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On February 1, 2019, the BC Health Coalition, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Health Sciences Association of BC convened an invitational roundtable followed by a public talk in response to growing interest in the CHC model from communities across the province. That interest has also been taken up by government; in 2017, the NDP made an election campaign commitment to support the development of new (and existing) CHCs—a commitment that was re-affirmed in the new government’s May 2018 primary care directions.
Over 70 people from a broad range of community non-profit and health sector organizations participated in the roundtable including health professionals, immigrant and newcomer-serving organizations, the Ministry of Health, Divisions of Family Practice and Health Authority representatives, the First Nations Health Authority, seniors’ organizations, the BC Rural Health Network, and leaders from the CHC sector in BC. Participants heard how CHCs in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Oregon provide responsive, team-based primary care that is community-led and that has proven very effective in addressing the unmet needs of vulnerable populations as well as the broader neighbourhoods and communities where they are situated.
As BC moves to support a role for CHCs within a larger agenda for reforming primary care, what can we learn from other jurisdictions where CHCs are integrated into the broader primary care system? How can we support CHCs in BC to be leaders in improving the quality of care for the entire health system?