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Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that, without timely treatment, can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and, possibly, death. Since 2012, the BC Sepsis Network has promoted early recognition and treatment of this disease, which causes a death every 3.5 seconds around the world. On September 13, World Sepsis Day, you’re invited to join the Global Sepsis Alliance in the fight against sepsis!
Patient partner Darlene Clayton, from Kispiox, BC, lost her son to an opioid overdose in 2018. In this post, she talks about how an Indigenous approach to wellness could improve treatment for people who use substances.
A retired public health nurse from Esquimalt, Margaret Scott-Peters became a patient partner to share her experience and knowledge to keep improving BC’s health care system. She attended the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council’s Engage to Improve: Creative Solutions for Working Better Together workshop on June 5 and wrote a blog post about her experience. Read on!
Anyone who lives with persistent pain will know how much energy it takes to simply get through a single day. That’s why I asked myself what in the world I was thinking when I applied to attend the intensive three days of meetings, speakers, seminars, field trips, hallways, elevators, no daylight and thousands of people that was the Quality Forum 2019.
Known as the “Small Centre with a Big Heart,” Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, in Vancouver, provides specialized development and rehabilitation services for children, youth and families throughout BC. The organization saw International “What Matters to You?” Day as a chance to engage staff by encouraging conversations with families. The results were impressive, so we asked Leslie Louie, the centre’s Family Engagement Advisor, to write a blog post about the campaign.
If you or a loved one have ever been sick and in need of care, you’ve probably felt the fear and anxiety of not knowing exactly what was going on and what the treatment would be. And you’ve probably felt relief and comfort if your health care providers made a point of including you in all care decisions. That’s what our patient partner Kyle Warkentin felt during his mom’s care experience, which he shares with us in his “What Matters to You?” story.
As we mentioned in our post about how to create a self-care plan, a good self-care strategy can involve physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual and social aspects. They influence each other and our general well-being, so it’s essential to balance activities. If you often feel like you prioritize some areas and neglect others, it may be time to reevaluate and add new self-care ideas to your list!
Now that you learned how to get started on self-care, it’s a good time to start creating your self-care plan. It consists of identifying what makes you feel good, how to do more of those things and how to cope if you go through a crisis. Read on to find out how to create your plan!
Happy Patient Experience Week! We want to thank all of you who volunteer your time to improve health care in BC. Volunteering is a selfless act and we know that it can sometimes take a toll on patient partners, especially when it involves sharing personal experiences. That’s why we’ll be publishing a series of posts about self-care this week, as caring for yourself is not only very important for your own health and well-being, but it also helps you care for others too!
We’re celebrating National Volunteer Week 2019 and thrilled to see all the amazing results of patient partners’ work across the province! One of them is Lisa Ridgway, from Victoria, who is participating in patient-oriented research to help improve mental health care in BC. Read her post to learn more about her experience.
Health Quality BC administers the Patient Voices Network. Using evidence-informed strategies, the Council shifts culture, improves clinical practice and advances person- and family-centred care to support high-quality care for every person in our province.