Posted • Last updated
Closed
Commitment: Long-term
Connection method: Virtual
Open to Vancouver Island Region, Greater Victoria area
Last updated
Volunteer Opportunity
Island Health is embarking on an innovative project to pilot improvements to the Heart Failure Service at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. We are looking for patient partners to provide their perspective on how innovations can better meet the needs of the Heart Failure patient population.
Lead Organization/Department
Island Health, Office of the Chief Medical Information Officer
Aim
The aim of this initiative is to implement innovations into the Heart Failure service to improve the experience, quality, health outcomes and care services for patients, client and families. The patient partner will have an integral role by providing the patient perspective to the re-design.
Level of Engagement
This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.
Eligibility
• Open to patient partners from: the Greater Victoria area.
• Lived or living experience as a patient or family member with, and/or with knowledge of, heart failure.
• Comfortable sharing their patient experience and providing insights into what is important to them in their care.
• Comfortable with using Zoom for meetings and have access to internet and an appropriate device for virtual meetings.
• An interest in digital health or virtual technologies is an asset, but not a requirement.
• We know from research that the Indigenous population is overly represented/impacted by heart failure, and by inference we know that a proportion of the cohort we are aiming to benefit is Indigenous. We would like to work together in collaboration with an Indigenous patient partner to ensure we do not assume but develop a solution together that aligns with our organizational values. For this reason, we strongly encourage and support Indigenous patient partners to RSVP to this opportunity.
• Please note:
– This opportunity, as with all Island Health patient engagement opportunities, is not open to Island Health staff members or patient partners who are currently employed by Island Health. If you have questions regarding this, please email patient.experience@islandhealth.ca
– As connection and relationship building is important, we may like to meet with short listed patient partners as part of our selection process in an informal interview between the patient partner and the health care partner.
– Applicants must have previously attended a PVN orientation session and completed the Patient Partner Commitments form. If you have not attended an orientation session but you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Charmaine Niebergall directly to see if accommodations may be possible.
– As required by the October 14, 2021 Public Health Order released by the Provincial Health Officer, proof of vaccination is required to access any in-person meetings at an Island Health site. Proof of vaccination can be provided by way of a Vaccination Passport or Vaccination card, along with government issued photo ID. For patient partnership activities that are virtual only (via Zoom, video conference, phone, etc.), proof of vaccination is not required.
Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 2
• Date/Time: To be determined
• Location: Virtually using Zoom
• Commitment:
– Online monthly meetings for a duration of 1 hour
– Additional time for reading through pre-meeting documents will be required
– Meetings to be held for 3-6 months beginning in October 2022.
Reimbursement
No out-of-pocket expenses are anticipated for this engagement opportunity. However, if you meet the eligibility criteria but have concerns about your ability to participate, please contact Charmaine Niebergall cniebergall@bcpsqc.ca to see if support options are available. We are always seeking to better understand and reduce barriers to participation.
Background
The Heart Failure (HF) service redesign aligns with one of Island’s Health priorities to foster innovation and provide the right care, in the right place for our patients through digital tools and virtual health. The Canadian Institute for Health Information identified that HF is the 3rd leading cause of hospitalizations in Canada, after giving birth and heart attack (CIHI, 2020). One of the goals of the project is to reduce hospitalizations through the use of virtual tools to increase accessibility of care and improve patient engagement in their care.
As per the Heart and Stroke foundation, “Heart failure (HF) is an epidemic. It’s one of the fastest growing cardiovascular conditions in the world…..[and] we need to fight [it] on all fronts [including]; advancing research, preventing the damage that reduces heart function, creating new treatments, and enhancing and improving diagnosis and early access to care and medications.” We are looking to create a new digital pathway for patients in the island health community through our innovation project, starting with a pilot focused on the heart failure patient population in greater Victoria. We are committed at Island Health to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
