Member, Island Health Heart Health Development Steering Committee

Volunteer Opportunity
Island Health is growing and so are the numbers of patients that are reliant on timely, high-quality heart health services. Over the next year, we will be coming together with multiple groups to plan how we’ll improve heart health care in Central and North Vancouver Island.

RSVP Now

Lead Organization/Department
Island Health – Heart Health Department

Aim
Island Health is expanding existing heart health services while also creating new heart health programming within Central and North Vancouver Island. These changes will help us provide patient care that is of high quality, closer to home for those that require it. This is an exciting adventure to engage with cross-island stakeholders in order to develop services that are desperately needed within Island Health. Patient partners will be asked to bring patient experiences to the planning sessions and will be reviewing data, engaging in conversation around needs, and contributing to planning of workflows and processes.

Level of Engagement
This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

Eligibility
• Open to patient partners from: Vancouver Island region (patient partners located in the North and Central Vancouver Island is an asset).
• Experience and comfortable working with groups.
• Comfortable with sharing your patient experience stories.
• Comfortable working closely with and sharing your opinions with healthcare providers.
• Comfortable using Zoom for virtual meetings.
• 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
– The placement process for this opportunity may include an informal interview between the volunteer and the health care partner.
– Applicants must have previously attended a PVN orientation session and completed the Volunteer Agreement. 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.

Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 2
• Date/Time: Starting in November, 1-2 hour long meetings, 1 time per month
• Location: Virtually over Zoom
• Commitment: 7 months to 1 year

Reimbursement
No out-of-pocket expenses are anticipated for this engagement opportunity. Any costs associated with mileage, parking, or other associated costs that are necessary for heart health development work will be reimbursed to the patient partners by the Island Health Heart Health Development team. 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 population outside the Capital Regional District is growing; it is now home to over half of Vancouver Island residents. The equitable access to heart health services has been a growing opportunity for all populations on the island. There is an identified increasing pressure from citizens, physicians, and organizations, to expand heart health services.

It is Island Health’s goal to therefore expand existing heart health services while also creating new heart health programming across the Vancouver Island region. These changes will help us provide patient care that is of high quality, closer to home for those that require it. The Island Health Heart Health Development team will be part of making this important work possible. All members of the Island Health Heart Health Development team will receive a Terms of Reference document as well as any associated documents, such as meeting agendas and meeting minutes.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Charmaine Niebergall
Engagement Leader, Patient & Public Engagement | Vancouver Island
778.700.2064
cniebergall@bcpsqc.ca