Join Our Team as an Engagement Leader!

The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, which administers PVN, is hiring an Engagement Leader for the Victoria/South Island region!

Engagement Leaders work closely with both health care and patient partners to guide them along every step of the patient engagement process. Sound good? This maternity leave position might be the one for you!

A role with the Council is perfect for those who thrive on relationships, trust and collaboration. No two days at this job are alike, and the ideal candidate will navigate this with confidence, problem-solving skills and humour. If this describes your skill set, we invite you to apply. We can't wait to hear about what you'd bring to our team!

Apply for the position by October 3.

P.S. Stay tuned to meet our newest Engagement Leader in the Northern region!

Feedback from Patients and Families Drives
Improvement at Fraser Health

Each month, we'll be focusing on the work of PVN partners in a different region of BC. First up, we're sharing what's happening in the Fraser Valley!

Jami Brown, the Engagement Leader in that area, wrote a guest post on our blog about a great new initiative by Fraser Health, started with the help of a Patient Advisory Council, to gather real-time patient data within hospitals.

A hospital volunteer surveys a patient in Ridge Meadows Hospital's Rehabilitation Program.

Jami interviewed staff and volunteers from Royal Columbian and Ridge Meadows Hospitals to find out how they are working with an innovative survey tool, which allows hospital staff to make improvements based on this data almost immediately!

Read the blog post.

PVN Patient Partner Is Awarded the
Fraser Health Hero Award!

Finderson "Fin" Alves, a PVN Patient Partner and long-time Royal Columbian Hospital volunteer, has been awarded a prestigious honour by Fraser Health. He is the recipient of this year's Above and Beyond Fraser Health Hero Award! Congratulations, Fin!

Finderson Alves has received the Fraser Health Hero Award

Fin was a renal dialysis patient at Royal Columbian Hospital 20 years ago. When he underwent a kidney transplant after six years on dialysis, he committed to giving back to his community by volunteering with the very hospital where he'd been receiving his treatment. And he's been doing so ever since.

Alongside his duties at the hospital, Fin has been involved with quality improvement projects as a PVN Patient Partner. Most recently, he has been part of the Fraser Health Kidney Care Planning Committee and the Royal Columbian Hospital Redevelopment Project.

Fin is a tireless advocate for kidney health. In addition to volunteering with PVN and Royal Columbian Hospital, he is the president of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Eagle Ridge Chapter. Thank you for all you do for your community!

Hear more about what makes Fin a hero.

A PVN Patient Partner's Health Journey Makes
the National News

Pamela Jessen, former co-chair of our Oversight & Advisory Committee, has a unique health story to tell. She was recently able to sit down with journalist Wency Leung from the Globe and Mail to do just that!

Pamela was in the unexpected position of requiring hip replacement surgery at a young age, and speaks about what it was like to be a patient who is not like what doctors might otherwise expect. We admire Pamela's bravery for sharing her patient experience with such a wide audience!

Read about Pamela's experience.

Interior Health Research Week
September 24 - 28 | Various Locations including Online

Engagement, Evaluation & Beyond Citation Webinar
October 2 | Online

Patient Partner Orientation Session — Vancouver Island
October 12 | Victoria General Hospital

See all the events in our calendar.

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 and Facebook.

PVN is guided by patient and health care partners and administered by the: