Posted • Last updated
Closed
Commitment: Short-term
Connection method: Virtual
Open to Provincial Region
Last updated
Volunteer Opportunity
In January, 2023 join people from across British Columbia’s regions and sectors at the health summit, Breathe and Weave: Talking Across Silos to Enable Health System Improvement. These three dialogue sessions will focus on finding shared priorities for improving BC’s health system and explore how working together can be better enabled across the system.
Lead Organization/Department
UBC Health, Office of the Vice-President, Health, University of British Columia
Aim
The aims of the health summit dialogue series are to:
1. enable participants to learn from each other about health system improvement efforts happening in BC;
2. identify areas/aspects of the system where there is potential to expedite and accelerate these efforts overall; and
3. reveal more opportunities for coordination and collaboration to increase positive impact
This process is not intended to generate formal recommendations for changes to the system. Rather, it is intended to facilitate dialogue and create opportunities for participants to work with others around the table and increase synergy across organizations, regions, and sectors.
The voices of patients and community members in these conversations are essential. The session is intended to ground the collective priorities for system improvement in the lived experience of people using the system. Patients and community members are invited to participate in dialogue sessions and share their perspectives and experience toward this goal.
Level of Engagement
This opportunity is complex in terms of the spectrum of engagement. The purpose of the health summit is to bring together people who are working to improve BC’s health system to find shared priorities and mutual understanding, and then create plans for collective action on issues that cannot be resolved at an individual level. Participants do not have any obligations to any other participants except to speak, listen and choose what action they will take together with others at the table. Further steps are up to those participants. The participants include policymakers, health administrators, health professionals, researchers, and diverse community partners. There will be a wide range of authority among participants, from CEOs to grassroots leaders of change. The promise to you is that in the discussion you will have an equal voice to all other participants to share your perspectives on improving BC’s health system.
Eligibility
Open to patient partners across the province who:
• Are comfortable partcipating in small group discussions with a wide range of health care leaders and describing lived experiences with the health care system
• Are comfortable using Zoom to attend the virtual sessions
• Have a passion for health system improvement
If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and Patient Partner Commitments, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact Cassy Mitchell.
Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 2
• Date and Time: The 3 sessions are as follows:
- Session 1 (Virtual)
Monday, January 23, 2023
12:30-4:30 pm - Session 2 (Virtual)
Thursday, January 26, 2023
12:30-4:30 pm - Session 3 (In-Person for those living in the Lower Mainland or Virtual*)
Monday, January 30, 2023
8:30 am-4:30 pm *In-person at UBC Vancouver, with a virtual attendance option
There is also an option to join Rural Reflections, which are additional dialogue sessions that will focus on what the larger conversation means in the rural landscape. These are one hour at the end of the January 23 and 26 virtual sessions and an in-person session (with virtual option) on January 31, 8:30-12:30.
• Commitment: To attend the 3 dialogue sessions (16 hours in total)
Reimbursement
No out of pocket expenses are anticipated to virtually attend this engagement opportunity. However, if you meet the eligibility criteria, but have concerns about your ability to participate, please contact Cassy Mitchell cmitchell@bcpsqc.ca to see if support options are available. We are always seeking to better understand and reduce barriers to participation.
If you will be attending the in-person session on January 30, 2023 parking reimbursements will be provided (on this date only).
Background
The BC Health Systems Partnership (convened by UBC Health) identified the need to create this space for dialogue to support collaboration across regions and sectors. UBC Health is playing a non-partisan convening role to contribute more expansively in sector leadership and advocacy for positive change given the complexity of health systems. UBC Health convened a group of partners that included policymakers, health authorities, health professionals, researchers, and diverse community partners to identify and determine how to address urgent provincial issues. The partnership group conducted a consultation exercise with more than 600 participants from across the province about health system improvement in BC. The findings revealed consistent priorities among participants and significant opportunities for collective problem-solving. The partnership members have planned this health summit to make space for dialogue to enable more coordinated action on widely held priorities.
There will be three connected sessions consisting of facilitated small-group dialogue. Each session will build on the previous one, so participants are asked to attend all three sessions if possible. The sessions will focus on:
Session 1: Finding common understanding about BC’s health system
Session 2: Forming shared vision for change
Session 3: Identifying collaborative processes and actions
Participants will include healthcare policymakers, administrators, providers, community members, academics, and partners from other sectors, such as industry, not-for-profit organizations, and other organizations interested in health. The dialogue series will bring together people from many levels of authority, such as leaders from grassroots efforts, clinical care settings, and provincial organizations.
As a host and contributor, UBC brings distinct assets to the table, notably disciplinary breadth and depth, a wide range of programs that train the future health workforce, globally recognized research, and meaningful connections with partners throughout British Columbia. The health summit will bring opportunities to activate and channel those assets in a culture of collaboration, integrated vision, and commitment to provincial priorities.
