lab students to return to campus and carry on their important work. She helped submit the business case for the medical school at SFU, which is expected to have its first intake of students in the fall of 2026.
Ruth is inspired by health-care workers and their commitment to making a difference in the lives of patients and families. Ruth likes to paint and has recently taken up glassblowing. She is a relationship builder and plans to bring her experience in research and health-care to Inter-campus Operations to enhance the C&W campus. Ruth believes in empowering staff and physicians to continue to elevate BC Children’s and BC Women’s hospitals as world-class facilities.
BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children are programs of the Provincial Health Services Authority.
PHSA’s board of directors are experienced and innovative leaders in management and administration, health care, education and research. Visit the PHSA website to learn more.
