Committee Work
The Board and Committees work with community members and partners, as volunteers, to carry out the necessary work for today, tomorrow, and the future.
Board members work incredibly hard to realize goals, create comprehensive plans, communicate with the community, and much more.
Together these volunteer board members, in conjunction with our beloved volunteers, are the backbone of the foundation.
Bill Pope
Communications Committee
The Foundation communicates with its members, partners, and the community as a whole, on a regular basis, to keep them abreast of new and ongoing initiatives, as well as to maintain transparency in our activities. Below are the methods we use to connect:
Membership Committee
Membership (as per our bylaws) is open to adults (19 & older) who are landholders or residents (full- or part-time) in the Gabriola Island Local Trust area. This includes Gabriola, DeCourcy, Link, Mudge, and several smaller nearby islands. Benefits of membership:
- Receive free e-newsletters.
- Have a say in how the Foundation is run by voting for Directors at the Annual meeting.
- Become more involved by volunteering. Members may join a committee or serve as a Director.
People who are not eligible to join the Foundation can use the membership form to sign up to receive our newsletters (e.g. people who don’t redside or own property here). Membership is free!
Community Collaboration
Community collaboration is Gabriola’s superpower! The Foundation is committed to working with our government and community partners to understand the needs of the Gabriola community and to ensure access to the best possible primary care.
Health Systems Transformation Planning
As the Foundation continually strives to ensure consistent and improved access to excellent primary care on Gabriola, it’s critical that we take the time to deeply understand and, where appropriate, participate in the broader ongoing efforts to improve health and transform care: on the Islands through Islands Health, in BC and beyond.
Through Health Systems Transformation Planning we bring a unique rural island voice to these tables, and we look for opportunities to meet the goals and needs of our Gabriola community when they align with the objectives and activities of island or BC-wide programs and projects.
Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative
The Gabriola Health Care Foundation is a member of the Collaborative, participates in monthly meetings and is proud to provide funding for the Collaborative’s flagship publication The Gabriola Health Report produced every 5 years based on Census and local community data.
The Foundation has also supported the Collaborative’s efforts to establish a Community Wellbeing Coordinator position to work across member organizations to tackle issues that can’t be solved by a single organization. A video was also produced to speak to the 2020 report, watch it here Click Here.
The Collaborative is an important resource in helping the Foundation achieve its mission – specifically, knowing the health care needs of Gabriolans and taking action to address those needs.
PCN Working Group
The Primary Care Network (PCN) initiative, rolled out by the British Columbia Ministry of Health in 2019, strives to create better integration of primary care services across primary care providers in community, as well as within Islands Health services. In addition, the Ministry will augment the integration of primary care services with services identified as necessary withing each PCN.
Gabriola has recently gained approval to move forward with its PCN. This will result in funding for additional primary care services for our community, including both direct primary care providers (family doctors and nurse practitioners) and allied health professionals (social workers, mental health professionals or others).
With the approval in place works being undertaken to recruit and place these new primary care and allied health providers in our community. It is expected that this will be completed in 2025.
The PCN Steering Committee, made up of local representatives from the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice (our physicians), from the community including the Foundation, the Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative, PHC, representatives from Snuneymuxw First Nation, Islands Health, Doctors of BC, First Nations Health Authority and the Ministry of Health. This committee oversees the PCN implementation.
BCACHC and Islands Community of Practice
As a member of the BC Association Community Health Centres, the the Foundation attends regular association meetings and participates in a Gulf Islands Community of Practice where learnings and best practices are shared, opportunities considered, and a collective voice for rural health on the Gulf Islands is developing.
Board Development
An effective Board of Directors requires members possessing a diversity of skills and experience.
The role of the Board Development Committee is to identify the expertise needed to carry out the mandate of the Foundation, recruit volunteers with those skills and provide an orientation program for new directors.
A similar process is followed in the recruitment of committee members. The committee also identifies ways to provide ongoing education opportunities to allow directors to keep pace with relevant emerging issues.
Bill Pope
Corrine Flaws
Collaborative Services Committee
The Gabriola Collaborative Service Committee is a group made up of local representatives from the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice (our physicians), including the Foundation, People for a Healthy Community (PHC), the Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative, the Snuneymuxw First Nation, Island Health, Doctors of BC, First Nations Health Authority and the Ministry of Health.
This committee meets quarterly to consider common issues and opportunities that could be more effectively addressed collaboratively.
Board Committees
Facilities Management Committee
Responsible for the maintenance and improvements of the Gabriola Community Health Centre.
Finance Committee
Fundraising Committee
Governance Committee
Board governance is the framework that controls how the board is structured, how it operates and how decisions are made. That framework has been established through the Foundation’s by-laws and policies. The Governance Committee is responsible for reviewing and, where necessary, updating our bylaws and policies.
Recruitment and Retention Committee
This committee works to assist the Gabriola Medical Clinic and our other tenants find and keep health care staff. The Foundation engages with prospective healthcare professionals and assists those who come to practise, whether short-term or long-term.
Clinic Liaison Committee
The Clinic Liaison Committee, made up of lead staff and physicians from the Clinic and representatives from the Foundation, meets regularly to share information, address operational issues, and consider the current and future needs of the Clinic and the Gabriola community.
