Annual Report 2021
KB Divison & Shared Care Annual Review 2020 – 2021 | Welcome to this year’s *virtual* Annual Report. Here, we invite you to learn more about our collective impact over the past year and explore our strategic directions.
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For the second AGM running, we start our executive report recognizing and celebrating our Division, our colleagues, our partners, our patients and our communities for stepping up to the challenge of COVID-19. Frankly, we’ve done well. Our region has seen few COVID surges, and they were managed exceptionally well by you and your colleagues in the broader health system. Most eligible residents are vaccinated, and embrace the public health mandates that keep us all safe. The Civic Theatre is open, and you can watch the Smoke Eaters on home ice, live. Many of the clinical adaptations we had to make, like virtual care, are foundational improvements for a primary care system that aspires to be resilient in the years ahead. So we take this first paragraph in our report to thank you for everything you have done, and everything you continue to do to support these efforts. |
Simultaneously, we acknowledge that this unrelenting pressure on clinics and practitioners has taken a toll. Despite the positive impact of our Physician Recruitment efforts and the Primary Care Network (PCN) teams, with 33 practitioners hired to date and over 1,100 net newly attached patients, thousands in our region still can’t find a longitudinal care provider. Practitioner burnout is an even greater threat as COVID-19 continues to impact many aspects of our personal and professional lives.
For your Division, this “moment” in Primary Care has been a catalyst to reflect on our work over the past decade, and think forward, realizing a more focused direction. And for this year's Executive Report, a similar shift. While there is plenty of great 2020-21 Division work to explore within our virtual report below, here we discuss strategy. We are narrowing the breadth of our initiatives and governance; doing fewer things, more deeply; taking consequential steps towards addressing many of the clinic-based challenges we face, helping us to reach our goals of fulfilled physicians, sustainable clinics and full recruitment.
A suite of member-driven services and supports for clinics and practitioners are offered and in development: digital health tools, clinical practice tools, CPD, financial optimization, back-end HR supports, recruitment services, and more →. These efforts aim to build safety, equity and inclusion, improve efficiency, increase job satisfaction, and in turn, help attract and retain practitioners.
Our Division’s “Future of Clinics” series last year explored the need for a new form of primary care practice within KB. It has led to the incorporation of Prima Health. This legally and financially independent, yet still Division-governed Co-op, is a stepping stone to a regional community health centre network. Prima Health has already begun to provide management & administrative services to one KB clinic, will “soft-launch” the KB Health Online regional virtual clinic later this year, and is exploring a demonstration clinic to act as an incubator for transferable, member-driven health care innovation in 2022.
Kootenay Boundary’s primary care network continues to evolve with the expansion of co-located nursing, behavioural health and physical therapy practitioners. In addition, regional programs and supports → are offered to all KB clinics, including Aboriginal Health Coordinators, Registered Dietitian, Respiratory Therapist, Clinical Pharmacist and PCN change team. While supporting development of these existing teams, our priority now is advocacy to MoH for net new PCN resources to facilitate placement of PCN staff in all interested clinics in the region that want them.
Our Division has always engaged patients and the community in its work. Welcoming three non-practitioner community members to our board successfully embedded community voices in our work at the highest level. Funding our Kootenay Aboriginal Services Collaborative partner to engage aboriginal advisor Christy Anderson on the PCN change team has brought deeper understanding, cultural awareness, and tangible influence on our implementation at the clinic level.
Next year, we will initiate a deeper level of relationship with existing community organizations and leaders. We recognize that in a provincially governed system, local Practitioners can’t go it alone. Engaged community is the supportive foundation necessary for KB healthcare to flourish, long term, and we are embarking on a journey to see how we can co-strengthen that foundation.
The ‘simplifying and focusing’ work done this year also sparked a discussion regarding our Division’s vision and mission. An update was undertaken, reflecting and embodying this new strategic direction:
Our Vision: Equitable, resilient and vibrant primary care in Kootenay Boundary.
Our Mission: KB Division helps practitioners meet patient and practice needs, leads change in an evolving primary care system, and works with partners to shape a better future for health care in BC.
As always, we end with a heartfelt thank you to our fellow Division members, for all you do. For embracing practice and system improvement. For caring for your patients. For your professional leadership in the wellness of your family, friends, and citizens of Kootenay Boundary. Please don’t hesitate to contact any of us if you wish to discuss anything, or to get more involved in any of the initiatives you read about in this year’s report.
This 5-minute video highlights strategic directions and featured impacts within our mission to help practitioners meet patient and practice needs, lead change in an evolving primary care system, and work with partners to shape a better future for health care in BC.
Throughout 2020-2021 KB Division & Shared Care advanced 20+ projects within the focus areas of Primary and Community Care Transformation, Medical Education, Supporting Members in Practice, and Championing Team-Based Patient Care. A collection of highlights is captured below and we invite you to explore a snapshot of all 2020 - 2021 projects →
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Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice & Shared Care 2020-2021 Projects Snapshot →
The Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice extends sincere gratitude to our many health care and community partners for your collaboration and shared dedication.
We gratefully acknowledge the funding of the Family Practice Services Committee, Shared Care Committee and Innovation Fund as well as the support of the Division of Family Practice provincial office and Shared Care central office.
To our passionate physician leads, dedicated committees, patient partners, and skilled contractors - thank you for your contributions and leadership.
The Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice operates within the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, Sinixt, and Syilx First Nations, home to the Métis and many diverse Aboriginal communities.
