Patient Partner, Royal Jubilee Hospital Cardiac Short Stay Working Group

Volunteer Opportunity
Have you or a loved one received a coronary angiogram or angioplasty from the Royal Jubilee Hospital Cardiac Short Stay Unit? Join our Working Group to help us improve our services!

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Lead Organization/Department
Island Health, Heart Health, Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) Cardiac Short Stay Unit

Aim
This project aims to improve the patient experience for people receiving care at the Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) Cardiac Short Stay Unit, and specifically those who receive a coronary angiogram or angioplasty. By joining a Working Group that will meet several times over the course of 3-6 months, patient partners will share their thoughts/insights on:
• Ways to make the process more patient & family centered
• What worked well and what needed improvement based on their personal RJH cardiac short stay clinic experiences
• The patient resources and materials that need to be developed or updated.

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: Vancouver Island region
• Have received a coronary angiogram or angioplasty (or have supported someone who has received an angiogram or angioplasty) at the Royal Jubilee Hospital Cardiac Short Stay Unit.
– Please note we hope to recruit diverse voices and welcome patient partners of various ages, genders, heart health experiences, and cultural backgrounds from across Vancouver Island.
• 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 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: 2-4
• Date/Time:
– Starting January 2022
– 1^st meeting will be 2 hours long
– Subsequent meetings will be 1 time per month, for 1 hour
– Exact days/times to be determined
• Location: Virtually using Zoom
• Commitment: 3-6 months, 1 meeting per month, with additional time needed to review documents before and after meetings.

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 Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) Cardiac Short Stay Focus Group is looking to update and improve existing patient education resources to make them more patient and family-centred, and more culturally safe. We hope to better understand gaps in care and communication, through listening to and learning from former patients of the unit. Current education documents and videos are outdated and this is an opportunity to provide the input from patient perspectives of what needs to be added, or changed, so patients and their families are more assured during this time. We hope to recruit diverse patient partners, of various ages, genders, heart health experiences, and cultural backgrounds from across Vancouver Island. We are also committed to seeking guidance from First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners in supporting health care providers to improve the experience of safety, and support a shift of beliefs and behaviours towards cultural humility.

This work is being lead by Julie, preadmission nurse for the unit. Julie has a background in cardiac critical care and provides insight regarding what patients can expect during their procedures and recovery. As Julie started quality improvement work, she realized patients were grateful for clarifications, instructions, and assistance in coordinating aspects of their visit. This work is also being supported by Dr. Daisy Dulay, a cardiologist in Victoria with a quality improvement background. Dr. Dulay recognized the communications challenges between doctors offices, patients and the hospital. It is also being supported by the unit Clinical Nurse Educator, unit Manager, Medical Office Assistant, and Program Assistant. We hope to make improvements based on these realizations and challenges, and to do so with patient partners experiences and perspectives.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

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