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Because your voice matters.

Patient Representatives, Transition from Hospital to Community Working Group

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Open to Vancouver Island Region, Patient partners living in or receiving health services in the Saanich Peninsula area

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We’d like to include you in a working group committed to improving the experience of patients and families as they return home after a hospital stay or emergency department visit. If you or someone you care for has required support after returning home to the Saanich Peninsula or relied on services offered through their Community Health Services team, please read on!

Open to: Patient partners living in or receiving health services in the Saanich Peninsula area

Lead Organization or Department

Peninsula Health Unit, Island Health

Aim

This working group is committed to engaging patients and families as they identify opportunities to improve the patient journey from hospital to community. Patient partners will be invited to draw upon their experiences of care and community knowledge to provide feedback during meetings. This will assist the group to better understand how existing processes might be improved.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement (www.iap2.org). The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.

Eligibility

  • Elderly patients or family caregivers who live in and have experience of health services provided by the Saanich Peninsula Community Health Services team or Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
  • Experience as a patient or family caregiver who required support after returning home from a hospital stay or emergency department visit. Supports might include things like short-term or ongoing nursing, rehabilitation, home care, follow up appointments, monitoring etc.
  • Please note: In-patient stay, or emergency department visit may have occurred at hospitals other than Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
  • Comfortable participating in committee and working group settings, including sharing lived experiences to assist the group to understand the patient experience.
  • Willing to attend meetings at the Peninsula Health Unit.
  • If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and Volunteer Agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact Leah Smith directly.
  • The placement process for this opportunity may include an informal interview between the volunteer and the health care partner.

Logistics

  • Vacancies: 2
  • Date and time: Meetings are usually held every 6 weeks, on a Wednesday from 8:30 – 10:00 am.
  • Location: Peninsula Health Unit, 2170 Mount Newton X Road, Saanichton; in-person attendance is preferred.
  • Term: 1 year with the possibility of extension.
  • Time commitment: Attendance at meetings lasting 1.5 hours. Minimal review of meeting materials (less than half an hour) required in advance of meetings.

Reimbursement

Pre-approved mileage and parking will be reimbursed, as well as pre-approved transit expenses such as bus fare.

Background

The Transition from hospital to community working group understands that returning home after a hospital stay or emergency department visit can be a challenging time for patients and their families. Patient partners will be invited to join a working group tasked with addressing gaps in the current approach to supporting patients in need of community health services to return home after a hospital stay or emergency room visit in order to improve the patient experience. The working group will also explore ways to prevent avoidable admissions to hospital and emergency room visits, improve communication and information flow at discharge and between health care providers and services, and also clarify processes, roles and responsibilities at discharge. Patient and family members will be invited to share their lived experiences related to preparing for discharge, the transition home, and the ongoing supports required to manage their condition and reach their goals.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Leah Smith
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Southern Vancouver Island
778.678.3977
lsmith@bcpsqc.ca

From Our Community

Lucie Neliba

Patient Partner, Surrey

Lucie Neliba

The Patient Voices Network has connected me to a community with the same drive to bring person- and family-centred care to the forefront. I am grateful for all opportunities I have been a part of thanks to PVN, which positively impacts patients like my sister and their caregivers. No matter how small, all patient engagement will help shape the future of health care and that I can stand behind