Transcript
Jessica Bindra: ...of these inspiring individuals exploring...
Find A Way Podcast: Hello everyone, this is episode 108, Equity Care, and our guest today is Jessica Bindra. Jessica is a caregiver, researcher, and healthcare care leader dedicated to advancing equity in dementia care.
Find A Way Podcast: Drawing on over a decade of experience in healthcare and her personal journey caring for her father, Jessica has championed systemic improvements that make care more inclusive, culturally responsive, and person-centered.
Find A Way Podcast: Currently completing her master's at york York University, she is focused on closing service gaps in dementia care for equity-seeking groups. In our conversation, Jessica shares how lived experiences and research can come together to transform healthcare care and empower caregivers across Canada.
Find A Way Podcast: Welcome, Jessica.
Jessica Bindra: hi thank you for having me.
Find A Way Podcast: It's such a pleasure to have you today. Before we start with some questions, can you share more about your business?
Jessica Bindra: I, sure. um so I actually started a lot. My parents were immigrated, immigrated to Canada from India. And, um, like that story, they worked really hard and still that within us, that work ethic of working to your summers after schools, weekends, and, um,
Jessica Bindra: they slowly started getting into franchising and that became a whole new learning on its own. So that franchise world is where I learned about the power of standardization, how processes and well designed they were.
Jessica Bindra: And I created that, creating that both that consistency and sustainability. And what struck me later as I went through on my life is that, you know, You can actually use a lot of these standardizations in not-for-profits and in healthcare care when I started getting exposed to that space.
Jessica Bindra: And I started noticing it a lot because it was so fragmented and stretched thin. So what I did is that I brought what I learned from franchises into healthcare and social services and combined it with like all these lean methodologies, process improvement methodologies.
Jessica Bindra: But then I added a new lens because I was learning about health equity at that time. in my undergrad and social justice. And because I believed in the healthcare needs to be both person centered and profitable, because I'm coming from a for profit place.
Jessica Bindra: And I noticed there was this way of not really there, they would use their resources as best as possible or as fiscally as responsible. But when you start using business principles for not for profits, it kind of becomes a game changer. And so That's what led me to my business to create qualityimprovement.ca, where I'm taking AI-driven, people-first processes um and taking that engineering platform for not-for-profits, for healthcare sectors, and it helps organization untangle this really complex space that we're in and you know pushing for excellence and quality demands while keeping lived experience at that center of every
Jessica Bindra: meaningful quality improvement initiative. So really asking yourself, you know, what is meaningful? Why are we doing it? And then working from that space rather than saying, okay, um we're trying to do this to get money.
Jessica Bindra: But actually the money and the value is in the people we serve, which is our clients, our communities. If we want to see better and healthier communities, it really is going to start with better processes in organizations.
Jessica Bindra: So that then later on then doves in dovetails into my second venture, which is Provider Finder. um And it's born out of my experience of being a Sikh Canadian, a caregiver to my father who was diagnosed with dementia in 2017.
Jessica Bindra: And trying to navigate that system for my father was extremely overwhelming, not for just myself, but my entire family, because we're coming in with these blinders about what even this disease is. And there's this misconception about what Alzheimer's is in the media. It's been very romanticized.
Jessica Bindra: So it really struck me as a South Asian, and I'm trying to get my father, you know, resources out there, And we couldn't find the resources at all, let alone know where to go.
Jessica Bindra: So just imagine there was there's no platform right now across Canada where you can go in and be like, I need to get this PSW or I need to get this.
Find A Way Podcast: Thank you.
Jessica Bindra: And maybe we can connect these allied health care forces together and be like, where can I get the kind of care that I need? And so that's where the problem is. And so from that, saw i saw Many families like mine who don't see ourselves reflected in either the research, the programs or policies. So it kind of just started driving my whole career into dementia care to provide health equity and process improvement, and kind of bring them all together neatly in this space. So Provider Finder is that tool we wished existed, which helps family find supports quickly and clearly while honoring culture, of dignity and belonging.
Find A Way Podcast: That is so beautiful, Jessica. um I'm so glad you're taking care of that. I'm curious, what has your, you know, you've mentioned a few aspects of the experience you had, but what has your experience as a caregiver to your father with dementia taught you about the realities that families face that aren't always visible to healthcare care systems?
Find A Way Podcast: I'm sure you're identified um many learnings there.
