Happy New Year, everyone!

We look forward to the year ahead and building on your fresh ideas and feedback. As always, we’re listening, and today we’re pleased to answer two of your questions.

If you have a question, comment or suggestion, we encourage you to email us what’s on your mind at onevancouver@vch.ca.

Today’s answered questions

Q. When major events occur within VCH that attract larger crowds, is there a process in place to negotiate additional resources to support the local health care system?

My examples of such events are the Pemberton Music Festival, Crankworx Freeride Mountain Bike Festival and Whistler IRONMAN®.

I understand from the media reports that $18 million has gone into improving the “infrastructure” within the Pemberton area to support the influx of tourists.

Recognizing an event in a rural setting is very different than in the city where access to resources is more readily available, is (and how) VCH supported to ensure the required resources are in place within the health care system to manage these temporary rises in population in the rural setting?  Thank you for your thoughts.

A. You’re right. The implications of large events in smaller communities are quite distinct. Unique considerations are needed when thousands of people congregate outside major centres like Vancouver. To answer your question, we consulted Laurie Leith, operations director for VCH-Coastal, the Community of Care where the events you name are held. Here’s what Laurie had to say:

“VCH-Coastal has been diligently tracking the costs of the 2014 mass-gathering events, such as the Pemberton Music Festival, Squamish Music Festival, Crankworx, the Subaru IRONMAN®, etc.  We do augment our health care services to manage these events in a safe and effective manner; however, it does come at a cost that is outside or our regular budgeted services.  We will be reporting to our Senior Executive Team and Board of Directors in the near future to advocate for Ministry policy around such events, and perhaps a payment method that can be established with event organizers in the future.”

Q. Are we satisfied with our progress in working with the Division of Family Practice? If yes, would the Division agree?

A. VCH works with several Divisions of Family Practice across its communities of care. In Vancouver, the Vancouver Division of Family Practice (VDoFP) brings Lower Mainland family doctors together to identify opportunities to improve the delivery of local health care, and a significant proportion of the GPs in Vancouver opt into its membership.

We partner with the VDoFP on several committees, including the Collaborative Services Committee (CSC), which is currently co-chaired by VCH-Vancouver (Laura Case, Vancouver Community COO) and Dr. Terence Chang, VDoFP chair.  Providence Health Care is also a member of the CSC. In addition to sharing ideas for partnerships and projects at the CSC table, the VDoFP has priority areas of focus and working groups. Many of the Division’s priorities are also priorities for VCH patient populations, for example: residential care.

We should also note that our collaboration and partnerships with the VDoFP are not a point in time.  They are part of an evolving relationship, and we welcome the opportunity for an organization as large and complex as ours to come together with an organization with such a diverse membership — not to mention the structures and government-level support — to look for ways to work together toward shared interests and goals.

While we can’t speak on behalf of the VDoFP, we should also add that it is a key part of any partnership that we stop and take stock of how we are moving forward and how we can learn from where we have come from – milestones throughout our partnership can allow for that.  We have a new opportunity with the GP for Me initiative to not only work on solutions around connecting clients to primary care, but also deepen our relationship with the Vancouver Division of Family Practice.