End-of-Year Reflections and a Thank You Note

As 2016 comes to an end, it’s time for us to reflect on all the developments and accomplishments within PVN over the past year. PVN members have been involved in so many impactful engagements and the Network has evolved so much, that it’s hard to believe only 12 months went by!

We want to thank you for your patience and support through our transition process earlier this year, which involved building a new team and launching our newsletters, website (including an online RSVP process), promotional materials, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Group and LinkedIn profiles. Whew!

This year, we grew from 30 to 560 volunteers, who supported or participated in 242 volunteer opportunities, with over 65 health care partners across the province. We’re overjoyed to see so many people of different ages and backgrounds sharing their experiences, hopes and dreams, and working so hard to make BC’s health care system better.

And we’re not done, not even close: PVN will continue to evolve and we’ll always be looking for ways to improve. Whether that’s through the volunteer and learning opportunities we offer, increasing the diversity and connectivity of the network or improving our communication with patient and health care partners. (Remember you’re always welcome to get in touch with us to give feedback, suggest improvements, ask questions, or even just to say hi!)

Now it’s time to take a short break to enjoy the holiday season. We’d like to wish you happy holidays and a marvelous new year, with plenty of time to re-energize and spend with loved ones.

Thank you very much, and see you next year!

Speaking of Evolving: We Want to Hear from You!

We are looking ahead to the next few years for PVN and want to know what’s important to network members and partners to continue its success. The Oversight & Advisory Committee will be developing a 3-year plan to guide PVN moving forward and we need your help in determining the key priorities.

We’ve developed the PVN Consultation Survey so you can share your thoughts on the future of PVN, as well as what aspects of the network are most valuable to you. The survey takes approximately 10-20 minutes to complete and will remain open until Wednesday, January 11, 2017.

A Recap of Our Time at
Fraser Health's Patient Experience Summit

Our project coordinator Shannon Sahota joined Fraser Health’s Patient Experience Summit on December 2 and had a great time watching PVN volunteers in action.

In this post she tells us about her experience and recaps the event.

Updates from Our Oversight & Advisory Committee

The fifth PVN Oversight & Advisory Committee meeting took place on December 5th, and included an update on the BC Academic Health Sciences Network and generation of ideas to improve access for patients to materials during engagements. The committee also discussed the terminology used to describe PVN members and decided to emphasize Patient Partner instead of PVN Volunteer (stay tuned for more information early in the New Year).

If you would like to learn more about what was discussed, the meeting minutes and other information about the committee are available on the PVN website.

Article of Interest: "Crohn's Patient Endures Long Journey toward Stable Health"

After living with Crohn’s disease for most of her life, PVN volunteer Sandra Zelinksky has been sharing her experience to help improve the lives of other patients in similar conditions.

In this article published by the National Post, she shares her amazing story of learning to cope with the disease and overcoming health challenges. Truly inspirational!

Questions or Suggestions?

Your feedback is very important to us. What kinds of volunteer opportunities are you interested in? What else would you like to see in our newsletters?

Send us an email, phone 604.668.8240 or 1.877.282.1919, or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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