Jessica Bindra: Oh, so there are so many, there are so many, um
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: so many realities out there. um When I first started getting into dementia care, um people used to say, when you know one person living with dementia, you only know one person.
Jessica Bindra: Because everyone's trajectory, everyone's life experiences, the journey is so unique and different to that person because every person is unique. So you don't know what they'll forget or not forget or what people in their family, their strengths are and what their strengths are not.
Jessica Bindra: So it's taught me the hardest part of caregiving for a person living with dementia is that you will be invisible. to this caregiving space. And families carry exhaustion, financial strain, cultural disconnection long before the system ever sees them.
Jessica Bindra: And for me, the hardest truth is that it's been realizing that my father, you know, the resources that he needs, our country just doesn't have them sometimes.
Jessica Bindra: For example, um my father immigrated to Canada in nineteen seventy s um the early 70s. And to this day, we don't have a South Asian, um we don't have a South Asian specific long term care home that can actually for provide them care.
Jessica Bindra: And there are so many communities like myself who might feel like I don't really know where to send my parents or i don't know where to go for culturally appropriate care.
Find A Way Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Jessica Bindra: I need to find people who can explain this to this disease or this type of, um yeah, this disease to people we love. And I don't know how to do that and explain it in very layman terms.
Jessica Bindra: And we have physicians using really great articulate words, but they're not able to bring it down so an average person might be able to understand really what's going to be happening here.
Jessica Bindra: So that absence of cultural safety, of not having food, language, faith, your community, it's really missing in our services. And that sense of dignity is also then missing because you can't really see yourself identified in that.
Jessica Bindra: And that invisibility is something that thousands of family members and caregivers then have to burden and hold on to and carry in silence. Because they're they're trying to advocate when they don't have resources. So how do you advocate for somebody when you're not equipped with the tools and the knowledge to do so?
Find A Way Podcast: true
Jessica Bindra: And so you're just like trying to figure it out as you go along.
Find A Way Podcast: that's so true and i'm i'm curious like your personal journey ah clearly has shaped a lot in what you're doing your masters and everything that you're dedicating to um can you share more about how this uh created this decision get your career to dementia care and
Jessica Bindra: Can you hear that? I just wanted to ask you quickly. So my father's um diagnosis happened in 2017 and it kind of happened in a really traumatic way.
Jessica Bindra: But that actually is where I said to myself, you know, this is a big problem So diagnosis happened 2017. I had noticed it a bit when I used to work in the like the cancer space and orthopedics, but what really hit home was my dad's diagnosis. Because you know when something hit hits home, you really see the glaring holes, actually. They're not even just gaps. They're just holes in the system. And you're like, oh, wow this is bad.
Jessica Bindra: And at that time, i already had spent quite a bit in the healthcare system. and doing QI. So I had already said yes, looking at social determinants of health from a quality improvement perspective.
Jessica Bindra: on But when I got to dementia care, because it's a space where there's so many holes and gaps already and it's pretty fragmented, the inside of me already had right away clicked in that we can definitely use a franchise system in that franchise world in here by standardizing creating systems across the nation and even across little communities, smaller communities, provincially,
Jessica Bindra: And then federally, how we can use these processes to help close the gaps, because we all can actually build a really great system. Without reinventing the wheels, you just take the best system that is working that's already been there.
Jessica Bindra: and And so I really had taken that space because, you know, when we look at franchises, and we look at these for profits, there are a lot of wonderful processes and procedures that are in place, right?
Jessica Bindra: So it's It actually is considering how do these not-for-profits take a process in place and then focus in on equity. So focusing on those client outcomes rather than, okay, we just need to get a program out, but rather be like, who do we need to make sure we're getting programs out to?
Jessica Bindra: So as a Sikh Canadian, I realized that, you know, my family wasn't reflected in these researches and these programs. And my pursuit ever since has always been, you know, how am I going to bring equity seeking groups to the forefront and push them in process change?
Jessica Bindra: Because that's the area that I specialize in, in standardization, in processes. So being like, at what point do we say, this is a great equity process, and now we can bring it forward, and you can curate the process to meet the needs to your local communities the way you need to.
Jessica Bindra: And so that invisibility has made me realize that equity isn't optional, that if we integrate it into our process, you can make it a mandatory, ever natural way So that if it's designing care in a way that truly works for everybody from the get go.
Find A Way Podcast: That's I and love to live seeing that actually implemented and working wonderfully. So I'm thank you for doing this.
