Keeping Canada Alive starts Sunday, October 4
Every day, VCH physicians and staff experience heart-pounding, emotional and euphoric moments with patients and clients throughout the Lower Mainland. Whether it’s in a fast-paced hospital or an isolated clinic, every minute can bring new adventures and surprising cases.
Some of those moments will be broadcast to the rest of Canada starting October 4 at 9 PM, as CBC launches Keeping Canada Alive, a six-part series about a day in the life of Canada’s health care system.
Click on the image above to watch the Episode 1 promo piece
Footage shot throughout the Lower Mainland
Shot over a 24-hour period, camera crews visited locations throughout the Lower Mainland, as well as other sites across Canada, on May 6, 2015, to get real stories from patients and health care professionals. Some of the on-site locations included VGH, the Evergreen Community Health Centre, Lions Gate Hospital and Richmond Hospital.
The anticipated result is an exciting documentary connecting fascinating health stories province to province. Viewers will be able to watch all the drama on TV and online.
The first episode
This Sunday, October 4, the first episode will feature the mesmerizing story of a three-month-old baby boy in Vancouver who gets a hole in his heart patched during open-heart surgery.
On the show’s website, viewers can watch VGH staff react to hazardous material found in the Medical Device Reprocessing Department. Inside this department, the team cleans, packages and sterilizes an impressive 164,000 instruments each week.
An inside look
Viola Kaminski, VCH’s public affairs officer who provided communications support during the filming, says Keeping Canada Alive is an opportunity to showcase to the public some of the more unique aspects of our health care system.
“We really hope the public will enjoy this inside look at VCH and have a greater understanding of not only the health care system, but the everyday challenges our staff face,” says Kaminski. “VCH’s very own C.difficile-sniffing dog Angus, our Bridge Refugee Clinic and the Bariatric program in Richmond are just some of the stories featured in the documentary.”
A big thanks to everyone who participated in the documentary. Now we can share the difference we make in people’s lives with Canadians across the nation.