About Us
Emergency Care BC is a Health Improvement Network within the Provincial Health Services Authority dedicated to optimizing health outcomes, improving the quality and coordination of services, and enhancing the experience for patients, families and providers requiring emergency care services within B.C.
Emergency Care BC grew out of the success of the BC Emergency Medicine Network (BC EMN) and reaffirms its value in improving emergency care across B.C. We will provide a strong voice for emergency care and additional capacity to influence the system of emergency care, while continuing to provide resources to individual practitioners.
Our History
The BC Emergency Medicine Network was formed in 2017 as a grassroots initiative to bridge gaps and connect with emergency practitioners in urban and rural settings across B.C. with a vision to provide “Exceptional emergency care. Everywhere.” Imagining one emergency department with 108 rooms, BCEMN encouraged members to share knowledge and support each other with easily accessible information on the best in clinical care, learning resources and real-time communication. In 2023, BC EMN integrated its functions into Emergency Care BC, ensuring long-term sustainability of the Network and giving a voice to emergency care within the health care delivery system.
How We Support
Each of these programs and services is a means for practitioners from diverse emergency departments and experts outside for traditional academic spheres to share collective wisdom regarding emergency care. The activities of Emergency Care BC include:
Clinical Resources
Publishing regularly updated best practices and clinical support tools for core clinical questions, presented succinctly for use on shift and tailored to meet the needs of tertiary, large community, rural and remote emergency departments in B.C.
Research & Innovation
Exploring and translating new knowledge into usable formats to better inform and improve practice of emergency care and reduce the burden of illness. Developing evidence based policy for provincial system improvements to better support patient care everywhere in B.C.
Continuing Professional Development
Identifying and facilitating the growth of learning opportunities to acquire and maintain necessary emergency care skills through high-quality resources such as simulation courses, webinars and rounds.
Real-Time Virtual Support
Facilitating consultation with peer experts and provide support for the implementation of technology and programs to ensure that real time virtual enhanced care is available when needed.
How We Measure Success
Ongoing evaluation of the Emergency Care BC network is essential to learning what works and what doesn’t, allowing us to course correct on a real-time basis.
Being clear about why we are measuring what is being measured, and how it is best measured… is critical, and ideally this work should be done when the network is first starting up. (Networks Leadership Summit VII, 2013)
