The Vancouver Coastal Health Community Engagement Advisory Network

The Vancouver Coastal Health Community Engagement Advisory Network They’re CEAN to help

VCH serves 25% of BC’s population (over 1 million people) in 22 Municipalities and Regional Districts, and 16 First Nations Communities.

VCH Vision and Mission People First Vision We will be leaders in promoting wellness and ensuring care by focusing on quality and innovation. Mission To support healthy lives in healthy communities with our partners through care, education and research.

The Challenge How does an organization such as VCH collaborate with the public to improve the quality of the health care services that it provides and the decisions that are made?

Core Value Alignment Core Value #3 Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.

The Community Engagement Advisory Network CEAN

CEAN: Creating Relationships & Building Trust Community of Care based Advisory committees were formed in 2001: Formation of Health Authorities in BC Health boards had public members that recommended a continuance of public involvement Community Engagement Advisory Network formed in 2009

Core Value Alignment Core Value #5 Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.

Who and What is CEAN? Dedicated members of the public who give their time, knowledge and ideas to improve health services in our communities of care. CEAN collaborates with VCH to improve the quality of care for the communities that it serves. CEAN is an established network within VCH and is engaged regularly by VCH leadership and staff to impact planning and decisions related to health care services and delivery

Poll Question: What do you think a structure like CEAN provides to an organization like VCH? • • Better decision-making Increased trust Partnership opportunities other?

CEAN – ‘Keen’ on People First • 100+ volunteers from the VCH area • Created in July of 2009 • Supported by the VCH Community Engagement team How are they involved? • Regular meetings, newsletters • Bi-annual forum - face to face • Focus Groups • Surveys • Document Reviews • VCH Advisory Committees • Link VCH to their communities

Core Value Alignment Core Value #1 Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.

Who are CEAN?

Diverse and Inclusive Engagement

Core Value Alignment Core Value #4 Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision.

How do we do it? ? • Project Plan that details mechanisms and deliverables, as well as level of involvement and how participants will be informed of outcomes • Weekly newsletter with engagement opportunities (used to recruit CEANs for various projects) • Coaching for CEANs and VCH staff to work together and build capacity • Feedback to stakeholders (newsletters, reports posted on website, annual reports)

CEANs are READY to help! • All CEAN members fill out an application that outlines their experience and areas of interest • All CEAN members are interviewed • All CEAN members sign a confidentiality and respectful behavior agreement • All CEAN members receive orientation to their roles as public advisors for VCH

Identifying Areas of Interest Areas of interest such as Seniors Care, Emergency Services or Mental Health & Addictions are identified for each CEAN member. Requests for engagement can be sent out broadly or according to specific interest or experience. CEAN members self-select the projects they are interested in. Mental Health & Addictions Seniors Emergency Services

Core Value Alignment Core Value #6 Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.

What do CEANs get out of it? VOICE

CEAN Making a Difference… My Health, My Community Interactive web-based health & wellness survey that will generate info about the health needs of the local population. CEAN feedback was used by VCH to formulate and test the questions, shape the promotional materials and develop the partnership strategy.

Emergency Dept. Wait Times CEAN members gave feedback on a project to create a website that would give the public real time information on Emergency Department wait times.

Hand Hygiene Campaign CEAN members helped to develop the Hand Hygiene Campaign that is currently being used at several VCH sites.

Core Value Alignment Core Value #2 Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision.

Support for CEAN What do staff say? “CEAN are highly committed, highly effective supporters and communicators of the people we try to serve. They are a critical intermediary between the larger community and Vancouver Coastal Health; they have a well-established 'foot in both camps' and provide an extremely important service to both VCH and their communities. I have always been so impressed by their commitment to the work they do as partners in the health care system. They go above and beyond!” -Jeff Coleman, VP Regional Programs & Service Integration

“BC is in the process of developing a new provincial patient experience survey that follows the patient’s journey through the continuum, centered on a hospital episode of care. On short notice, CE was able to mobilize CEAN members to participate in a prioritization exercise to inform the continuity of care themes to be included. We were thoroughly impressed with CEAN members’ enthusiasm to give their own personal time to participate in a rather lengthy, detailed (and somewhat tedious) exercise. ” -Serena Bertoli-Hayley, Accreditation and Patient/Client Satisfaction Leader “One of the key contributions is that they readily provide their input from a "consumer" or patient perspective - and it is this feedback that often helps direct the conversation i. e. moving from focusing on what matters to a clinician to what matters to a patient and family/caregiver. ” Jo. Anne Douglas, Project Manager Integrated Primary & Community Care

Poll Question: What do think are the main challenges to establishing a structure like CEAN? • • Cost Leadership support Staff acceptance Other?

How do we evaluate? ?

Evaluation Tools We Use Participant Specific Evaluations Leadership Specific Evaluations Project Plan Evaluations Project Lead Specific Evaluations CEAN Annual Evaluation

Participant Satisfaction According to the CEAN Annual Evaluation Survey, the majority of CEANS agree with the following: • When I participate in CEAN activities, I feel able to express my views freely • When I participate in CEAN activities, I feel my opinion is valued • I feel that my skills and knowledge are valued when I participate in CEAN activities • My participation in CEAN has increased my confidence that VCH values public involvement • I find my CEAN work to be interesting and rewarding At our most recent CEAN forum, 24 out of 37 participants indicated a high-level of satisfaction with the event overall.

Core Value Alignment Core Value #7 Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.

Poll Question: What do think are the main challenges to maintaining a structure like CEAN? • • Cost Leadership support Staff capacity Other?

CEAN: An innovative model • CEAN is a unique structure in a Health Authority in BC and possibly Canada • It’s structure should be replicated in other health entities • CEAN’s structure, practice and tools have been shared provincially, nationally and globally • Structure helped to inform the implementation of Patient Voices Network

Questions?

Thank you! Vancouver Coastal Health Community Engagement ce@vch. ca www. vch. ca/ce