The bridge between knowing and doing is where the opportunity lies.
You can have the best information and medical care and still struggle to make the changes that improve your health. Sustainable behaviour change is genuinely hard and most of us don’t get the support we need to do it well.
That's a system gap; that’s the gap Foster Health is built to fill.
Prevention is the point
Many people reach out to Foster Health before a diagnosis to reduce risk. They've seen the warning signs, feel like they are running on empty, or watched someone close to them pay a price they're not willing to pay themselves.
This is exactly the right time to act. Foster Health is designed to meet you where you are: whether you're managing early risk factors, trying to prevent burnout, or simply ready to stop coasting and start driving.
If you are already living with a chronic condition, such as hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, COPD, chronic pain, or others, Foster Health's programs are also designed to support you.
You set the goals. We help you build and support the habits to reach them.
Why willpower isn’t the problem
The reason most health efforts don't stick has nothing to do with motivation. It has to do with the gap between intention and environment — between what you want and the systems you have around you to support it.
Foster Health's approach is built on decades of evidence in behaviour change, self-care, health and healthcare improvement. It is practical, structured, and honest - change is hard. No shortcuts - just the right tools, the right support, and a process that is designed for your real world.
This is not just a program you complete. It is habits you keep.
What We Focus On
Small, vital actions that fit your real life
Understanding your personal barriers and how to address them
Building self-monitoring skills you’ll use for life
Goal setting that is realistic, motivating, and condition-aware
Managing the emotional side of living with health risks or a long-term chronic illness
What You Build
Confidence in your ability to manage your own health
Practical self-care routines that support you
A stronger relationship with your healthcare team
Resilience to handle setbacks without losing progress
The ability to live fully — not just manage symptoms
A Note From Our Founder, Eileen Patterson
For most of my career, I have been an international healthcare leader — improving quality, scaling innovation, and guiding behaviour change in healthcare teams to perform better for their patients. I was the first to bring the chronic disease self-management leader training to Canada. I saw firsthand how effective behaviour change is done; my path was set. That experience has stayed with me and inspired me to launch Foster Health.
What I didn't immediately admit was the cost to my own health. There was no single moment. Just the slow erosion of well-being and resilience — too much travel, too much stress, and too often putting work first.
When I finally stopped and took a hard look at my own health risks, I realized I knew what to do. I just struggled to make healthy habits fit my busy life. The research is clear: the gap between knowing and doing is where people get stuck. That's where I got stuck. And I saw the same pattern in my healthcare peers.
So I looked to the evidence and built a support system that helps people identify the few changes that make the biggest difference — and use behaviour change methods to make them last. The real work is in the how.
That's why Foster Health exists. Today's pace does not make it easy to stay healthy. It takes deliberate effort to build the support we need. Together, small changes make a big difference.
The experience behind the work
With over 25 years of health system leadership, the expertise of healthcare improvement is now being applied to the practice of health behaviour change. Eileen is committed to helping others build the health they want.
Led healthcare improvements in access, screening, and treatment of illness, healthcare teamwork, patient self-care, and transitions across the system.
Brought the first leader training for chronic disease self-management to Canada; led its spread across Alberta
International healthcare improvement leader — building better health and healthcare across Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean
Health and Life Coach, Health Coaching Institute
Masters of Continuing Education, specializing in Organizational Change
Healthcare Improvement Advisor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute
Member, Canadian College for Health Leaders
Published in healthcare transformation literature
Author, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Primer of Practice Facilitation in Primary Care
‘‘Eileen and I have worked together for over 15 years and I have seen first hand the successes that have come from her leadership coaching time and time again. As a healthcare leader herself, she understands complex problems and everyday challenges, and guides people through the changes to reach their goals.’’
—Dale Schattenkirk