Change Day 2017 Stories

Contributed by: Jennie Aitken, BCPSQC  It’s easy to focus on the quality improvement challenges we encounter as specific to “us” – something only we are dealing with in BC. While the nuances and context definitely change, I’m taking this Change Day to step back a bit and think about the work I support at the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council in a more global way. On May 26, 2017, the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization voted unanimously to declare sepsis as a global health priority. The resolution urges 194 UN member states to “implement appropriate measures to…

Contributed by Jenifer Tabamo of Vancouver Coastal Health. Jenifer is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), and a self-described “sepsis guru” who provides ongoing education to hospital unit staff.  Tell us a bit about the sepsis education you provide in your units. Sepsis education has been fully implemented on three acute medicine (CTU) and four hospitalist medical units at VGH. The most recent addition: from March 2016 onwards, we’ve also began to include our two surgical units. I’ve been involved as the “sepsis guru” for some time now. I provide monthly unit-based orientations, as well as advanced training…

Contributed by Helen Tam of Langley Memorial Cottage. Helen Tam completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed her MSc in Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta. She works as an occupational therapist at Langley Memorial Cottage, a community tertiary psychiatric rehabilitation facility. In her spare time, Helen enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee, tennis and baking.  As an occupational therapist, patient-centred care is at the core of our profession; this ranges from how we guide therapeutic relationships, to planning assessments and interventions, to how we measure success in our clients. My pledge for Change Day 2017 is to honour my clients’…

Contributed by Lisa Stewart and Sheri Johnson, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). In 2016, Lisa and Sheri created the “You Made a Difference” contest to celebrate VCH staff who went above and beyond when caring for patients and families. It was a runaway success, with over 350 entries from staff at every level of the organization. Read on to learn how the contest was born, and how it’s acknowledging and honouring the amazing work happening every day at VCH. What are your roles at Vancouver Coastal Health? Sheri: I am a social worker in the renal program at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)….

Contributed by Amy Pezzente, Provincial Eating Disorders Awareness (PEDAW). Our first guest post for Like, Join and Share a Pledge Week comes from Amy, Provincial Coordinator for BC’s Provincial Eating Disorders Awareness campaign. People are heavily influenced by societal pressures and the media with how they should look. Unfortunately, these unrealistic media images of thin and lean models can take an emotional toll by making us feel like we don’t measure up. For some people, this can result in unhealthy dieting and weight control behaviours in an attempt to change their bodies. This is important to consider because we know chronic dieting and…

Contributed by Barb Reece, Chief Operating Officer of the Institute For Personalized Therapeutic Nutrition (IPTN). Barb’s passionate about the value of nutrition for health – learn more below!  Metabolic syndrome, including diabetes, is an enormous problem for Canada. A recent Alberta study forecast that anyone born after 1997 will have a 50% chance of getting type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. For our Indigenous peoples, the rate is 80%. Most of these people will take medications for life without knowing that they have a choice. “Personalized therapeutic nutrition” is an emerging term used to describe any individually-tailored nutritional intervention designed to reduce…

Contributed by Sherry Lynch, Self-Management BC. Sherry and her team have made a group pledge to increase their daily physical activity and improve their health! Read below to learn why. Most of us spend the majority of the day sitting at our computers, even though we are aware of the negative effects of sedentary behaviour. A large recent review with data from over one million participants found that 60 to 75 minutes of physical activity per day eliminated the harms of sitting when it came to measuring death from cardiovascular disease or death by all causes. This is why it is…

Contributed by Sonya Chandler, Island Health. Island Health is rocking this Change Day! We have been having so much fun staying in the lead on the Change Day heat map! It’s an amazing feeling to see folks across our island, from diverse teams, showing up and contributing to move us in the direction of our goal to get more than 1,050 pledges before November 17. Some examples from Island Health pledges, just this week… I pledge to: … show up and stand up for what I believe in (from Louise) … role-model self-care by taking breaks and leaving work on time (from Lisa) … support and…

Contributed by Haydee Mones, Vancouver General Hospital. As we continue to strive toward building a community of care, we value the voices of everybody, including staff, patients, clients and their families. Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is committed to putting people first as the foundation of our True North goals, so we are taking part in Change Day on 17-11-17. Together, as partners in care, we would like to hear your voice for endless possibilities and opportunities related to how we can contribute to providing quality patient and client care. Change Day at VCH is an open invitation to anyone who…

Contributed by Ross Gibson, Interior Health. Interior Health is encouraging staff, patients, clients and others to pledge to make positive change. We share the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council’s belief that individual acts of change – regardless of size – can lead to a significant improvement in the health and wellbeing of British Columbians. As such, we are working to get the message out in many ways to encourage employees, clients and others to make a new pledge or join an existing pledge. Interior Health partnered with the Council in 2015 in support of the first Change Day in BC, and the…

Contributed by Dale Min, Fraser Health. “Any opportunity for positive action that includes everyone at Fraser Health has huge appeal to me. If we can all begin by committing to a change within ourselves, then we can move forward with integrity. That motivates me.” – Carole Falkner, Fraser Health’s Lead for Change Day BC 1.8 million people. 13 communities. 35,000 employees, care providers, physicians and volunteers. This is Fraser Health. Health care matters to all of us. Like hockey, there is something about our health care system that is deeply woven into the fabric of Canadian culture. We Canadians take a…

Contributed by Sharon Vipler, an Addictions MD for St. Paul’s Hospital and Fraser Health Substance Use Services. Below, she discusses the hazard of burnout for clinical professionals and her pledge to address this issue with her team.  Burnout is not uncommon among health care professionals. Our work can be intense, both emotionally and physically. Vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue are real and increase risk of burnout. When working with patients with substance use disorders, health care workers often feel overwhelmed and under-prepared for how best to serve this patient population. In the current environment of the opioid public health crisis, many workers feel exhausted and helpless….