Find A Way Podcast: um I know. Well, I wasn't exactly a caregiver to my mother in law. She struggled with cancer for a few years, and I know my my father in law was constantly exposed to this caregiving um function.
Find A Way Podcast: And it's usually people describe it as both rewarding and exhausting as well.
Jessica Bindra: Yeah.
Find A Way Podcast: So how have you personally navigated this emotional and mental challenge? Because it is heavy on us. It's heavy for the people around us and around the family members that are going through that.
Find A Way Podcast: So how do you personally navigate this? Great.
Jessica Bindra: So I think there's two things that I always say to myself that, especially in dementia care. So the first part is in caregiving. I always say that caregiving is love in motion. It's love in action in the things that you're doing. And that perspective really um keeps me going because, you know, what it it demands a lot from you.
Jessica Bindra: It demands your attention, it demands you physically, emotionally, always. While you're also in dementia care specifically, you know, you're losing somebody, ah actively losing somebody, right?
Jessica Bindra: Because they're there, yeah, on a daily basis.
Find A Way Podcast: on a daily basis.
Jessica Bindra: And so because of that, you're always like, okay, so what allowed me to keep sane, but also reminded how lucky I am that I always say this, today is my dad's best day.
Jessica Bindra: Today is my dad's best day because I know tomorrow is going be so different.
Find A Way Podcast: That's beautiful.
Jessica Bindra: I have no idea what tomorrow is going to go. So I just live in today with that. And I said, you know what? Today's his best day. This is the best he's going to be. and I just need to keep moving that.
Jessica Bindra: And so, you know, in my faith, in the Sikh faith, we say there's a lot about Seva. and selfless service. And it just reminds me that I'm so lucky to be even doing this.
Jessica Bindra: So I just focus on that on the small joys that I have with my dad, because at the end of the day, that's really all I'm going to have left now. And that when I look back and I go back to videos of us doing stuff with my dad, and I think I can say that for my family as well, that that's really all we have now is videos and pictures.
Jessica Bindra: and these memories of things that we do because that's that's it. So.
Find A Way Podcast: That is so profound and um I got chills multiple times while you were saying, so not only the caregiver is love in motion, I'm going to absorb that and keep that for the rest of my life.
Find A Way Podcast: ah Beautiful phrase and living as people's best day.
Jessica Bindra: my
Find A Way Podcast: And I think we should all take that.
Jessica Bindra: It really is. You know, if you know anybody living with Alzheimer's or dementia, you'll know that, you know what,
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: There will be an end for it. We can pause because there's no cure. There's no actual cure. So there's just ways to pause it with these new therapies that are coming through or delay bit of it as it progresses. But it's progressive.
Jessica Bindra: And one day I'm going to wake up and my dad's not going to know me at all. And, you know, it's not just that. It's like his functions are going to be um deteriorating as well. Like what he's ah able to do.
Jessica Bindra: And, you know, just... Knowing that today's my dad's best day. And, you know, this this is limited. This is not it's not going to go on forever. It may feel like that sometimes. So it's like ah I remember getting a cup from another company and this the saying on the cup was the years are long, but the day no, the days are long, but the years are short.
Jessica Bindra: I honestly, I look back and I was, i i remember in those times I was like, oh my God, this is going by so ah slowly. And now when I look back, I was like, it went by too fast.
Find A Way Podcast: Oh, wow.
Jessica Bindra: Yeah. So just remember that.
Find A Way Podcast: What does advocacy mean to you on a personal level? And how do you sustain your passion in such a demanding space? Because it it's hard. And I'm sure there are moments that you're just like, i I can't do this. It's too much. And, you know, let me just do something else with my life. So I'm interested to seeing your point of view because you are so passionate. But how do you sustain that?
Jessica Bindra: um So advocacy means turning lived experience is to into systemic solutions. And so, you know, when you're on individual projects, you get frustrated and you're like, oh my God, I wish this person would just like understand what is going on here.
Jessica Bindra: And then you have to stop and say, you know what, I'm going to pull myself back. And remember, there's a bigger piece here.
Jessica Bindra: And then reminding them of the who benefit, who's actually benefiting out of this. And why are we actually sitting around the table here? So it's not just about, you know, process improvement. It's not just about ah creating, you know, meeting an accreditation status.
Jessica Bindra: It's about How are you amplifying voices through a process change for a greater good? So that by creating this change, this process change, how are we supporting families after us who don't face the same barriers?
