Words Lisa Manfield
Photography Alfonso Arnold + Sheila Say Photography
Styling by Sarah D’Arcey, assisted by Anna Matviichuk.
Grooming by Farrah Sanei, Bronwyn Bertles. Makeup and hair by Farrah Sanei.
Technology has long driven advancement in the field of medicine, but the last three years have forced an accelerated digital transformation in health and patient care unlike any we’ve ever seen before. And it’s been particularly critical in hospital emergency departments, where high demand and a heavy pandemic toll have put a severe strain on both health care workers and patients.
Finding new ways of applying technology in emergency patient care has the potential to reduce the burden on the health care system and enhance patient care and outcomes. Dr. Kendall Ho, an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital and a digital emergency medicine researcher and professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine has spent years working to bridge the digital divide in patient care, and was recently recognized for his efforts with a Coastal Health BC Medal of Good Citizenship.
Since he started his career in the emergency department (ED) at VGH 30 years ago, he has published hundreds of peer-reviewed research papers, been granted millions of dollars in research funding toward finding new solutions in virtual care, and has dedicated innumerable hours to teaching and community engagement—particularly during the pandemic.
“I focus on how technology such as desktop video or sensors and wearables can support the safe journey of patients between the community and the hospital,” he says. “We’re innovating on creating new virtual-care models and working with 811 to provide a real-time virtual support network to provide provincial care that is equitable across the province.”
Working harder and smarter
While Dr. Ho has seen a lot of innovation during his time in the ED, his focus is unique to today’s needs: looking at how technology can bring efficiencies and automation to certain aspects of emergency care, while also empowering patients to manage their health more actively at home.
“When I do virtual care, only 10 to 20 per cent of patients can tell me what their heart rate is,” he says. “If I can use your camera and software to get your heart rate and temperature, that improves equity of access and helps us make better decisions. COVID-19 has helped us expand the potential of virtual care,” he adds. “And now is the time to scale up.”
With health-care professionals facing sky-high levels of stress and burnout, it’s been more challenging than ever for the medical system to meet growing patient needs. Dr. Ho sees wearable health technology and sensors filling in some of the gaps— particularly in emergency departments.
“We’re hoping that by putting sensors in the ED, we can help patients stay safer, and also decrease the workload of the nurses by using automation to support them,” he says. “We propose putting sensors on patients in the waiting room so that they won’t deteriorate without us knowing about it. We can also use the data from wearables to admit patients faster. We want to find ways to work smarter, so that nurses feel both relieved and supported.”
Using the same wearables, patients can also go home sooner and with greater confidence, knowing their vitals continue to be monitored from afar.
“After a heart failure, for example, we can support patients better at home,” Dr. Ho says.
It takes a community to support innovation
If ever there was a time to rally in support of our emergency departments, it’s now. The VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Millionaire Lottery proceeds support BC’s largest hospitals—VGH and UBC Hospital—and GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in providing high-quality adult health care, and will help Dr. Ho and his team continue their work in integrating virtual-care solutions with in-person care “so that it becomes not a silo, but complements services we have,” he says.
“At the end of the day, it’s about driving to hybrid care, because although in-person care will give you the highest quality of care, it’s not always convenient. Virtual care gives you optimal convenience, but it’s not always adequate. Hybrid care offers the best of both.”
For homebuilder Deepinder Gill, co-owner of British Manor Custom Homes, the cause is both personal and profound.
“We have been supporting hospital lotteries for many years as our family has personally experienced just how important it is to have the right health-care team and medical equipment when you need it.”
A grand-prize dream home in Langley
The lottery’s Langley-based, seven-bedroom grand-prize home, reflects the family and community values that Gill holds dear. Designed to be expressly functional for a large or extended family, with a legal two-bedroom suite that can be rented out or integrated with the home, this dream build also offers a stunning open-concept living area, 10-foot ceilings, custom-designed kitchen, 5.5 bathrooms, light-filtering roller blinds, large yard and an RV/boat parking space built into the 9,473-square-foot lot.
On the main level, the open foyer leads to an office space designed for quiet work or client meetings. Just beyond, a large living room with 60-inch linear fireplace warms the heart of the home, while the adjacent kitchen offers cosy and functional nooks for eating, studying and napping, while meals are prepared in the enclosed spice kitchen. The elegant dining room provides space for entertaining, and opens to a backyard porch, perfect for al fresco functions in the warmer months.
