Skip to main content

Because your voice matters.

Patient Advisor, Critical Care Network Steering Committee – Fraser Health

Posted • Last updated

Closed

Commitment: Long-term

Connection method: Virtual

Open to Fraser – Vancouver Coastal

Last updated

Volunteer Opportunity
The Critical Care Network’s focused on how to provide the best care across Fraser Health for its busy Intensive Care Units (ICUs). They are seeking one patient partner to help to connect what matters to patients, families and caregivers into those efforts.

RSVP Now

Lead Organization/Department
Critical Care – Fraser Health

Aim
• To develop quality improvement projects that focus efforts in improving a person- and family-centred approach to critical care across Fraser Health.
• Patient partners will provide their lived experience into the development, implementation and evaluation of priorities for quality improvement projects in critical care.

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 volunteers from Fraser Health communities who:
• Like to work in a team environment.
• Thrive in an idea-generating team.
• Have experience in an intensive care or high acuity service in Fraser Health. Fraser Health offers critical services at the following locations: Royal Columbian Hospital, Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Burnaby Hospital, Peace Arch Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Ridge Meadows Hospital, Langley Memorial Hospital, Chilliwack General Hospital.

Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Date/Time: To be determined, in discussion with selected patient partners.
• Commitment: 2-3 hours, every month; 2-year term.
• Location: Combination of in-person, ad hoc telephone/emails and Microsoft Teams meetings. In-person meetings will be held at Langley Memorial Hospital.

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 Jami Brown- jbrown@bcpsqc.ca to see if support options are available. We are always seeking to better understand and reduce barriers to participation.

Background
The Critical Care Network Steering Committee membership is multi-disciplinary and includes Directors, Program Coordinators, Managers, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and the Regional Medical Director.
The committee aims to develop a consistent approach to quality improvement across Fraser Health and to facilitate communication and sharing for units offering critical care services in Fraser Health.
Critical Care Network Goals and Vision include a focus on:
• Creating Capacity to Care
• Quality and Safety
• Staff and Physician Engagement

We are looking for a patient partner to join the critical care network to advise on quality projects in critical care. The new patient partner would be joining our current patient partner to support the network’s quality initiatives. Two upcoming projects that the critical care network would like patient partner input on are our Patient and Family Experience Survey and Model of Care projects.

The patient and family experience survey was developed in 2020 with previous patient partners; however, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented a detailed implementation of the survey in our critical care units. We are aiming to revise the survey developed in 2020 with our new patient partner and have this implemented in Spring 2022.

The model of care project is a large-scale project that is aimed at improving the way we deliver critical care services in Fraser Health Authority. The patient partner would help provide input at various stages of this project to ensure that the patient and family experience is optimized in our new care model.

In the first phase of this project, previous patient partners were engaged in a session to identify the crucial aspects of Patient and Family-centered care in critical care, which developed guiding principles for future phases of the project. In the next phase, we hope the patient partner can advise on how patients and families are integrated into everyday life in the critical care unit. Virtual meetings and exploration sessions would be part of this work, and review of practice changes from the patient/family perspective.

Once the patient partner has become part of the network, other quality projects may arise that we would ask if the patient partner would like to participate in.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jami Brown | BA, MAPC (she/her/hers)
Engagement Leader
BC Patient Safety & Quality Council
604.510.0449
jbrown@bcpsqc.ca

From Our Community

Cherie Mercer

Patient Partner, New Aiyansh

Cherie Mercer

I have learned so much about innovation and capacity building by being part of PVN. I signed up to build my leadership skills, however, I experience benefits for myself, my community and Indigenous peoples throughout the province. I understand more about the complexities and opportunities required to improve health care.