Jessica Bindra: So barriers of access, barriers to programs, can't find like a program in the language that they need or a resource in that. And That includes like missing that, okay, there's a lack of South Asian long-term cares or programs and services that speak to dementia programming or invisibility in researches.
Jessica Bindra: And, you know, i think I kind of live in the, I live and keep myself motivated in the gaps. In the absence of stuff i is where I actually and thriving and being like, nope, we need to close the gap.
Jessica Bindra: And remembering that this is no longer about just my father. It's about my father. father And that's why I say this is about my family's story, my family's journey with caregiving. I'm just one person representing all of my family.
Jessica Bindra: But this is about my father, my family, and and my community. And so many communities out there who face the same complexities as we do, that we're all not so different after all.
Jessica Bindra: And I just channel that into my business and provider finders and quality improvement. And that advocacy just keeps building and just building it into every process change and the process change so we hear voices of co-creation and co-design.
Find A Way Podcast: That's great.
Jessica Bindra: of what's happening. And I take my experiences of what barriers I dealt with. And I can envision them in the policies and the processes and be like, and so what happens this if a person comes in, they don't know how to access your service, or if it's not clear, then I'm not afraid of saying it's not clear.
Jessica Bindra: I'm like, so if we're here to make things different, make it clear, want be kind, make it clear.
Find A Way Podcast: True, very true. ah you You did mention many service gaps that you feel and you've, you've on a personal level, have faced it in your journey with your father.
Find A Way Podcast: But in your research at York University, what are the service gaps in dementia care for the equity-seeking groups have you found most urgent to address?
Jessica Bindra: I think like from where I stand and even based on the research and the research has been out there for years. It's well before I even got into dementia care.
Jessica Bindra: There was a professor out of a university of Alberta, actually who was writing about it, who happened to be a gerontologist or internal medicine and said, we have people with equity seeking groups who are missing or South Asian communities who will be finding issues in um accessible services such as culture, language, identity, and those come in the forms of programs in places to live.
Find A Way Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Jessica Bindra: in um funding for these programs and services. And so I feel like in service gaps, while they're that the spectrum is everything from ah education and awareness, we see it in accessing programs and services, finding the right counseling in dementia care, finding education in South Asian languages for the very diverse languages that we have in South Asian communities.
Jessica Bindra: but then all the way down to long-term care, complex care, and then palliative care, hospice. Like we see the, there's a gap all the way through.
Jessica Bindra: And I say, I feel like they're all, there's no one more than the other urgent. Because until you don't get to that phase, you don't feel like that's an urgency. So when we say dying with dignity, right? Okay, I would love to do that. But don't you want to die in dignity in a space that you can identify with that knows cultural appropriate care during that phase of your life now in that new chapter?
Jessica Bindra: So it's all urgent.
Find A Way Podcast: That's more familiar to you. Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: It becomes all urgent.
Find A Way Podcast: No, lovely. ah you You, Jessica, you bring both healthcare care experience and quality improvement expertise, such as the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Find A Way Podcast: how these ah How do these disciplines work together to create real change in dementia care? And for your perspective?
Jessica Bindra: um So I feel like um it's funny because a lot of people who met me, they're like, oh, you just brought everything you've learned your whole life together. I was like, basically, that's what I did. So franchising taught me standardization in a really great way.
Jessica Bindra: um Healthcare care gave me that equity seeking people first mentality and my own experiences. And then quality improvement really gave me the tools in how we measure these items. And gave me that lean methodology, looking at process, looking at elimination of waste.
Jessica Bindra: How can we do it better? we coming back to that, right? um And I think when you're a caregiver, you can't help but be honest and be like, that's bullshit. and That's not going to work.
Jessica Bindra: Or that actually doesn't really work.
Find A Way Podcast: Thank you.
Jessica Bindra: And, you know, it's not about always, you know, they say, oh, it's all about profit driving and you're trying to be profit driven Lean methodology is about removing waste.
Jessica Bindra: I don't believe in that. I don't think lean methodology is about let's remove waste. It's about give time where you need to and then remove it where you don't. Like that's what it's about. So waste is a very, very big term for a small thing that um Lean Six Sigma bell Black Belt teaches you. Really what it's trying to teach you is where's their waste?
Jessica Bindra: And then so that you can devote time where you need to. So when we get into these AI processes, we want to do things that have no value added to it. So, okay, the value added in documentation, maybe value added in, you know, going from one place to another, like these non-value added items that don't really happen to support the person at the end, the end user.
Jessica Bindra: How do we reduce that waste so that we can get more face-to-face time in counseling? or supporting people with dementia with products and services that they need rather than the administrative burden, right? Because that's actually what we need. We need more face-to-face um counseling or face-to-face interactions than we do with that.
Jessica Bindra: So I think um process that process engineering process improvement along with the lens of health equity and equity has been...
Jessica Bindra: ah ah and And having that caregiver experience has amplified the work that I do. I think that's really what's actually in amplified my work because um that's what I've been able to really hone in and say, well, is that really what people want?
Find A Way Podcast: no From this decade of experience in the hospital, community health, long-term care, what are the systemic shifts that you believe are the most needed to make care more inclusive and person-centered?
Jessica Bindra: um I think we need to move away from, and I don't know how people feel about this, but, you know, stop looking at the disease, but look at that lived experiences with a disease.
Jessica Bindra: So it's not just about getting the diagnosis, but they're they're not going to be on a journey. So how do we reshape that journey for those families, that experience with that with that disease? Because They're on now a road that we all know what the end is going to be.
Jessica Bindra: So how can we make it the most pleasant journey for them, right? Instead of just bringing it down about the disease. um
Find A Way Podcast: Thank you.
Jessica Bindra: I think also we really need to look at community integration. We all, there every community has these jewels and gems within communities um they we all have them, these amazing programs and services.
Jessica Bindra: And it's not on one organization or one business or anybody to figure it all out. But actually, it comes in the power of collective conscience and collectively working together to support system navigation.
Jessica Bindra: And i think that's what it's about. And I think if I had one more thing, And getting comfortable with the idea that there's no one size fits all.
Jessica Bindra: it's And it's okay. Like standardization will go so far and then get ready to curate the program. that's And it's okay.
Find A Way Podcast: No, perfect.
Jessica Bindra: It's okay because we're all individuals. Because at the end of the day, person-centeredness and co-creation is really at the core of what we should be doing.
Find A Way Podcast: and perfect um Okay, looking ahead into the future, I know it's hard to predict the future, but ah what do you hope that your platform and your advocacy will achieve for caregivers and Canadians that are navigating dementia and other complex healthcare care journey journeys?
Jessica Bindra: Um, honestly, i wish I can, um, if I could be like, okay, in five years, I have unlimited amount of funding and I had all the money in the world and I didn't have to worry about anything.
Find A Way Podcast: I like that.
Jessica Bindra: I would honestly make this into the Tinder of healthcare. So you can go, I honestly am trying to drive it like that.
Find A Way Podcast: like
Jessica Bindra: It would be the tender of healthcare care and you going on and be like, do I like this healthcare care provider or not? And you disrupting the healthcare care system so much so where You're no longer at the mercy of figuring out who's accepting patients, but doctors are begging you to come to them because they want you.
Jessica Bindra: They want to make you healthier. So let's really disrupt the healthcare system by creating Provider Finder to be that provider. place where you go in and you be able to be like, yep, this is like, if I was looking for a PSW, I'd be like swiping left and right and be like, who do I like? Who or do I not like?
Jessica Bindra: And then being able to be like, what physicians do I like? And and then building your circle of care, building people who who actually care about you should be the ones around you. And people who don't, well, then if it's not a good fit, it's not a good fit.
Jessica Bindra: And that's, if I had all the money, I would make that platform into that. And hopefully I can drive it into that.
Find A Way Podcast: And that's a very engaging way to describe the platform. So it's a little, you know how you say it.
Jessica Bindra: Yeah, I really it would be like the Tinder of health care. Like imagine going in and be like, oh I'm looking for a physician and I want it to be female. I needed to speak this language and I needed to be in this area. And that's who it is.
Jessica Bindra: And you're going through this thing and be like, this is what like this.
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: way I like their bio. I don't really like what they're by. They seem friendly because at the end of the day, we have to, if we are not happy with our healthcare care provider, then we're not going to get the best of We want somebody who's good to spend time with us.
Jessica Bindra: But I feel like right now we're at the mercy because one, you can't find one and then you don't know who's accessing one.
Find A Way Podcast: For sure.
Jessica Bindra: So provider finder will help that to get to that place.
Find A Way Podcast: And then when you find it, you have to hang on to it, even though if it's not fit, because it's fine.
