Why Susan Hyatt Started Her Journey to Changing Lives with Silver Sherpa 

Susan Hyatt’s parents were living in different Canadian cities when they both went into crisis – at the same time. Susan herself was living overseas and rushed back to Canada. Both of her parents were in the hospital. 

Even though Susan was very familiar with the health system through her years as a critical care and trauma physiotherapist and health delivery consultant, she still encountered substantial and frustrating obstacles related to the coordination of care and services for her parents. The sheer number of physicians, nurses, discharge planners, and other professionals involved further complicated and confused the situation as they were often disconnected from each other. Sudden financial, legal, and estate planning issues also arose, forcing Susan to juggle even more professionals and considerations. 

Major gaps in Canada’s care landscape quickly became evident. It was chaos. There was no central coordination or anyone to help Susan navigate options.  Susan was stuck in a maze, overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated. Through this very personal firsthand experience, Susan recognized the significant unmet need and was inspired to create a solution – a trusted, single point-of-contact to partner with families and navigate the chaos, simplify options, empower informed decision-making, and ultimately mobilize seamless, coordinated action across health and medical, personal, financial, as well as legal priorities.  

Since its inception over 10 years ago, Silver Sherpa has supported hundreds of families with timely solutions to critical situations. Susan’s vision continues to drive the Silver Sherpa team today. 

Discover more about Susan and Silver Sherpa’s story here: