Patient and Community Advisory Committee

The UBC Health Patient and Community Advisory Committee (PAC) advises the UBC Health Senior Leadership Team about issues of common concern in the community and acts as a resource to its subcommittees on matters related to patient and public engagement across the three core areas of UBC Health: collaborative health education, interdisciplinary health research, and health systems.

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Terms of Reference
  • UBC Health works under the Office of the Vice-President, Health to enhance and enable interprofessional and collaborative health education and research to train people, develop knowledge, and shape policy—seeking to address inequities and improve the systems that produce health. The Office of the Vice-President, Health advances these aims by promoting and facilitating equitable collaborations across disciplines and faculties at UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses that collectively contribute to UBC Health, as well as with communities, institutions, and government organizations around the province.
  • Purpose

    The UBC Health Patient and Community Advisory Committee (PAC) advises the UBC Health Senior Leadership Team about issues of common concern in the community and acts as a resource to its subcommittees on matters related to patient and public engagement across the three core areas of UBC Health: collaborative health education, interdisciplinary health research, and health systems.

  • Role

    Provide patients’ perspectives and advice on matters referred by the UBC Health Senior Leadership Team or its subcommittees.

  • Advise on issues of common concern (e.g. patient-centred curriculum development, patient engagement in interdisciplinary health research, priorities for health systems change) referred by the Research Advisory Committee, Collaborative Health Education Committee, and BC Health Systems Partnership.
  • Advise on and promote the adoption and implementation of good practices for patient and community engagement such as the guiding principles for patient involvement in health professional education.
  • Act as a catalyst for change, advocating for collaborative-patient centred care as an important strategy in addressing emergent health issues.
  • Promote excellence in patient involvement through awards and other forms of recognition.
  • Provide input into logistics for patient involvement in UBC Health activities.
  • Advise on evaluation of patient involvement activities and impact.
  • Promote patient involvement in UBC Health activities by communicating opportunities through its links with community networks such as Patients in Education (PIE, an independent group of individual patients and representatives of patient and other health-related not-for-profit organizations based in the community) to identify individuals or organizations in the community to fill different patient involvement roles.
  • Accountability

    PAC is accountable to the UBC Health Senior Leadership Team (SLT). PAC will communicate important information to PIE and other relevant community stakeholders. Meeting minutes and issues requiring higher-level input and decision-making will be advanced to SLT by the Research Manager, Patient and Community Partnership for Education. Issues of common concern may be brought by the UBC Health Executive, Council, and other committees for input as appropriate through SLT.

  • Composition and Organization
  • The committee is co-chaired by a director of Patient & Community Partnership for Education (PCPE) at UBC Health and a patient/community representative on the UBC Health Council.
  • The committee is supported by staff from UBC Health.
  • Membership will consist of approximately 10-12 people recommended by PCPE in consultation with PIE and/or other representatives of various health concerned patient populations in the community. Membership will be as diverse as possible to maximize representation from different patient populations and those who experience health inequities due to the social determinants of health. Membership will be approved by the Senior Leadership Team.
  • The term of appointment is three years, with a possibility of extension.
  • Meeting and members’ expenses (e.g. secretarial support, refreshments, parking) will be provided by UBC Health.
  • The Associate Vice-President, Health is an ex-officio non-voting member.
  • Chairs of the Collaborative Health Education Committee, Research Advisory Committee, and BC Health Systems Partnership will be invited to attend PAC meetings as needed to share information about the work and future direction of the committees.
  • Meetings will be four times per year. Additional meetings will be called as needed at the discretion of the Chair(s).
  • Meeting times and locations will accommodate members who have disability/mobility limitations.
  • Ad hoc working groups may be formed to address specific projects.
  • Decisions will normally be made by consensus or, if consensus cannot be reached, by simple majority.
  • Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually.
  • ​​​​​Expectations and Obligations of Members
  • Foster and contribute to open, collaborative, and respectful discussions.
  • Read and review all meeting materials which, combined with active participation time in meetings, is expected to require an approximate commitment of up to 20 hours per year of membership.
  • Actively participate in all meetings, drawing on their own knowledge, expertise and experience to provide constructive advice.
Current Membership 2024/25
  • Darren Lauscher, Community Educator (Co-Chair)
  • Angela Towle, Co-Director, Patient and Community Partnership for Education, UBC Health (Co-Chair)
  • Janice Barr
  • Larry Dawe
  • Anja Lanz
  • Kent Loftsgard
  • Daryl Luster
  • Sue Macdonald
  • Patience Magagula
  • Savanah Norman
  • Samantha Pranteau
  • Sharon Tomlinson
  • Christie Newton, Associate Vice-President, Health pro tem (ex-officio non-voting member) 
Past Membership
  • Jon Collins (2017-2020)
  • Mandy Young (2023-2024)