Cancer treatment involves decisions and effects that often overwhelm and scare patients. To help in these delicate moments, the UBC School of Population and Public Health created a peer navigation program to match prostate cancer survivors as peer supporters for patients undergoing treatment. In this blog post, Dr. Arminée Kazanjian tells us more about the […]
As a palliative patient, Sally Rosevear’s husband passed away at home without comfort measures, emotional support or assistance with personal care, despite her efforts to get him the best treatment possible. She decided to share their story to improve health care and help prevent other patients from experiencing what she and her husband went through.
After our post with 10 Ways to Implement Person- and Family-Centred Care in Your Health Care Practice, patient partners asked us for ways that they, too, can approach patient- and family-centred care. So we put together a helpful list for patients and families. We hope you like it!
Health care partners usually come to us for ideas on how to implement person- and family-centred care in their practices. So to celebrate Patient- and Family-Centred Care Month, our engagement leader Cathy Almost put together a helpful list of tips for care providers. Check it out!
October is Patient- and Family-Centred Care Month, a very special month for us! We’ll be celebrating with a series of blog posts about strengthening connections and making health care more person-centred. To kick off, our engagement leader Jami Brown wrote about how we can work together to create a healthy environment of person- and family-centred […]
It is with the utmost respect and admiration that we salute the legacy and life of our patient partner Gerry Johnson. Gerry passed away in July and will be missed immensely by his family, friends and everyone whose spirit has been touched by his kindness and helpfulness.
We’re excited – and proud! – to announce that patient partners Lisa Ridgway and Beverley Pomeroy have launched the first patient-led podcast on patient-oriented research. They’ll use their experience to host conversations with health care researchers and academics, health care decision-makers and other patient partners. In this post, Lisa talks about their motivation to create […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
PVN Patient Partner Chad Dickie was recently sponsored by PVN to attend a great learning opportunity: a workshop on Design Thinking facilitated by the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. Chad has been a volunteer since 2017 and has been a part of several committees and Boards, and involved with multiple patient engagement opportunities. He […]
As part of our monthly blog feature on all the regions of BC (so far, we’ve done posts on a successful PVN project at Fraser Health and takeaways from the IAP2 conference in Victoria), we are focusing on Northern BC this month! We’ve asked Cherie, a PVN Patient Partner, to tell us about her experience […]
It appears to be a regular day on the rehabilitation floor at Ridge Meadows Hospital. Staff serve meals and check on patients, while families visit their loved ones — all in a day’s work. There’s something different on this day in particular, though: hospital volunteers, armed with iPads and positive attitudes, make the rounds at […]
Patient Partner Charles Lee and Engagement Leader Jami Brown recently attended the 2018 Networks Leadership Symposium in Vancouver, BC. This year, the symposium was themed “Networks as Balancing Acts: Managing Inherent Tensions?”. The purpose of this event was to encourage participants to explore a range of network tensions and the challenges involved in trying to […]
PVN Patient Partner Delia Cooper won the Leadership in Advancing the Patient Voice Award in the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council’s 2017 Quality Awards. Delia was recognized for her dedicated volunteerism supporting those with arthritis and other chronic conditions. Quality Award winners each receive a $2,500 sponsorship to support ongoing development and disseminate learning […]
In this blog post, patient partner Edwina Nearhood, a “What Matters to You?” Ambassador, discusses why the initiative resonates with her personally, how she got involved last year, and how she plans to keep the momentum going in 2018!
We were recently given the chance to connect with BC Emergency Medicine Network to discuss their recent work with PVN.
Our second guest blog post for National Volunteer Week is from patient partner Chad Dickie. In this piece, Chad discusses the importance of using your voice to make a difference and explains how patient perspectives can contribute to positive changes in the health care system.
Katherine Willett was many things: a change maker, a beloved community member, and an outspoken advocate for family caregivers and seniors. The Patient Voices Network would like to take this time to acknowledge all the lives Katherine touched and the many changes she fought for as a volunteer in our health care system.
It’s National Volunteer Week, and we’re putting the spotlight on some of our incredible patient partners! In this blog piece, patient partner Jean Shepherd discusses how she got involved with PVN and what motivates her to keep using her voice.
Patient Experience Week is just around the corner, and Providence Health Care is gearing up to celebrate the health care staff, volunteers and members of the community that impact the patient and family experience! If you’ve been a part of their efforts, make sure to attend their appreciation event on April 26th!
Quality Forum 2018 has come and gone – and it certainly made an impact! In this post, patient partner Donald Grant shares his thoughts and takeaways from two jam-packed days of networking, information sharing and learning opportunities.
