Pick a Name for the PVN Newsletter!

We’ve been sending the PVN newsletter for quite some time and, let’s face it, calling it “our biweekly newsletter” is a little boring. Will you help us fix that?

We’ve brainstormed three ideas: The Patient Voice Mail, The PVN Dispatch and The PVN Scoop. Which one do you prefer? Do you have any other suggestions? Please choose your favourite name in this survey! And stay tuned: we’ll reveal the winning name in our next newsletter.

Vote for your favourite name

We Grabbed Coffee! Here’s a Recap of
Our Vancouver Island Networking Event

We’re always looking for ways to get to know our volunteers better and learn more about their suggestions on improving the Network. That’s why we’ve been planning a series of networking coffee events across BC for volunteers, PVN Engagement Leaders and health care partners.

The first event was in August in Vancouver, and the second one took place recently, on September 22 at Royal Jubilee Hospital, in Victoria. Read our recap.

One of Our Own Has Won a National Award

We’re very happy to announce that our long-time PVN Volunteer, and new BC Patient Safety & Quality Council Member, Johanna Trimble has won the 2016 Patient Safety Volunteer Champion Award, presented by HealthCareCAN and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

The award salutes a patient/family volunteer who contributed to a project or initiative with identifiable improvements in patient safety, and Johanna was chosen for her amazing commitment to creating change within the health care system and raising awareness around over-medication of seniors in care.

Johanna will receive the award at the 2016 Experience Conference this month in Moncton, and we couldn’t be any more proud! Congratulations, Johanna!

Join the #LivingWithPain Experiment to Make Pain Visible

Pain is the most common reason for seeking health care in Canada, and chronic pain is associated with a significant impact on quality of life. Despite this, persistent pain is still largely misunderstood or ignored.

What is it like to live with chronic pain? It’s often hard for those living with pain to explain what they’re experiencing and even harder for someone without pain to understand. As part of National Pain Awareness Week 2016 (November 6-12), Pain BC is shining a spotlight on chronic pain and raising awareness about this often invisible issue through their second annual #LivingWithPain experiment. Follow the steps below to join the experiment:

Of course, putting a clothespin on your ear is not the same as having chronic pain, but the idea is to help people understand just how distracting, frustrating, and debilitating even a tiny bit of pain can be. Using a clothespin on the ear is a common tool for training health care providers to help them understand pain, and it’s been proven to help develop compassion.

Help Improve Physical Activity in Canada

The federal, provincial and territorial governments want to hear from you as they start developing a new physical activity framework. All Canadian residents aged 18 and older are invited to participate in the 20-minute survey that will provide insight into efforts to address physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

The deadline to participate is November 11. Find out more about the survey and respond.

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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