Upstairs, four bedrooms are accompanied by flex space that can be customized for gaming, a library or a casual lounge, and downstairs, a bar and entertainment area, plus an additional bedroom give plenty of options for accommodation and relaxation. Soundproofing surrounds the separate two-bedroom legal suite, which comes with its own washer, dryer, full bathroom and kitchen.
“I’ve been part of the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Lottery for many years now and this home is one of my favourites,” says spokesperson and former Love It or List It Vancouver co-host Todd Talbot. “It’s an awesome layout with an incredible open concept, West Coast contemporary main floor and a perfect two-bedroom suite that you can rent out. It comes with all the furnishings and it’s beautifully styled. To win this beauty would be a complete game-changer!”
Purchasing a ticket for this year’s VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Millionaire Lottery means your chance to win this home, or one of eight other prize home options, plus cash and bonus draws. And you’ll be providing critical support for the life-saving care and ongoing research at BC’s largest hospital.
“The funds raised from the Millionaire Lottery go toward supporting cutting-edge research, technology and equipment across Vancouver Coastal Health, which cares for more than 1.25 million British Columbians each year,” says Angela Chapman, president and CEO, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. “Every year, more than 32,200 surgeries are performed at VGH and UBC Hospital, and Millionaire Lottery funds ensure that our world-class health-care teams are equipped with the tools and technology they need to provide the best care possible.”
They also directly support dedicated physicians like Dr. Ho, and his vision for a brighter future.
“We can’t keep doing the same job harder, we need to innovate on ways to support the hospital in virtual care and digital health,” Dr. Ho says. “Funding like this helps us to think about what we can do, and to scale up what we have proved. These are exciting times.”
You can purchase your ticket online at millionairelottery.com and you can tour the grand-prize options with Talbot, who says, “We’ve shot some awesome videos and you can pick out your favourite prize package in case we call your name!”
長期以來，科技一直推動著醫學領域的進步。但過去三年來，迫使健康和患者護理領域加速向虛擬網絡護理轉型，這種變化前所未有。這在醫院急症室尤為重要，那裡的高需求和嚴重的流行病死亡人數，給醫護人員和患者都帶來沉重壓力。
