Categories & Criteria
Excellence in Quality Categories
The five Excellence in Quality categories represent the five areas of care as defined by the recently updated BC Health Quality Matrix. All five categories follow the same criteria, but judges will look for elements that address the chosen area of care. A project can only be nominated in one category.
The Optimizing the Early Years award is a new category that celebrates a project that improved care for maternal health and wellness or advanced early development.
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The Strengthening Health & Wellness award celebrates a project that improved well-being or prevented injury, illness or disability.
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The Returning to Health & Wellness award celebrates a project that improved care for acute illness or injury.
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The Living with Illness or Disability award celebrates a project that improved care and support for chronic illness and/or injury.
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The Coping with Transition from Life award celebrates a project that improved planning, care or support for life-limiting illness and/or bereavement.
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Individual Award Categories
There are also four categories that recognize inspiring individuals, including patients and caregivers as well as health care practitioners. Each of these categories features its own judging criteria.
The Quality Culture Trailblazer award celebrates someone who helped to advance and create a culture that helped their team or organization thrive. They fostered teamwork and open communication, and they engaged with staff to innovate and challenge the status quo in pursuit of high-quality care. They created an environment of cultural safety and humility, psychological safety and trust.
Nominees do not have to work in leadership roles, but they do have to be agents of internal culture change in their workplace.
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The Everyday Champion award celebrates someone who showed a passion and commitment for improving quality of care that was outside of their formal role to lead positive change. They saw a need for improvement and committed to action, leading by example and inspiring others.
Nominees do not have to work in leadership roles, or roles that specify participation in quality improvement activities. We believe everyone can play a role in improving the quality of care, regardless of their position or leadership responsibilities!
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The Doug Cochrane Leadership in Quality Award celebrates someone who made an inspirational, significant and sustained contribution to improving the quality of health care in British Columbia. These contributions may have been made in the fields of health policy, care design, innovation or academia, and brought to patients at the point of care by cultivating skill development, implementing improvement initiatives or providing respectful and compassionate care for those in need.
This award is named in honour of Doug Cochrane’s contribution as founding Chair of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. Doug is a longtime leader in improving quality and safety, having chaired the BC Patient Safety Task Force from its inception in 2003 to the creation of the Council in 2008. He also served as the Provincial Patient Safety & Quality Officer from 2008 to 2019. He has also chaired the BC Patient Safety & Learning System and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and he is currently the Board Chair of Interior Health.
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The Leadership in Advancing Patient Voices award celebrates a patient, caregiver or family member who made an outstanding contribution to patient engagement in BC’s health care system. They took the lead to inspire and support other patients, caregivers, family members and health care organizations to partner in pursuit of better care.
Nominees may be better suited for the Quality Culture Trailblazer award (see above) if they are health care professionals who have done work to embed a focus on patient voices in their workplace.
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