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From Diagnosis to Action – the Dementia Companion Handbook 

In 2008, patient partner Mario Gregario received a life-altering diagnosis of dementia. “Sometimes when people receive a life-changing diagnosis, they become depressed. I looked at it as how can I improve myself and the next generation.”    Determined to help others improve their experience after diagnosis, Mario…

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New Resource Alert – Engagement Opportunity Tracking Form 

PVN patient partner Terry Wilde is a busy man. He came to PVN four years ago after experiencing and witnessing a lot of gaps in care and health care harm for his wife. He looked for a way to turn his grief into action.    “I was going…

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Provincial Grant to Enhance Family Councils’ Voice in BC

Residents living in long-term care and their family* deserve to have input into decision making which affects their daily lives. Residents, who are able, advocate for themselves via Resident Councils. Family Councils advocate on behalf of their loved ones, the resident community at large and family caregivers as part of…

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Improving Patient Voices Network to Have it Work for You

The right information, at the right time and in the right place – all working to make engagement opportunities better for YOU. We are improving Patient Voices Network (PVN) processes to better meet the needs of today’s BC health care system. Health care organizations want to lead and shape their relationships with…

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Our 2021/22 Annual Report is Here!

The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council is thrilled and excited to share the Patient Voices Network’s work through the 2021-2022 Annual Report! We’re proud to have supported 383 patient partners in 154 new engagement opportunities, and welcomed 172 new patient partners to the network.  The…

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COVID-19: PVN Patient Partners Respond

After two full years of co-existing with COVID-19, it may no longer seem like a ‘novel’ virus. With each new wave, new challenges wash ashore, and the societal and health system impacts of COVID-19 continue to evolve. Like health care staff, PVN patient partners rose to the challenge and contributed…

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Falls Prevention: With Patients. For Patients.

Falls are a leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations and often the reason why older adults lose their independence. Without prevention efforts, it is estimated that one third of people over the age of 65 will fall once or more each year.1 Fortunately, falls are not inevitable. Coordinated prevention efforts and…

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Improving Emergency Psychiatric Care at Cowichan District Hospital

It is no secret that people with mental illness experience stigma in society. While not a secret, what is less broadly understood are the ways in which structural and interpersonal stigma around mental illness have contributed to a system of care that leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, for many…

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Psychological Safety in the Surgical Suite

Psychological Safety. It’s a notion that most would agree is important, but a bit elusive. The formal definition is “the degree to which people view the environment as conducive to interpersonally risky behaviours like speaking up or asking for help.”1 In health care environments, when it is lacking, staff and…

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From Our Community

Karla Warkotsch

Patient Experience Consultant – Interior Health

Karla Warkotsch

The question I like to ask health care employees is ‘Who is this for?’ and ‘Do we have the right people at the table?’ As a health care employee, I see how easy it is to fall into doing for, rather than doing with patients. The voices of the patient, family and caregiver are essential to ensure the patient is central to the direction and focus of the work being done.