Posted • Last updated
Closed
Commitment: Long-term
Connection method: Virtual
Open to Interior Region, patient partners across the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region
Last updated
Volunteer Opportunity
Interior Health is completing a redesign of the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap Health Service Delivery Area outpatient oncology program. We are looking to engage with patient partners regarding their valuable experience as a patient or caregiver with outpatient cancer care in the region.
Lead Organization/Department
Interior Health Cancer Care Network
Aim
To improve access and delivery of cancer care closer to patients’ home communities in the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region. Patients and caregivers who have received outpatient cancer care in this region in the past have valuable experience and insight that can help to inform our redesign plans. We are looking for partners to be involved in this work.
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: Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region
• Comfortable working in a large group with various levels of site leadership.
• Comfortable sharing health care experience stories, as well as providing input to ongoing discussions.
• Experience as a patient or caregiver with outpatient cancer treatment at Royal Inland Hospital, 100 Mile District General Hospital, and Cariboo Memorial Hospital.
• Please note:
– This opportunity is not open to staff members or patient partners who are currently employed by this health authority.
– 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.
Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 3
Date/Time:
– weekly meetings on Wednesdays from 1:00pm-4:00pm
– beginning April 26, 2023 for a duration of 10 weeks.
• Location: Virtually (Microsoft Teams or Zoom).
• Commitment: attend weekly meetings 1-3 hours for the duration of the 10 week period.
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
This is an Interior Health priority strategic initiative to redesign the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap outpatient oncology services to a “hub and spoke” model in which Royal Inland Hospital is a hub that functions optimally as a tier 4 site (in alignment with the BC Cancer tiers of service), and the smaller rural sites – Cariboo Memorial Hospital and 100 Mile District General Hospital – are spokes supported by the hub in terms of care, resources, and education. The plans for this working group are to understand current state – the services provided and how they are delivered; how to optimize the space at the RIH outpatient clinic; review medical oncology resources in current state and determine a plan that will meet the needs of the communities in regards to population health growth and cancer incidence rates.
This work is supported by the Interior Health Senior Executive Team and will involve the various levels of site leadership (director, manager, PCC, pharmacy, lab, Allied Health) as well as Network leadership (network director and lead). The objective is for this working group to put forth a plan by the end of June 2023. The risks identified are the timeline – we will map out the plan for each session to optimize the time this group will be together and mitigate the risk of not meeting our timeline objective.
The setting for this work is outpatient oncology clinics.