Jessica Bindra: Yes. Then you want to make sure you don't get too sick so they don't want to not see you. You know, like, it's a counterproductive and why we why we're trying to access a physician, right?
Find A Way Podcast: Exactly.
Jessica Bindra: And then when you do see them, you end up waiting so long.
Find A Way Podcast: That's
Jessica Bindra: So you're like, hey, I just want to be able to get in and get out. I want somebody who's able to see me virtually or maybe I do want to see somebody I i like somebody I can walk into. So shouldn't you have the ability to choose who you want and how you want it?
Jessica Bindra: And honestly, i really
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: i Like if you ask me where I wish I could take this, I wish I could take it to a global level where people will start being be like, you know what? I'm okay of getting a provider in like Brazil.
Jessica Bindra: I know this great physician and I want my family physician to be that. And I'm okay to pay whatever amount it is that they're looking for if I feel like that's the way to go. And then I could just have globally disrupt how I want my healthcare system.
Find A Way Podcast: That's very visionary and who knows? I i think there is, well, keep working on it. I hope there's a chance for that. It would be great to get some.
Jessica Bindra: yeah I really do think that like.
Find A Way Podcast: There's some things I would like to go back in my home country home country and take care of with my, you know, ah original doctor.
Jessica Bindra: like so imagine you had a doctor from your home country and you're like, oh, they're so lovely and wonderful and they're willing to see you virtually.
Find A Way Podcast: Oh yeah.
Jessica Bindra: And you're like, yeah, and we're in the space of VR and everything. Yeah. So I don't really see, like, imagine Zane be like, hey, I'm sitting in my doctor's office right now.
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah. Why not?
Jessica Bindra: Let me call you back. And you're like, but you're in Toronto. And you're like, no, yeah, but they're in like Trinidad so or in India. And so, you know, I just want to sit there and we're having a conversation just like that. and you're like, oh, done.
Find A Way Podcast: I love that.
Jessica Bindra: Right? And that's it. I think that the way we can do things can be so much better. And I hope I'm a part of that.
Find A Way Podcast: No, I hope you are too.
Jessica Bindra: Yeah.
Find A Way Podcast: um We have this thing in the podcast, Jessica, that we asked our previous guest to leave a question for the next guest.
Jessica Bindra: stem
Find A Way Podcast: And the one that was left for you is at the end of your life, what would you have made what would have made you proud for the life you lived?
Jessica Bindra: Um,
Jessica Bindra: I think I, I took a disease that forever changed my family. Um, I took that struggle and that devastation and I turned it and into a systemic solution.
Find A Way Podcast: That's beautiful.
Jessica Bindra: I think that's what it was. So if, even if one caregiver, one family, one person
Find A Way Podcast: And hopping.
Jessica Bindra: One racialized community can say, you know what? That really helped me. Her story helped me. Her family story helped me to navigate the system. ah um I'm good.
Jessica Bindra: Like, I'd be like, yeah, I did something in life.
Find A Way Podcast: That's beautiful, Jessica. Thank you for sharing that with us. And hopping into some more like ah very personal questions. Well, I think the whole conversation has been very personal, but if you could have dinner with any person alive or dead, who would that be?
Jessica Bindra: um Maya Angelou. And yeah, and you know what, I think she has this extraordinary ability to turn pain into poetry and um creating resiliency into wisdom.
Find A Way Podcast: Ooh, okay.
Jessica Bindra: And I think as a caregiver, as an advocate, um I feel like I'm also standing at those same intersections.
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: of life where we look at trying to find hope in a disease, right?
Find A Way Podcast: yeah
Jessica Bindra: and strength in a space that is really difficult. And I, I think she inspires me a lot in the work that I do that to be strong and just keep going.
Jessica Bindra: Yeah.
Find A Way Podcast: That's beautiful. And if you could summarize, what is success to you?
Jessica Bindra: Um, I think success, it's funny because I remember one of my mentors once asked me, he's like, he would tell me a story. He's like, you know, my father had always said to me, you know, what's your legacy, right?
Jessica Bindra: And so that had always stuck with me. He's like, what is going to be your legacy? And I remember thinking, I was like, that's such an interesting question. So success to me is actually that legacy.
Jessica Bindra: What is your legacy? What is your impact? when it um When it's a caregiver that says, because of your work, I felt seen, I feel seen. I feel like the system sees me now.
Jessica Bindra: You know, um I think an organization that once didn't see that, you know, you have a community out there that has no resources and that you ought to reach out, who puts people first.
