How to Make the Most of Virtual Health

Add a Comment by Guest Author

Miss604 is the proud Blog Sponsor of VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation through the Miss604 Health Check Series. The following has been contributed by their team.

Virtual Health Check VGH UBC

In this month’s guest post, Dr. Kendall Ho provides advice so you can get the most out of virtual health:

How to Make the Most of Virtual Health

Smartphone apps are able to deliver all manner of vital information between a health care provider and their patient. VGH is already using various apps and secure messaging services to help with emergency department safety during COVID-19, as well as helping patients track their personal health in and out of hospital to further personalize care.

Getting comfortable using these apps and secure messaging will help keep you informed of important information such as wait times, directions to care and health tracking information you can pull up any time. 

Booking Video Check-Ups

Video call technology is growing leaps and bounds with improved image, sound and connection quality allowing for meaningful check-ups from the comfort of your home. Improving access, especially for those who have challenges leaving home, can have a profoundly positive impact on a patient’s quality of life, as it allows for them to be able to receive vital health care without stepping outside. Booking these meetings can often be done online or with a simple phone call, just ask your doctor or health care provider about these options.

Virtual Health Check VGH UBC

Use At-Home Services

In certain cases, patients are able to use monitoring devices at home that share vital information back to their health care provider including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, blood sugars and more. This data is shared during check-ups, and allows patients to provide fulsome data to help improve their care.

Provide Feedback

Patient input is key in developing these technologies and helping to ensure that these tools are both useful and easily understood. So feel free to be honest and offer your feedback with your health care provider — it only gets better when you do!

Dr. Kendall Ho is a VGH physician and the Research Lead for the Digital Emergency Medicine department at UBC. His work allowed our hospitals and health care centres to continue safely and securely offering world-class care in the midst of a global pandemic. The accelerated use of telehealth, utilizing donor-supported tools, will only continue to grow and help provide care that is more accessible than ever to patients across BC.

Follow the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation on Facebook for more info and updates.

The Da Vinci Experience at Tsawwassen Mills

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

More than 500 years after he lived, Metro Vancouverites will have the exclusive opportunity to walk through the life and studio of a true genius with The Da Vinci Experience. This immersive attraction opens in June, as a visual and sensory celebration of the life and work of the renowned artist, inventor, engineer, and innovator.

 

The Da Vinci Experience at Tsawwassen Mills

The Da Vinci Experience

When: June to August, 2021
Where: Tsawwassen Mills (5000 Canoe Pass Way, Delta)
Tickets: Pre-sale on now

This is a multi sensory 360º immersive journey, with more than 10 replicas of his incredible machines as well as visual experiences in virtual reality.

Curated by the director of the Leonardian Museum in Vinci, Dr. Roberta Barsanti, The Da Vinci Experience offers viewers a video-mapping narrative, focused on the life and the works of Leonardo. Hosted by Sensea Immersive, and produced by Crossmedia Group of Florence, it has been previously staged internationally, but this is the first time it will be accessible in Canada or the US.

The Da Vinci Experience at Tsawwassen Mills

The Da Vinci Experience is much more than a visual walk-through – it is a sensory journey, complete with replicas of the unique inventions and machines he created, reproduced based on the artist’s original drawings. The 4,000 sq. ft Immersive Experience room will have 360 degree projections that show the incredible detail and expertise of Da Vinci’s original works, and a Virtual Reality experience inside his studio.

Follow Sensea Canada on Facebook for the latest ticket news and info.

Related: Imagine Van Gogh

Cheam First Nation Response to BVMR and the Cascade Skyline Gondola Project

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

On Tuesday, it was announced that a new major all-season mountain resort — Bridal Veil Mountain Resort — has been proposed for Chilliwack through an Expression of Interest filed recently with the Mountain Resorts Branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. Today, Cheam First Nation Response has issued a response:

Cheam First Nation Response to BVMR

“Cheam First Nation is deeply concerned about and surprised by the recent announcement from Bridal Veil Mountain Resort Project (“BVMR”) proponents contemplating a large industrial ski resort located on our traditional territory. This project was formerly known as Resorts West and in a very similar fashion was originally proposed back in 2003. Cheam First Nation firmly rejected this proposal for a myriad of reasons. The proposal was also soundly rejected by the wider community and the City of Chilliwack. Cheam First Nation has only recently been made aware of the revival of this project proposal, and we have yet had a chance to be included in their process, despite their plans and its potential impacts on our traditional territory and land. As it stands, Cheam First Nation continues to decisively reject this proposal.

For the last five years, Cheam First Nation has been developing our own non-motorized eco-tourism/cultural tourism project, the Cascade Skyline Gondola Project.”

Cascade Skyline Gondola Project - Photos via the Cheam First Nation
Cascade Skyline Gondola Project – Photos via the Cheam First Nation

Cascade Skyline Gondola Project

“The Cascade Skyline Gondola Project is an eco-cultural tourism amenity similar to the very successful Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish. It is fundamentally a “celebration of nature and natural spaces” with non-motorized activities for a range of abilities and interests.  It will provide accessible transportation above the Fraser Valley in the Cascade Mountains in our traditional territory.

