Darren Lauscher, Co-Chair of the PAN Board of Directors, is an active member and participant with the STOP HIV/AIDS Structured Learning Collaborative. He reflects on what both organizations gain through collaboration.
syn·er·gy: The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
What is the Pacific AIDS Network (PAN)? We are an umbrella organization for almost all the HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C service organizations in the province along with other allied agencies in public health and related sectors.
The Patient Voices Network is an associate member of PAN and as the two organizations continue to work together I see so many benefits of this collaboration.
PAN’s involvement with the Network is not as an advocate for HIV patients but to share the wealth of experience HIV patients have had dealing with the health care system. The goal of the Patient Voices Network is to actively engage patients in the ongoing transformation of the health care system. Perhaps no demographic of patients has had as much experience with changing and innovating health care than the HIV/AIDS community.
PAN provides member organizations with skills and workforce development opportunities, leadership training, networking with individuals and organizations, partnership building, and knowledge exchange on many different levels. PAN’s work is therefore very much in alignment with the role of the Patient Voices Network, given the Network’s principles of public participation, and their mission and mandate to improve health care. Impact BC, which operates Patient Voices Network, also administers the STOP HIV/AIDS Collaborative, which PAN has been very active with. It’s a nice relationship.
The Patient Voices Network is a potential resource for other member agencies. I would like to invite graduates of PAN’s Positive Leadership Development Institute (PLDI), to consider becoming involved with the PVN as a way to build on their knowledge and experience.
In my opinion, the biggest synergies potentially rest with the volunteers, members and clients shared across the two organizations. By working together, PAN’s partnership with the Patient Voices Network means we can offer members an additional path for volunteering – one that engages them further in the health care system and helps them shape it. It also builds skills that PAN member agencies are not always able to offer. The end result is a more highly skilled volunteer, benefitting all of us.
It has been highly interesting relationship. The Patient Voices Network staff have been a pleasure to work with and I look forward to doing more with the Network as a volunteer with both organizations.
The original article is available on the ImpactBC website HERE.