Jessica Bindra: It's not about the recognition. It's more about Leaving ah system behind or outliving a system that you know will now serve the families better.
Jessica Bindra: That impact it's going to have. um Especially because caregivers have been invisible and people living with dementia have been invisible in our healthcare system for a very long time.
Jessica Bindra: We're extremely underfunded. And so you know what? um It's just nice to be able to leave it in a better space than it was.
Find A Way Podcast: That's lovely. um I think I know the next answer that you're going say based on what I've been, based on our conversation. But if you could choose a superpower, what would it be and why?
Jessica Bindra: Um, you know what? I, I was, I feel like I know it sounds crazy, but it's going to be opposite of what I'm always doing, which is go, go, go, but resting.
Jessica Bindra: I think as a caregiver, you know what?
Find A Way Podcast: ah wow.
Jessica Bindra: i would give people the power of respite because you know what? You need a minute to collect yourself and When you collect yourself, you need to, it comes with like this thing of being compassionate.
Jessica Bindra: You are more resilient and you're not a robot. Like my husband used to say, he's like, you're not an Android. You need a minute to like collect yourself.
Find A Way Podcast: Yeah.
Jessica Bindra: And I think if I could give something as a caregiver myself, it would be respite, rest, whatever you want to call it. um And giving them that strength to keep going.
Jessica Bindra: In order for you to keep going, you need a minute to pause. And so I think that self-reflection allows that. Like rest allows for self-reflection.
Find A Way Podcast: yeah
Jessica Bindra: That's why i don't choose self-reflection. I feel like you need but in order to do that, you need to stop, right? And be like, I need to stop. So rest. Rest is what I would say.
Find A Way Podcast: so
Jessica Bindra: Yeah.
Find A Way Podcast: Out of 108 episodes, this is the first time I got that answer.
Jessica Bindra: issues
Find A Way Podcast: We usually say, oh, I want to be able to fly or speak multiple languages or heal people. But then this is a very unique. So thank you for sharing that. I like that. Moving on to some rapid fire questions. I'll give you two options. You choose whatever you feel is more inclined to you.
Jessica Bindra: Okay.
Find A Way Podcast: Wine or cocktails?
Jessica Bindra: you Wine.
Find A Way Podcast: um Karaoke or trivia night?
Jessica Bindra: Karaoke.
Find A Way Podcast: Ice cream cone or cake slice?
Jessica Bindra: Ice cream cone. But then not eat the cone.
Find A Way Podcast: yeah
Jessica Bindra: good
Find A Way Podcast: ah City break or remote retreat?
Jessica Bindra: Oh, city break.
Find A Way Podcast: And ah we always ask for book recommendations, Jessica. Is there any book that you'd like to recommend to our audience?
Jessica Bindra: Yes, you know what I'm reading right now? I have it out with me too. It just happens to be i thinking fast and slow.
Find A Way Podcast: Oh, perfect.
Jessica Bindra: Yeah, that's what I'm reading right now.
Find A Way Podcast: ah Amazing. So I guess you're enjoying it.
Jessica Bindra: Who knew you were going ask that question, eh?
Find A Way Podcast: And before we close the episode, we always, as I mentioned, we would love to have your question that you'd like to leave to the next guest. So um what would that be?
Jessica Bindra: um I think what I want to ask um the next entrepreneur is whose voice or experience is missing from your business today and how will you make sure that they belong tomorrow?
Find A Way Podcast: Wow, I love that. Okay, thank you for that.
Jessica Bindra: machine
Find A Way Podcast: Thank you so much for telling your story. And thank you for your time, Jessica.
Jessica Bindra: Thank you.
Find A Way Podcast: I had a lovely time. Is there anything you'd like to add before we close the episode?
Jessica Bindra: Um, no, I think I thank you so much for the opportunity um to showcase um my businesses, my story, my family story, um and giving me the opportunity to advocate for my community and people living with dementia and caregivers.
Find A Way Podcast: No, my it's our pleasure.
Jessica Bindra: Thanks.
Find A Way Podcast: Thank you so much. This was our episode 108, Equity Care with Jessica Bindra. We'd like to thank all of our listeners and would like to remind you that we will be posting one episode bi-weekly, always with a different guest.
Find A Way Podcast: So make sure to subscribe on your favorite streaming platform.
Jessica Bindra: Was it OK? ah okay