At the summit, guests will be able to enjoy a variety of low-impact, nature-based activities including sight-seeing, hiking, cultural tours, paragliding in summer and snowshoeing, sledding, cross-country and backcountry skiing in winter. The project has been through years of studies, extensive community and First Nation stakeholder consultation and engagement which has resulted in overwhelming community support throughout the region. 

We have been following due process with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (“FLNRORD”) for almost four years now under the Adventure Tourism process. We are invested partners in this project and have widespread support from the City of Chilliwack, Tourism Chilliwack, Tourism Industry Association of B.C., Chilliwack Economic Partnership Co., Mayor and Council of the District of Kent, and many other business leaders and community leaders. We are shocked that this competing proposal, on our traditional territory and lands, would be considered by any jurisdiction given the past record of failures and controversies of its proponents, and their lack of respect for our own project on our own lands.

The Cascade Skyline Gondola Project has been a collaborative project since the beginning. As equity owners and partners in this project, we are committed to preserving the cultural and environmental interest of our community and membership, and continuing to work in consultation with other First Nations. We believe this project will bring long-term and sustainable benefits not only to Cheam, but also to the surrounding communities. It will help create a sustainable local tourism-based economy that aligns with the values we hold as Cheam First Nation. Along with economic benefits, it will also create additional management and protection of our cultural and traditional resources. Our project reflects the values and long-term goals of Cheam First Nation and its development will create a positive impact to the surrounding communities.”

You can read the entire announcement from Cheam First Nation online here, and read out more about the Cascade Skyline Gondola Project.

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend April 16-18

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

This weekend, while temperatures climb and the cherry blossoms beckon, there is a hearty lineup of arts programming, festivals, music, and entertainment happening online. Register for the final Virtual Spring Trivia Night in Support of BC Alberta Guide Dogs happening Friday, and check out more things to do in Vancouver this weekend below:

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend Spring

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Friday, April 16, 2021
Sponsored by Miss604: Virtual Trivia Night in Support of BC Alberta Guide Dogs
Old Soul Rebel Live from The Rickshaw
VSO ChamberFest
SFU: The Performance of Power: Black Lives Matter & American Democracy
The Cultch Presents: The Essentials, Livestreams
Festival du Bois 2021
Red Sky Performance (Toronto) More than Dance, We are a Movement
Twilight Drive-In
Presentation House Theatre: Playthings
Chilliwack Tulips
Carousel Theatre 蝦仔 Little Shrimp
The Gallery at Queen’s Park – New West Craft Market
VanDusen Botanical Garden
Imagine Van Gogh

Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

GrapeJuice Wine Auction and Tasting Online for 2021

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

Join an immersive virtual wine experience in support of Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland as the GrapeJuice Wine Auction and Tasting goes online this year. Enjoy the online program, along with tasty local grazing boards, while you bid on rare wine finds and raise much needed funds for Big Sisters BCLM.

GrapeJuice Wine Auction 2021

GrapeJuice Wine Auction and Tasting

  • When: Thursday May 6, 2021 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm
  • Where: Online
  • Tickets: Tickets are $50 (book online here) for access to the virtual program, and packages start at $135.
    • Each package includes event and auction access, a Ready-to-Assemble Grazing Board from Legends Haul and fun wine swag.

This event also offers an opportunity for wine aficionados and amateurs alike to sip unique wines presented by local wine legend DJ Kearney, Select Wines top wine ambassador Samantha Rahn and Mission Hill winemaker Corrie Krehbiel. There will be a unique auction featuring collectable and hard to find wines as well as grazing boards from Legends Haul. Enjoy all the evening has to offer while supporting Big Sisters and the 800+ youth they serve in our community facing increased challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Guests will have the chance to hear about the importance of mentorship in the lives of young people in our community and participate in a live telethon opportunity to sponsor a Big and Little Sister match and have a lasting impact on a child’s life.

Over GrapeJuice’s 13-year history, they have raised over $1,000,000 to support Big Sisters’ mentoring programs. Founded in 2007 by Sarah McNeill and Cheryl Nakamoto of McNeill Nakamoto Recruitment Group and Cameron McNeill of MLA Canada , this event has traditionally been exclusive to a small audience.  With the transition to a virtual platform, the event is now open to all wine lovers. 

Since 1960, Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland has been changing the course of young lives by igniting the inherent potential of the girls they support. Big Sisters is doing its most important work right now. The youth they serve are among the hardest hit by the social, financial and educational impacts of the pandemic with many coming from low-income and immigrant families. A positive mentoring relationship gives these youth a chance to realize their full potential despite the adversities they face. This relationship helps build resilience so youth can face challenges today and in the future, ensuring that all have the opportunity to reach their full potential

Miss604 is a proud media sponsor of the GrapeJuice Wine Auction and Tasting