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Because your voice matters.

Category: Working Together for Better Health Care

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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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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Engaging Patients, Caregivers and Families in Developing BC’s Stroke Quality Standard

The BC Health Quality Matrix is an excellent resource that presents a definition and common language for understanding quality through seven dimensions: respect, safety, accessibility, appropriateness, effectiveness, equity and efficiency. But what does quality care mean for a specific health condition or journey? Certainly “best practice recommendations” and “clinical guidelines” highlight…

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Improving Medical Imaging Services at Interior Health

Interior Health is making improvements to medical imaging across the region to improve the quality of care, including access to services, and to explore innovative opportunities into the future.

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Skunkworks: Hacking Pain

Skunk-what? Skunkworks is an approach to problem-solving that assembles multidisciplinary teams and empowers them with mentorship and tools to tackle big challenges and prototype solutions.

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From British Columbia to Brazil: Patient Engagement Goes Global

When Patient Voices Network patient partner Aline Silva saw the chance to combine her passion for health care with her experiences as a patient, she jumped at the chance. Aline’s dedication to patient engagement has gone global through her connections to Brazil and Canada. One of our Engagement Leaders, Jami Brown, chatted with Aline about her experiences.

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