Through a long career in nursing and a desire to make her own community better, Shannon Paul-Jost is an Everyday Champion for older adults. She has years of experience working with seniors and is deeply knowledgeable about this population, their challenges, needs and the barriers they encounter. Her experience has served her well as a Clinical Nurse Specialist on the Long-term Care Services team for Interior Health.
John Hwang’s impact at Fraser Health extends much further than the operating rooms at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. The general surgeon is a long-time champion of quality improvement (QI), and he’s become an inspiration for both leaders and frontline staff to make QI a part of their everyday work.
Viva Swanson’s work has significantly improved how people are cared for in BC’s northeastern communities, which are among the most culturally diverse and remote in the province, with residents facing daily challenges accessing health care.
Sara Waters creates avenues for team building to occur, spearheading social events that bring together surgical teams, including nurses, physicians, radiologists, anesthesiologists, anesthetic assistants, and porters. The result – a sense of community and camaraderie that has paid dividends in the operating room.
Spasticity is a disabling condition marked by stiffness, muscle tightness and involuntary muscle contractions that limits quality of life for patients. Associated with damage to the central nervous system, it can occur after a neurological injury such as a stroke, or due to a condition such as multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy. And it can…
Ten percent of people in BC believe they have a penicillin allergy. However, the vast majority of them are wrong: 90 percent of adults and 94 percent of children with a reported penicillin allergy can actually tolerate the antibiotic. This inaccuracy has serious implications, as these patients are likely to be given antibiotics which are…
Paul Irving has spent over seven years using his professional expertise and personal story to advance mental health awareness and promotion within BC. Paul’s lived experience motivates and guides his work on mental health projects that support children, youth and families in BC. While it isn’t always easy for young people to seek help for…
Jeff Harries is a physician working to change the way alcohol use disorder (AUD) is perceived in our society and treated by health care professionals. He tirelessly champions hope and appropriate care for those suffering with AUD and spreads awareness about new forms of effective treatment. Three years ago, Jeff realized that most clinicians were…
Roy Stanley, an advanced care paramedic in Kelowna, is an unwavering advocate for patient safety and improving all aspects of patients’ experiences. He is a mentor and leader in the paramedic community, where he challenges the status quo and encourages his colleagues to step up and take action. For example, Roy identified that patient safety…
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We would like to acknowledge that we are living and working with humility and respect on the traditional territories of the First Nations peoples of British Columbia.
We specifically acknowledge and express our gratitude to the keepers of the lands of the ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, where our main office is located.
We also recognize Métis people and Métis Chartered Communities, as well as the Inuit and urban Indigenous peoples living across the province on various traditional territories.