Join the Fight Against Sepsis

September 9-15 is Sepsis Awareness Week! And on Friday, September 13, we'll get together to commemorate World Sepsis Day and help raise awareness about the disease around the world.

Along with the BC Sepsis Network – a collaborative created by the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council to provide support for health care providers across the province to champion sepsis improvement and redue morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis – we’re planning activities to increase sepsis awareness among patients, families and caregivers.

We want you to join us! Here are some tips on how you can help fight sepsis:

Learn about Sepsis

Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. It’s life-threatening and, without timely treatment, can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and, possibly, death. Learn what you need to know as a patient in this infographic, and visit the BC Sepsis Network and World Sepsis Day websites for more information.

Visit the Sepsis Awareness Booth in Vancouver

On World Sepsis Day, September 13, visit the World Sepsis Day Public Advocacy Booth at Robson Square from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm to join health care professionals, patient partners and health researchers in sepsis awareness activities. There will be patient partners sharing sepsis survival stories and much more.

Read a blog post about the event and save it to your calendar. 

Join the BC Sepsis Network

The BC Sepsis Network provides support for health care providers in BC to share resources, improve consistency of care, spread innovation and improvement ideas, and collaborate on change.

Join the Network to stay up-to-date on sepsis care in BC!

A Mother Recalls: Our Late Son's Struggles with Opioids

August 31 was International Overdose Awareness Day, so we asked patient and health care partners to share their experiences with substance use and overdose, and what they think could be done to help stop the opioid crisis in the province.

Darlene Clayton, from Kispiox, was one of the patient partners who came forward to share their story. She lost her son Jess to an opioid overdose in 2018 after a long battle against addiction. In this post, she talks about stigma and how an Indigenous approach to wellness could improve treatment for people who use substances.

Read the blog post.

The Evolution of Primary Care in BC

The fourth webinar of our Patient Engagement Learning Series took place last week. Presenters Laura Heinzer, Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the Ministry of Health, and PVN Patient Partner Layton Engwer, provided an overview of the work being done in primary care in BC, focusing on the Primary and Community Care Strategy.

Watch the webinar.