Today, Tuesday, June 6th, is the day for you to ask and answer the following question.
“What Matters to You?”
Join in the discussion on Twitter, using the hashtag #wmty17 and on the public blog found at https://t.co/sLz6U3P5nL
Category Archives: Event
Cannabis Legalization Forum
On Friday, May 5th, a public forum and discussion is being held that will focus on cannabis legalization and public health policies in Alberta. This free event is taking place at the University of Calgary’s Downtown Campus (906-8th Ave S.W.) from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Currently, there are 40 tickets left out of 400. To register for the forum, visit http://bit.ly/2nyedHH
Is the Room Getting Smaller or the Elephant Getting Bigger?
Continuing on from an earlier post, below are some additional advisor-related topics that have been suggested for this year’s Quality Summit 2017.
- Diversity and Healthcare – This could include such things as gender, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, age, disability etc. Diversity is a topic that applies to all populations, regardless of whether one is a patient, member of the community, healthcare provider, advisor, or healthcare professional.
- Disparity and Healthcare – Socioeconomic status, poverty, accessibility and health/well-being.
- Volunteer Burnout – What is volunteer burnout? What causes volunteer burnout? How can it be prevented?
- What is the ideal healthcare system as seen from leadership, management, frontline staff, patient/family advisors. What are the frustrations and barriers associated with realizing this ideal?
- What is an effective partnership for patient/family advisors and AHS staff?
- Why does storytelling matter and how could it help in connecting with the person before the patient? Empathy vs. apathy.
- Drawing from patient/family advisors across Canada, what are their frustrations, hopes, dreams and lessons learned with respect to their advisor role?
- What are some advisory opportunities and innovative ideas and programs from Alberta and beyond?
- What does meaningful involvement mean to patient/family advisors?
“[T]he meaningful involvement of patient and family advisors with healthcare, (where meaningful means for everyone involved – the advisors, front-line providers, research, operations, senior mgmt, etc.)” - “To what extent are patient and family advisors meaningfully involved with healthcare?” (where ‘meaningful = having a serious, important or useful quality or purpose’ … and reference to meaningful means for all stakeholders involved – the advisors themselves, front-line providers, research, operations, senior mgmt, etc.)”
Walking for a Cause
On Saturday, February 25th, some members of the Patients 4 Change community participated in the “Coldest Night of the Year” walk. This annual event saw hundreds of Calgarians bundling up and trekking 2, 5 or 10 km to raise money for the homeless, hungry and hurting.
#CNOY17 @tlwg2012 @sandioelhaupl pic.twitter.com/y03QRDcLdQ
— Liz Mackay (@lizinyyc) February 26, 2017
Not only was this a great way to help others in the Calgary community, it also was a lot of fun. In fact, the Pts4Chg members, who walked under the name of “Team Goose Bump,” got so caught up in the excitement and conversation that they walked two blocks past a key corner that was to take them to the finish line. What’s a few more blocks added to a 10km walk?!
Looking forward to next year’s event.
Great time with special friends for a wonderful cause. #cnoy17 #teamgoosebump @sandioelhaupl @lizinyyc @CNOY_yyc pic.twitter.com/auCy7XYrKE
— Tracy Wong (@tlwg2012) February 26, 2017
Get Involved – Discussion Groups
Do you reside in Alberta? Have you or a person whom you are a caregiver for been diagnosed with sleep apnea? If you answered “Yes” to the above questions, here is an opportunity you may find of interest.
The Sleep Disorders Working Group of the AHS Respiratory Health Strategic Clinical NetworkTM (RHSCNTM) in conjunction with the University of Calgary and University of Alberta, will be hosting discussion groups for sleep disordered breathing (SDB). The purpose of these discussions is to develop a model of care that will improve the way patients with SDB receive care.
To obtain more information about how you can participate in these discussion groups, please email respiratoryhealth.scn@ahs.ca, call 1-866-668-8308 or click on the following links to view the associated posters.
- For health care providers – http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/about/scn/ahs-scn-rh-sdb-provider-recruit.pdf
- For patients – http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/about/scn/ahs-scn-rh-sdb-patient-recruit.pdf
Bell Let’s Talk – 2017
On January 25th, 2017, Bell will donate 5 cents towards mental health initiatives in Canada for every text, call, tweet, Instagram post, Facebook video view and Snapchat geofilter. Be sure to include #BellLetsTalk in your Twitter and Instagram messages . Let’s make 2017 the best Bell Let’s Talk Day yet. Every interaction counts!
WHOLE Meet Up – Patient First Strategy
Will you be in or near Calgary on Friday, January 27th? Are you interested in healthcare and Alberta Health Services’ “Patient First Strategy”? If so, Mike, a member of the Pts4Chg community, is hosting an event that you may find of interest. Clicking on the image below will take you to Mike’s invitation.
Pts4Chg Fishbowl – Thanks and Themes
On October 17th, Patients 4 Change (Pts4Chg) hosted a Fishbowl event as part of Alberta Health Services’ Patient & Family Centred Care week. The fishbowl format was chosen as it encourages a genuine dialogue and conversation, rather than a panel-like, prepared presentation. Eight individuals volunteered to be fish in the bowl and were the key conversationalists for the event. Members of the audience “jumped” in and out of the bowl to ask questions and make comments.
Although fishbowls are typically held in person, the Pts4Chg fishbowl was held virtually. Unfortunately, technical problems that started in the morning and continued throughout the day saw our virtual fishbowl experiencing a few unexpected challenges. Nevertheless, despite the “rough waters” that were present, a very lively, open, and honest discussion ensued around the following questions:
1. What does partnering with patients and families look like to you?
2. How do you build rapport and grow relationships in health care that make for effective and equitable partnerships?
3. What are some of the current barriers to partnership? How could these barriers be removed or minimized?
Click here to find out what themes arose from the Pts4Chg fishbowl. (Thanks, Sandi, for helping to create this document.)
Based on the feedback received, the Pts4Chg fishbowl was a very successful and worthwhile event. This, however, would not have been possible without an active audience, and our amazing school of fish – Debbie, Mike, Aaron, Sandi, Philip, Terry, Jane and Kristina. Thanks so much!
Richard and Tracy
Did You Miss It?
The National Health Service in England hosted The People’s Transformation on Monday, November 28th. If you were unable to attend the event or missed some sessions, all is not lost. Recordings from the Transformathon will be accessible via the People’s Transformathon web page. They are sure to be worth watching, even if you attended the session live.
What a Pain!
Did you know that…
- 17% to 31% of the general community report chronic pain.
- 50% of hospitalized patients report acute pain of moderate to severe intensity.
- People in pain miss work, spend time in hospital and visit the doctor often.
- Pain is almost unmentioned in medical training.
- Severe shortage of acute pain services and pain clinics in hospital settings.
- In-hospital patients with pain from non-surgical conditions are less likely to have their pain taken seriously enough to be treated.
- Outpatients who report pain of chronic duration to health care professionals are often dismissed, or are accused of malingering.
- There is a large gap between what is known and what is practiced in the treatment of all kinds of pain
- November 6th-12th is National Pain Awareness Week.
Click here to find out more.
