Help us answer your questions and the questions of those who were afraid to ask.
What is a Co-op? What are the 7 Co-op Principles?
What does primary health mean?
What does integrative mean?
What is the Victoria Community Health Co-operative?
Why is there a need for VCHC?
What does the VCHC do?
What is the middle school program?
What is the Community Wellness Clinic?
When and Where is the Community Wellness Clinic held?
How does the Community Wellness Clinic work?
What can I expect at the Clinic?
Can I continue working with the practitioner outside of the clinic?
Do you have a question that this website doesn't answer? Let us know. Send us an email at: info@victoriahealthcooperative.ca
What does primary health mean?
In 1978, the World Health Organization and UNICEF coined and defined the term Primary Health Care as: “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 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.
What does integrative healthcare mean?
Integrative Healthcare means health services and education, based on need, using a multi-disciplinary approach with active participation of the health care seeker. VCHC empowers community members to achieve health and wellness through active participation in their co-operative.
Multidisciplinary health care teams are one of the foundations of integrative primary health care. Our team will include physicians, nurses, a health navigator, a nutritionist, mental health workers, a physical therapist, and part time positions in massage therapy, acupuncture, herbalism and naturopathy. This integrative approach will allow each member of our team to see patient/clients most appropriate to their specialty, according to individual needs.
Physicians will spend their time treating the patients most in need of their specialized care allowing them to meet two fundamental patient concerns: first, spending the appropriate amount of time with patients to fully address their concerns, thereby preventing unnecessary repeat visits; and second, providing time to focus on health prevention and promotion. As each health practitioner cares for patients according to their expertise, physicians will be able to accept more new patients and alleviate some of the burden caused by the shortage of doctors in the city.
What is the Victoria Community Health Co-operative?
The VCHC is an active health co-operative, legally incorporated under the British Columbia Associations Act in May 2008 following two years of public consultation and planning with local residents.
Victoria Community Health Co-operative is a member-owned, integrative, primary health care initiative in Victoria. Our vision is to support a broad definition of health and provide you with access to family physicians, complementary and alternative wellness modalities to assist you in maintaining your health to the best of your ability. Although we have not yet acquired a physical location, the VCHC has been delivering integrative primary health care education and services since our incorporation.
The need for VCHC is about access to good health care. The Canada Health Act calls for universality, comprehensiveness, accessibility, and public administration of our health care. And yet in BC, dentistry, optometry, physiotherapy, mental health counseling, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, naturopathy and many more modalities are not publicly covered and therefore not accessible to many British Columbians.
Poor access, private health care, long wait lists, health care cuts, lack of prevention focus, poor mental health care, and lack of funding for a wide range of health modalities all seems in contradiction with our Canada Health Act we so proudly uphold as our heritage and right as Canadians.
VCHC offers a middle school health education program, a regular monthly Community Wellness Clinic, and the first series of outreach workshops for vulnerable individuals.
What is the middle school program?
Starting preventative health care young, our Back to Basics curriculum offers middle school students interactive presentations on the foundations of health: Eating, Moving, Breathing, Sleeping, Thinking, and Feeling.
What is the Community Wellness Clinic?
The Community Wellness Clinic offers Co-op member-participants complementary treatments from various natural health practitioners, who are also co-op members, at a pay-what-you-can rate. The money you pay goes into the Health Access Fund designed to support member participants access complimentary health care modalities. The practitioners are offering their services gratis to the community.
When and Where is the Community Wellness Clinic held?
The Community Wellness Clinic is held every third Sunday of the month at the Alembic Healing Arts Centre in Market Square, Suite #235, 560 Johnson Street at Store Street (Google Map).
Choose Your Practitioner
Have a look at the practitioner profiles and what health benefits their modaility(ies) have to offer in order to decide what type of treatment you would like to try.
Set Up Your Appointment
Once you have decided on your practitioner, call the VCHC telephone number (250-483-5503) to book an appointment. If you have any questions about what is right for you, contact the co-op by phone or you can email or call the practitioner directly. Their contact information is included in their description.
What can I expect at the Clinic?
On the Sunday of your appointment come to the Community Wellness Clinic being held at the Alembic Healing Arts Centre. The clinic is on the second floor and can be accessed from the Pandora Street entrance, as well. Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment to fill in a medical history and sign a consent form. Before or after your session, pay what you can, knowing that your donation goes towards helping create a healthier community.
Can I continue working with the practitioner outside of the clinic?
Yes, members are free to continue to work with the practitioners outside of the clinic. Arrangements can be made directly with the practitioner. The Community Wellness Clinic seeks to establish relationships between member participants, strengthen the community of the VCHC and improve individual and the overall health of member/participants.