Visiting a hospital can be a frightening, emotional experience, especially if you’re a child. In this poem, patient partner David Baxter reflects on his work in the Psychiatric Emergency After Hours Service, and how he was able to connect with a young patient to provide comfort in a time of need.
We are dedicated to bringing a range of voices to health care planning discussions. Including individuals of all ages will ensure that BC’s health care system reflects the needs of BC’s communities. Carol Stathers, Engagement Leader for the Interior region, shares how she partnered with two nursing students to encourage engagement among young adults.
Our engagement leader for the Interior region, Jacquelyne Foidart, has been directly involved in our efforts to follow the lead of Indigenous Advisors to increase the participation of Indigenous patient partners in health care improvement. In this post, she shares a few approaches we’ve tried and the results so far:
Chad Dickie was one of two patient partners selected to participate in a Being an Effective Change Agent workshop offered by the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council in October. In this post he tells us why he decided to join the workshop and his main takeaways from this learning opportunity:
As you may have seen on our Engagement Opportunities page, Island Health is looking for patient partners to join several Quality Councils on Vancouver Island. We invited Catherine Marrie, a consultant with Island Health’s Quality and Patient Safety Portfolio, to write a blog post explaining these unique opportunities:
Pamela Jessen was one of our patient partners selected to join the judging panel in charge of deciding the winners and runners-up for the 2018 Quality Awards. She shared her experience in this post:
Change Day 2017 is taking place on November 17 and you’re invited to join us in making health care better in BC! In this post you will learn more about the campaign and how to submit your pledge and stories:
The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) recently engaged PVN Patient Partners, as well as patients and families across the province, in a province-wide opportunity to help develop a Patient and Family Inclusivity Policy and Playbook (toolkit). In this post, project lead Shannon Griffin recounts PHSA’s experience engaging patient partners: “Our goal with this engagement opportunity […]
Our patient partner Linda Perkins, from Surrey, has been fighting blindness for the last 20 years. In this post, she tells us her story and the meaningful difference a true health care partner has made in her health and her life:
No one can say that our patient partner Bob Strain doesn’t put his heart into spreading the importance of patients expressing what matters to them and taking the lead in their health care. This year, Bob is so dedicated to promoting the message far and wide in preparation for “What Matters to You?” Day tomorrow […]
Everyone becomes a patient eventually. A month ago, it was our engagement leader Cathy Almost’s turn, when an accident made her seek care at the emergency department. Now she describes her experience and her findings about what matters to her as a patient:
Our fourth guest post for Patient Experience Week is from Danica Longair, a PVN Patient Partner who experienced exceptional care through two pregnancies.
Our third guest blog post for Patient Experience Week is from Colleen Kennedy, who interviewed social worker Brenda Goossen. Brenda shared her reasons for joining “What Matters to You?” Day and her perspective as a provider on the patient experience.
Our second guest blog post for Patient Experience Week is from Beth Campbell Duke, a PVN Patient Partner with a caregiver’s perspective on “wrap around” health care.
Our first guest blog post for Patient Experience Week is from PVN Patient Partner Jean Shepherd, whose story shows the importance of compassion and listening.
Oshi Mathur was one of the 20 PVN Patient Partners to attend Quality Forum 2017, which took place March 1-3 in Vancouver. In this post he describes his experience at the Forum and his main takeaways from participating:
We’re thrilled to say that this year, for the very first time, the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council (BCPSQC) will be broadcasting Health Talks, the Quality Awards ceremony, and the Quality Forum’s plenary sessions on Facebook Live during Quality Forum 2017! The events will be available to those who can’t attend in person, as […]
Has a health care provider ever asked you, “What matters to you?” Have you ever shared with a health care provider what truly matters to you in your care? Asking that simple question has launched an international campaign that we are thrilled to be a part of. Today, the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council, […]
A key priority for PVN is to diversify our network to better reflect the population in BC. We’ve been working to recruit people with specific health experiences, youth and men, as well as populations of varying social and cultural backgrounds. In this post, our engagement leader Carol Stathers tells us more about PVN’s initiatives to […]
A few weeks ago, our patient partner Edwina Nearhood wrote a guest post about what she was looking forward to learning at the National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. Edwina was very excited about attending the conference and, in this follow-up post, she tells us what the experience was like:
Our project coordinator Shannon Sahota joined Fraser Health’s Patient Experience Summit on December 2 and had a great time watching PVN Patient Partners in action. In this guest post she tells us about her experience and recaps the event:
Since joining PVN in early summer 2016, Edwina Nearhood has participated in many engagement opportunities. In this guest blog post, she tells us why she’s looking forward to attending the National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care: “I was put in contact with PVN after I had a less then desirable experience over several […]
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