Contributed by ShelleyLynn Gardner, Fraser Health. Read her story below and join her pledge to erase the stigma of mental health challenges. I was a part of Change Day 2015.  I made my pledges, followed through and made some small changes. Fast forward two years and a different person is challenging herself to be brave and share the story behind her pledge for mental health. I suffered from multiple, devastating traumas in my childhood, including my father violently committing suicide by shooting himself. Little did I know how these events would shape my own mental health for years to come. My…

Contributed by Lorraine Gerard, BCHPCA. BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) is a not-for-profit, membership organization which has been promoting responsive, quality hospice palliative care and bereavement services throughout British Columbia since 1986. BCHPCA’s membership includes both individuals and organizations (currently sixty-seven hospice societies) that deliver hospice palliative care services throughout the Province. Their work focuses on educating British Columbians and community groups on personal advance care planning and advocating for equitable access to quality care for those at end-of-life and their loved ones who are grieving. Advance Care Planning is a process that prepares you and your family to make…

Contributed by Chelsea Hochfilzer, BCPSQC. This pledge has been many years in the making. I first heard about advance care planning several years ago through working at the Council. It immediately sparked my interest. I printed out six copies of My Voice, told my parents, my sister and each of our respective significant others that I wanted to have them over for dinner and spend the evening filling out the forms all together. I’m sure they weren’t completely certain what I was talking about, but they have a wonderful tendency to humour me so everyone was on board. Weeks turned into months,…

Contributed by David Weir, BC Centre for Palliative Care. The BC Centre for Palliative Care is a non-profit centre supporting early integration of a palliative approach to care in every setting of care in British Columbia. In his post, he shares why he’s trying to make conversations about death and dying the norm at work, and at home. We had gathered for a birthday dinner and were talking about my in-laws’ upcoming wedding anniversary when my father-in-law said something my wife quickly tried to dismiss. He spoke about making their 45th anniversary memorable because he might not be around to celebrate their 50th. It’s…

Contributed by Dr Paul Sugar and Dr Marylene Kyriazis, Paul Sugar Palliative Support Foundation. The Paul Sugar Palliative Support Foundation is an organization that provides support and assistance to individuals living with an advanced illness, as well as to their families and other caregivers. In this interview, they tell us about their commitment to supporting those with terminal illnesses. Can you tell me a little bit about your organization and the work you are doing? Marylene: The organization was started to help support terminally ill patients and their families. Our focus is mainly on emotional support. We have a facility where people can…

Contributed by Maria Howard, Alzheimer Society of B.C. Maria shares their vision of a world without dementia, and their work to improve care in the meantime.  An estimated 70,000 British Columbians are affected by dementia in communities throughout the province, and this number is growing. The Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s ultimate vision is a world without dementia. But until that vision can be achieved, our more immediate vision is of a world where people are welcomed and included – a dementia-friendly society. Why should others share, like and join our pledge? “Before there is a cure, there’s care.” The search for a…

Contributed by Sheryl Harry, PVN Patient Partner. This article was originally posted by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement. Sheryl and CFHI have generously permitted us to re-post her story. Sheryl’s pledge is to advocate for better understanding of and care for residential school survivors, and other survivors of trauma, in long term care. My dad, Duncan Harry, was from Ts’kw’ay’laxw First Nation in Pavilion BC. He was a skilled and proud ironworker—a foreman—who was well-liked and respected by his coworkers and bosses. In 1976, he suffered a workplace injury, falling 20 feet and landing on a concrete slab. Despite his accident, he continued to…

Contributed by Louise Joycey, on behalf of the New Vista Society. The New Vista Society owns and operates the New Vista Care Home, a 236-bed licensed, accredited residential care facility. We provide professional care and support services for our residents in a home-like environment. Built in 1975, the New Vista Society Care Home is a four-storey low rise building located in a beautiful, quiet neighbourhood in the Edmonds area of south Burnaby. Modernized in 1993 and continually upgraded to meet today’s standards, our Care Home accommodates seniors needing complex care. We believe it is crucial to receive resident input whenever possible,…

Contributed by Adele Bachard, Dunrovin Park Lodge in Quesnel BC.  My Change Day pledge is “To increase awareness around patient safety with my co-workers and staff.”  Having recently completed the Patient Safety Officer Training course through Healthcare Canada, this focus is top of mind for me. As the Manager of a Long Term Care community in Quesnel BC, resident safety is of the utmost importance to me in the delivery of person centred care, in order to increase the quality of life that our elders deserve in a community setting.  By providing an environment that includes well trained staff, robust procedures…

Contributed by Karen Born, Choosing Wisely Canada. The theme of Patient Safety Week is “Take with Questions,” and Karen’s post illustrates why questions are a key part of reducing unnecessary medical treatments. Read on: The Canadian Institute for Health Information report outlines up to 30% of medical tests and treatments in Canada are unnecessary. Unnecessary tests and treatments are not only clinically useless, they potentially expose patients to harm, lead to more testing to investigate false positives. This contributes to unwarranted stress for patients and their families, and consumes precious time and resources for everyone involved. Choosing Wisely Canada is a national campaign…

Contributed by Dr. Louisa Edwards, PREFeR Project.  Primary care is where most people go first for medical help and advice when they have a health issue. It is provided by health care professionals, like family doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners, who deliver and coordinate care, monitor health, and prevent disease where possible. Because primary care is the first point of contact for most patients, it presents a unique opportunity to support a wide variety of patients with their health. Research in primary care is essential for evaluating whether there are new and possibly better ways of delivering care, services, or…