» Across VCH

You can still get a flu shot at a staff flu clinic, your family physician, at a pharmacy, or at your local public health centre

Interested in learning about infection control? Registration is open for the PICNet 2013 conference, and Early Bird pricing ($80 for 2 days) is available until December 31st!

VCH’s Farm to School program brings the lessons of local farming to the classroom as kids from K-12 take part in growing and eating nutritious, sustainably produced food.

Involving the public in our VCH service-planning and decision-making: This isn’t some new trendy jargon. In Canada and around the world, VCH is justly recognised as a leader in public involvement in health care. But in this growing field, how do we now stack up against other health authorities?

The researchers found the overall rate of admissions was 32 per 100 MS patients, with hospitalization rates decreasing over time, but length of stay increasing. They also discovered higher admission rates were associated with older age, the presence of a primary progressive MS disease course, and a longer disease duration.

The AHSI team celebrated the contributions of Leah Karpan and her transition to a new role within VCH with a farewell potluck on Friday November 9th. Leah has moved to a position with Vancouver Acute as an Administrative Assistant at VGH.

If everyone at VCH got just one person to fill out the survey, you wouldn’t be reading this story right now! Public Health is surveying people who live on the North Shore. We still need about 4,000 residents to complete the health and well-being survey. Do you know anyone who lives on the North Shore (this includes North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Bowen Island)? if so, please pass the survey link along to them. You could win an iPod for helping out. If you refer five friends to complete the survey, you’ll be entered in a bonus draw to win an iPod. Half of the people who already did the survey found out about it through their friends, family or colleagues – the power of personal communication! If you do live on the North Shore, please take 10 minutes and complete it. You could win an iPad, Grouse Mountain passes, or a grocery gift card. The survey can be completed online www.vch.ca/northshoresurvey

Dr. Weihong Song, researcher with the Brain Research Centre at VCH and UBC has identified the molecule that controls a scissor-like protein responsible for the production of plaques in the brain – a telltale sign of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Going up! Take a few minutes to share your experience of health care elevators and be entered in the draw for an iPad mini. Deadline to complete the survey is December 19. Draw results will be announced by Dec. 21.