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A lung transplant team at Vancouver General Hospital. Photo: Provincial Health Department
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Last Christmas, the Vancouver Sun gave me the opportunity to share the heartfelt words of appreciation from patients and families for the outstanding specialized health services we have in British Columbia.
In the months since then, I’ve learned more about the role of hope to enable moments of appreciation. Indeed, progress has been made in healthcare as we hope that efforts and innovations will bring better treatments, service models, protocols and even healing methods within reach.
We hope that our research will bear fruit and that our continued use of time and resources will produce treatments that are faster, less painful or more invasive and make life longer and better.
And since hope has always been part of the holiday season, it is worth sharing some of the hopes this year, through the efforts of dedicated staff and doctors who work in the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) programs and services through collaborative partnership with like-minded people at the five regional health agencies of BC and the First Nations Health Authority.
One in seven young people in B.C. experiences a mental illness at some point. Pupils are increasingly reporting anxiety and depression. So, B.C. The children’s hospital founded Compass, a telephone resource for communities in the north, inland and on Vancouver Island. Healthcare providers in rural communities can now access Compass teams of psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses. Social workers remotely access expert information, advice, resources, and counseling services, including aftercare in more complex cases. Your collective hope for better treatment has been implemented for more than 1,000 children and adolescents across BC.
Hoping to change the prognosis of pancreatic cancer, B.C. Cancer researchers conducted a study on the genetic structure of pancreatic tumors. In several cases, they identified a unique trait that they had previously seen in other types of cancer. it was a property that was potentially treatable. Looking at the overall genetic makeup of the participants and their cancers, the researchers managed to find an effective treatment. This sequencing technology helps researchers identify new and personalized therapies for cancers that are difficult to treat. It is a breakthrough in the potential of precision medicine for pancreatic cancer. And although it is rooted in science, it started with the hope of a better result.
B.C. The Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Program by Transplant and Vancouver Coastal Health is another result of what started out as hope. The program, which is a partnership with the talented care team at Vancouver General Hospital, uses technology to help donor lungs live outside the body for up to 12 hours. A ventilator inflates the lungs and ensures normal breathing during the examination. Lungs that were originally rejected for transplantation can be re-examined and even repaired. In 2018, 50 double lung transplants were performed in B.C. With the hope of saving more lives, and with Ex Vivo as a way to realize that hope, that number is expected to rise to 60.
From newborns to hearing-impaired adolescents aged 18 and over, Cochlear Implant Services at B.C. Children’s Hospital. The initial programming of a cochlear implant takes place about four weeks after the operation and essentially turns the implant on so that the child can hear sounds. For follow-up care, it is necessary to visit B.C. to travel. Children.
With 40 percent of patients and families living outside of the Lower Mainlands, frequent trips to Vancouver can be stressful. Hoping for a better method, driven by their technological innovation, B.C. Pediatric audiologists can now virtually program cochlear implants using a computer and video conference with patients in their communities.
The other notable thing about this hope is that it spreads and inspires care teams, patients, and families to work together to achieve unimaginable, life-changing results in unexpected places. There are now 19 virtual health centers across China. Connection of local hospitals and regional health authorities to B.C. Children’s Hospital. This enables parents to access more than 40 areas of sub-special care for their children without the stress, expense and time of a physical trip.
BC paramedics are present during some of the most vulnerable moments in the life and health spectrum, including those experienced by palliative care patients living at home. They also hoped for a better result when they had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance to cope with a medical emergency. Hope comes from the B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), which has developed new paramedic guidelines and training to help palliative care patients who call 9-1-1 for help. Now more patients with minor medical emergencies can be treated comfortably from home. For seniors, particularly in rural and remote communities, this change means that they are calm and fulfill their desire to be treated with dignity and comfort at home.
There is hope in health care and with the special people who make it available. Hope for better results – supported by skills, science, research and compassion – leads to life-improving and life-saving advances that help us and those who are important to us. Especially at this time of year we can comfort ourselves in this hope and let everyone share in their promise and their often wonderful result.
Tim Manning is the chief executive officer of the Provincial Health Services Authority.
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