Who are the CEANers?

The Community Engagement Advisory Network (CEAN) are members of the public who volunteer their time, experience and knowledge to improve health care. They are a volunteer network of over 170 individuals who live or access health care services in the VCH region.  They live in communities from Richmond to Bella Bella and are committed to support VCH to provide the best quality and most patient-centred care.

Check out the People in Profile to learn more about one dedicated, high-flying CEAN member.

What does CEAN do?

CEAN brings the voices of patients and the public into health care planning and quality improvement so that the care and service we provide is patient-centred. Their input plays an important role in improving a variety health services and enhancing the health of the community.

CEAN members can:

• Test the user-friendliness of patient education material and brochures
• Participate in focus groupsto gather patient/public feedback on a project.
• Participate as an advisor on a VCH project or planning committee alongside VCH staff.

Award winning CEAN:

In 2014, the Community Engagement (CE) team was recognized for its excellence in public engagement with two awards from the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2):

Project of the Year Award and Extending the Practice Award for Creativity, Innovation, and Innovation in the field Award.

Both awards were given in recognition of the Community Engagement Advisory Network (CEAN).  The IAP2 committee said CEAN demonstrated the Core Values for public participation and credibility and that CEAN was a model that could be easily shared and replicated. “From decision-makers and staff to participants and facilitators, it appears that the level of collaboration and value of public input is extremely high. This is an example of how meaningful engagement can create positive change in systems and organizations,” IAP2 Awards committee.

CEAN to grow

Interest in CEAN is growing and VCH is benefitting from this growth in the number and diversity of network members. Requests for advisors come to Community Engagement daily from departments and projects across VCH.  As VCH continues to demonstrate leading  practice in patient public engagement the involvement of CEAN members in planning and decision-making will continue to grow.  We recognize that as we grow our commitment to meaningful engagement  we will draw more people to CEAN.  People want to support an organization that is innovative, responsive and engages meaningful to bring about needed change even when it means making tough decisions to improve the health.

CEAN is growing in size and reach and we are all the beneficiaries of their dedication to supporting VCH in building a better health care system.

 CEAN to reach out

A new CEAN website is launching this week. This site built to support CEAN members also offers individuals, who may have an interest in patient public engagement, to learn more about CEAN and how to get involved.

Make CEAN part of your health care planning

CEAN is supported by the VCH Community Engagement (CE) Team, that works with teams across VCH to facilitate dialogue and collaboration with VCH populations. Patient and public engagement in health service planning and decisions- making is needed to ensure that members of the public have a ‘voice’ in the services and policies that affect their lives.

Do you want your project or department to benefit from the support of CEAN?  Visit Community Engagement on VCH Connect or VCH.ca to learn more or email us at ce@vch.ca.