Attendee, Conference on Healthy Aging and Complex Care for Older Adults

Do you have a particular interest in health care for older adults? Are you interested in what the latest thinking is on topics such as dementia, frailty and healthy aging? The BC Academic Health Science Network is hosting a two-day symposium and would like to ensure that the voice of older adults and their informal caregivers is heard.

Open to: Patient partners across the province

Lead Organization or Department

BC Academic Health Science Network (BC AHSN)

Aim

To bring together academics, policy makers, care providers, patients and informal caregivers to hear from experts and discuss issues of importance to the health of older adults. Day one will focus on dementia and frailty. On day two, attendees will explore issues related to healthy aging and complex care with an emphasis on how they pertain to people living in rural and remote areas. Patients and informal caregivers will provide their perspectives on these discussions.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of inform on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that you will be provided with balanced and objective information to assist in understanding alternatives and solutions.

Eligibility

Open to patient partners across the province who:

• Are an older adult (55+ years) or an informal care giver such as family and friends
• Are comfortable sharing experiences in large groups
• Can demonstrate an interest in older adult health care services such as dementia, frailty, healthy aging and older adults with complex care needs. Consideration will be given to how the selected patient partners might use or enhance the sharing of knowledge gained going forward
• We are seeking people who represent diverse perspectives, which may include but are not limited to geography/neighbourhood, culture, ethnic or national origin, marital status, age, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, income variety, education, work experience, genetic characteristics, family status, disability, and/or experiences with health challenges or health care. The composition of those attending the Conference on Healthy Aging and Complex Care for Older Adults is guided by the desire to learn and to share perspectives and experiences from across a diverse population and broad demographic balance.

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 Cassy Mitchell.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 25 (12 allocated for the North and 13 from across the province)
• November 7-8, 7.30am - 4pm (to be confirmed). On November 7 there will also be a dinner from 6 - 9pm.
• Prince George
• One-time commitment; in person. However, it is also hoped that this event will be the start of relationship-building for future engagement opportunities.

Reimbursement

All eligible expenses related to attendance at the symposium will be reimbursed according to the travel policy of BC AHSN.

Background

The British Columbia Academic Health Science Network (BC AHSN) was initiated by the BC Ministry of Health (MoH) as a strategic opportunity and a path to enable and embed research, teaching, and ongoing professional support across the continuum of health services in BC. Connecting and integrating these sectors as part of a Learning Health System promises to improve our Province’s ability to implement system-wide innovations, and to improve health outcomes and value (health system improvement). Our fundamental assumption is: By connecting and enabling collaborators and partners, and providing infrastructure that is not otherwise available, the British Columbia Academic Health Science Network has the potential of achieving more than any one organization can do on its own and can drive innovation and ‘at-scale’ improvement at the provincial level. Accordingly, BC AHSN sees its role as being a champion and facilitator of innovation, and an engine enabling such innovation, in a high-performing Learning Health System. Our focus is Transformative System Change targeted at three provincial health priorities:

• Primary and Community Care
• Rural and Remote Services
• Emergency and Surgical Services

In our provincial Learning Health System, our intent is collective impact at the population level and achieving the Quadruple Aim:

• Increase population health
• Improve patient experience and outcomes
• Achieve value for money
• Enhance the work life of health care providers

For more information about the BC Academic Health Science Network, visit: https://bcahsn.ca/

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Cassy Mitchell
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Northern Interior
250.279.0717
cmitchell@bcpsqc.ca