尋找在緊急患者護理中應用技術的新方法，有可能減輕醫療保健系統的負擔，並改善護理效果。Kendall Ho醫生是溫哥華綜合醫院的急症室醫生，也是UBC醫學院的虛擬網絡急診醫學研究員和教授，多年來一直致力於彌合患者在虛擬網絡護理中的鴻溝，最近因其在Coastal Health方面的努力而獲得認可的卑詩良好公民獎章。
何醫生自30年前在VGH急症室開始他的職業生涯以來，曾發表數以百篇經同行評審的研究論文，取得數百萬元的研究經費，以尋找虛擬網絡護理的最新解決方案，並在教學和社區參與方面投入大量時間——尤其在大流行期間。
「我專注於桌面視頻或傳感器和可穿戴設備等技術可以如何支持患者在社區和醫院之間來往安全，」何醫生說：「我們正在創建新的虛擬網絡護理模式，並與811合作，提供實時虛擬網絡支持，為全省提供平均、公平的省級護理。」
更努力、更聰明地工作
雖然何醫生在急症室工作期間看到許多創新，但他的重點是滿足當今需求的獨特之處：研究技術如何為急救護理的某方面帶來效率和自動化，同時還能夠使患者居家時更好地主動照顧自己的健康。」
「當我進行虛擬網絡護理時，只有10%-20%的患者可以告訴我他們的心率是多少，」他接著說道：「如果我可以使用對方的相機和軟件來讀取他的心率和體溫，那將提高問診時的效率並幫助我們作出更好的決策。COVID-19幫助我們擴大了虛擬網絡護理的潛力，」他補充道：「現在是擴大規模的時候了。」
隨著醫療保健專業人員面臨極高的壓力和工作疲累，醫療系統要滿足不斷增長的患者需求，比以往任何時候都更具挑戰性。何醫生認為可穿戴健康技術設備和傳感器填補了一些空白——尤其在急症室裡。
「通過在急症室放置傳感器，我們希望可以幫助患者保持安全，並通過使用自動化減少護士的工作量，」他說：「我們建議在候診室的病人身上安裝傳感器，這樣他們的病情就不會在我們不知情的情況下惡化。我們還可以使用來自可穿戴設備的數據更快地接收患者。我們想找到更聰明的工作方式，讓護士感到放心並得到支持。」
使用相同的可穿戴設備，患者還可以更快、更有信心地回家，因為他們知道自己的身體情況在遠處繼續受到監測。
何醫生說：「例如有病人在心臟衰竭癒後，我們可以在他居家時更好地支持患者。」
需要社區支持創新
如果我們的急症室需要支持，那就是現在了。 VGH & UBC 醫院基金會百萬富翁彩票的收益，是用以支持卑詩最大的醫院——VGH和UBC 醫院——以及GF Strong康復中心，提供高質量的成人醫療保健，並將幫助何醫生和他的團隊繼續整合他們的虛擬網絡護理工作。何醫生認為這是提供親自護理不敷需求時的解決方案：「這樣它就不是孤軍作戰，而是成為我們現有服務的補充。歸根究底，這是關於混合護理，因為儘管親自護理能為患者提供最高質量的照顧，但並不是很方便。虛擬網絡護理為患者提供最佳便利，但並不足夠。混合護理結合了兩者的優點。」
對於British Manor Custom Homes的共同擁有人、房屋建築商 Deepinder Gill 來說，這個項目既與個人有關又意義深遠。
「多年來，我們一直支持醫院彩票，因為我們的家人親身體驗過在有需要時，合適的醫療團隊照料和醫療設備多麽重要。」
蘭里的大獎夢想之家
位於蘭里的七居室住宅是贏得該彩票的大獎，反映了Gill所珍視的家庭和社區價值觀。住宅是專為大家庭而設計，並擁有合法的兩居室套房，可以用以出租或與家庭融為一體。這個夢想建築還提供了令人驚嘆的開放式起居室、10呎高天花板、訂製的設計廚房、5.5間浴室、濾光捲簾、大庭院和一個建在9,473平方呎土地上的房車及遊船停泊位。
在主樓層，開放式門廳通向專為安靜工作或客戶會議而設計的辦公空間。就在遠處，帶60吋線性壁爐的大客廳溫暖了家的中心，而相鄰的廚房則提供舒適而實用的角落，供您用餐、學習和小休，而封閉式的香料廚房則可在此準備飯菜。優雅的餐廳提供娛樂空間，並通向後院門廊，非常適合在溫暖的月份進行戶外活動。
樓上的四間臥室配有靈活的空間，可根據遊戲、閱讀或作為休息室來訂製，樓下設有酒吧和娛樂區，外加一間額外的臥室，提供多種住宿和休閒選擇。獨立的合法兩臥室套房圍繞著隔音設備，配有自己的洗衣機、乾衣機、設施齊全的浴室和廚房。
「多年來，我一直參與VGH和UBC醫院基金會彩票的工作，這個住宅是我的最愛之一，」發言人和前 “Love It or List It Vancouver” 聯合主持人Todd Talbot 說：「這住宅有一個很棒的佈局，具有令人難以置信的開放式概念，西海岸現代風格的主樓層和一個完美的兩居室套房可作出租之用。它配備了所有家具，而且風格華美。贏得這個終極大奬將會徹底改變了遊戲規則！」
購買今年的VGH和UBC醫院基金會百萬富翁彩票，意味著你有機會贏得這套住宅或其他八個獎品之一，外加現金和紅利抽獎。你將為卑詩最大醫院的救生護理和正在進行的研究提供最關鍵的支持。
VGH和UBC醫院基金會總裁兼行政總監Angela Chapman表示：「從百萬富翁彩票中籌集到的資金，將用於支持Vancouver Coastal Health的尖端技術研究和設備，該部門每年為超過125萬位卑詩省居民提供醫療服務。VGH和UBC Hospital每年進行了超過32,200次手術，百萬富翁彩票基金能確保我們世界一流的醫療團隊可以配備了他們為提供最佳護理所需的工具和技術。」
資金還將直接支持像何醫生這樣敬業的醫生，以及他對更光明未來的願景。
「我們需要以創新方法來支持醫院的虛擬網絡護理和數位健康，而不是繼續加倍努力地做同樣的工作，」何醫生說：「像這樣的資助有助於我們思考我們可以做什麼，並擴大我們已經證明的範圍。這是激動人心的時刻。」
你可以在 millionairelottery.com 網上購買彩票，你還可以和 Talbot 一起參觀大獎選項，他說，「我們拍攝了一些很棒的視頻，你可以預先選擇你最喜歡的獎品，當我們叫到你名字時，你已作出最合適的選擇了！」
讓穿著更自由