June 25 2013 VCH Board Meeting

I attended the Vancouver Coastal Health Board Meeting on Tuesday.  I really do not know what VCH is trying to do.  When I attended the first board meeting in 2010 all the board members were there and now only the chair, the chief executive officer Ostrow and the new Operations Manager.  It was as if there was a decision made to hide the Board members so that they could not ask questions from presenters or the public.    It seemed that the audience was packed only by employees of VCH.  Prior to the Board meeting they had a private networking meeting (public not invited) which included a few politicians one of which was the minister for seniors but I didn't see him in the audience. This minister told me before the 2013 election at the Oakridge Seniors Centre that there would be no more money for health care.

I spoke of two items. There was only one other person who had a question.  I had five but Kip ended the meeting twenty minutes early.

I related a discussion I had with the volunteer co-ordinator for VCH.  I asked her what was the number of  professional health care workers  who volunteered with VCH and she said volunteerism by health care professionals were  unheard of.  Those no longer working for VCH  especially those who are retired and have full pensions should be encouraged to engage to volunteer.  They are a human resource which is dearly needed. The least they could do is hang out at health care facilities to act as independent comfort advocates for patients and their families.