The following article explores some ways in which the Victoria Community Health Co-operative could move towards long term co-op sustainability by creating multiple flows of funding and by building on one of our most important assets, our members. The article was written by our Business Manager, Jenneke van Hemert after participating in 2 courses to upgrade CED skills and knowledge through the Simon Fraser University's Certificate Program for CED Professionals. The ideas here will be addressed in our business plan, which is planned to be made public by the spring of 2010. Any comments you have about this article may be sent to: info@victoriahealthcooperative.ca
Working Towards a Sustainable Model for the Victoria Community Health Co-operative
Jenneke van Hemert, 2009, Victoria Community Health Co-operative
The Victoria Community Health Co-operative (VCHC) is a primary integrative health co-operative. Primary healthcare, according to WHO and UNICEF, means: “essential health care; based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable method and technology; universally accessible to all in the community through their full participation; at an affordable cost; and geared toward self-reliance and self-determination.” The Victoria Community Health Cooperative (VCHC) is a proactive opportunity that gives the community the resources and power to address and access it's health and services needs. The primary health care focus of the VCHC includes all factors that affect health, including social and environmental determinants, and the wellness of communities as well as individuals. Currently the VCHC it is in the first stages of acquiring a physical location.
The recent cuts made by Vancouver Coastal Health and other health authorities to community will severely reduce service in primary care, senior services, mental health, addictions and health promotion programs. These are all areas of focus for the VCHC’s current programming and this is why the need for VCHC is so evident.
The interest for these courses was peaked because, amongst other important knowledge, it offered the possibility for me to explore ways to add sustainability to the community economic development VCHC is currently undertaking. This article will speak to moving towards sustainability of the co-op by creating multiple flows of funding and by building on one of our most important assets, our members. The next step of adding sustainability is to create multiple flows of income; that are addressed in our business plan, which is planned to be made public by the spring of 2010.
Importance of member engagement
The first course: Community Organizing within CED, lead by Anne Docherty and Melanie Sondergaard talked about organizing. Organizers identify, recruit and develop leadership; build community around leadership; and build power out of community (Ganz 2003). VCHC recognized that an important factor in the sustainability of the VCHC lies with the willingness of the members to participate, whether it is in governance, advocacy, as a service seeker and/or a volunteer. Our members consist of both practitioners and participants, of which currently an approximate 25% of the total membership are engaged in regular activities such as ongoing promotion of the VCHC, assisting at workshops, participating at our Wellness Clinics, or facilitating health education programs to vulnerable groups such as seniors and youth.
The course has resulted in an increased understanding of the importance of community work within the structure of VCHC, expressed in the continuous development of our member engagement strategy. It is currently being designed to appeal to all levels of engagement accomplished by informing our members of all activities on a more regular basis to create excitement; inviting members to participate in our activities; identifying tasks and skills that are needed for our current and future programs and by supporting the active volunteers by providing tools and training where needed.
The motivation from these volunteers has come from a sense of belonging, peer support, working together on an equal basis regardless of socio-economic status, the feeling of being appreciated and making a difference. The risk of burn out of the volunteer pool is always a concern, which VCHC is attempting to mitigate by respecting limitations or time restrictions of the volunteers beforehand, by selecting volunteers for their known competencies and comfort levels with certain tasks, and by assuring that the tasks are easily transferable to the next volunteer.
The second course: Local Development and the Global Economy, lead by Melanie Conn, talked about the negative globalization and the impact on your community using the community economy bucket tool. Having not been familiar with the bucket tool before, I eagerly applied it to the national healthcare crisis in relation to our local community.
An example of this is presented by the current health care system, that is funding the use of conventional medical and pharmaceutical treatment, however is excluding traditional native healing methodologies as well as other traditional healing modalities, natural health modalities and western alternative (or complimentary) health modalities. So to compensate for this loss of possible funding for non-public funded health care modalities, or inflow, into our community the VCHC has to be innovative in the manner it attracts funding.
Multiple funding opportunities
The VCHC is incorporated as a for surplus co-operative allowing members to buy investment shares. The ability to issue investment shares would create an additional method of funding, thereby creating a model that is less dependent on public funding. Vanessa Hammond, the co-op developer working with VCHC, has noticed a recent change of the BC Securities regulation that would prevent any co-operative larger than 150 members to issue investment shares to its members. This change has been brought to BCCA’s attention, and collectively, a solution is being sought. This is of extreme importance to the (healthcare) co-op sector development, because both the ability to issue investment shares and the number of members actively participating in a co-operative are instrumental in the growth, and eventually, the sustainability of the co-operative.
VCHC is also pursuing grant opportunities, and donations via a charity to sustain the needs of the marginalized community, mandated to support the co-op and the community, is in the process of being established.
At the same time, realizing, yes, we need the funding, VCHC is greatly aware that our members are our biggest asset. Our steadily growing membership base presents great human resources and many health modalities available to draw from. Through the fantastic work of all the volunteers, VCHC is demonstrating the need for paid positions, therefore possibly creating new jobs, the ever increasing need for primary integrative health services and education will stabilize the health practitioner's positions, and create research opportunities and practicum placements for students. The VCHC is also fully aware of the high needs within our community. Victoria has a diversified demographic of all socio-economic levels, with reasonable levels and/or knowledge of allopathic, traditional and complimentary alternative medical (CAM) health services; which makes the success of our co-operative that more likely.
I am greatly looking forward to continue the entire course, and I wish to thank CCEDNet, Coast Capital Savings and Vancity for funding this valuable learning opportunity.
References:
Ganz, Marshall, 2003. Tools For Organizing, Leadership, Community and Power. Lecturer at John F. Kennedy school of Government, Harvard University, spring 2003.
