Coastal expands its role in Central Coast health care delivery
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) has started the process to end an affiliation agreement with the United Church Health Services Society (UCHSS), who have been delivering health care services in BC’s Central Coast communities on behalf of VCH for the past 11 years.
VCH staff will work closely with UCHSS staff and board members to transition responsibility for delivering health services in the region back to VCH, aiming to finalizing these arrangements over the next six to 12 months.
No significant changes in operations are planned. Staff and physicians currently working at the RW Large Memorial Hospital (in Bella Bella) and the Bella Coola General Hospital will continue to serve local residents and move over to become VCH-Coastal staff and physicians in the coming months, providing the full range of services currently offered.
“I’d like to acknowledge the work done by UCHSS staff, physicians, volunteers and board members over the years to deliver health care in partnership with VCH, Health Canada, First Nations communities and CentralCoast community residents,” says VCH CEO David Ostrow. “The ongoing commitment of UCHSS has made a lasting impact on improving the health status of local residents, and I thank the UCHSS for their dedication and many contributions.”
One of the key reasons behind the change is the need to simplify the governance of health care services in the Central Coast, which has changed significantly in the past several years with the addition of the First Nations Health Authority, the First Nations Health Caucus as well as the creation of consolidated health services like Health Shared Services BC (HSSBC) and Lower Mainland Consolidated (LMC) services.
The transition is expected to:
- Further integrate community needs and population health trends helping to shape health services
- Enhance involvement of local First Nations’ partners and the First Nations Health Authority (FHNA) in the delivery of health services
- Continue to provide health care providers and teams with the resources they need to provide a high quality of care to the communities.
Pat Townsley, VCH-Coastal Director for Powell River & Central Coast says, “With the access to enabling strategies and resources that we feel we can bring through our Urban-Rural Health Network, we believe this transition will help the care providers improve delivery of care in these communities,”
A key piece of the transition will be a Community Engagement Process that will be launched early in July to gather input from local First Nations, key internal and external stakeholders and a variety of CentralCoast residents. The process will take several months and will be designed to:
- Support the transition and enhance existing relationships, enabling all voices to be heard during the changes
- Better inform VCH about healthcare priorities from the perspective of our patients, the public and the overall community
- Help VCH determine next steps to ensure the services we offer are provided in the most efficient, streamlined and flexible way possible