Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) / Simon Fraser University.

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) / Simon Fraser University.

This study reviews the growth and development of the Health Centre for Children, Vancouver General Hospital, which has offered, for the past four years, a diagnostic and treatment service to children in low-income families. The aim of the project is to determine to what extent the need in the community for a service of this kind is being met. The main research methods used to obtain the necessary information have been interviews and studies of medical and social case records. The medical structure is described in detail with suggestions for improvement of service in this area. The role which the social worker fulfills is outlined, and is compared with the role which the social worker would ideally assume in a setting of this type. Suggestions for improvement of service are made in this area also. Particular emphasis is placed upon the need for treatment of the "whole" individual, a factor which, because of concentration upon expansion of medical services, appears to have received too little attention in the Health Centre. Although there is still room for improvement in the programme, there is reason to believe that the need in the community for a service of this kind is being met to a great extent. The main indication of this is the comparatively large number of people who use the Health Centre facilities. This is particularly evident when attendances for the four-year period are compared with the numbers who used the only public medical services formerly available. Since the Health Centre will be moving into new and more spacious quarters in the course of the next few months and since, at this time, many major and minor changes will be instituted, this study is considered an interim one. It would be valuable to have a further study completed after four or five years of continued operation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study portrays the Social Service Department of the Vancouver General Hospital from the first days of its institution under the Women's Auxiliary, through the course of its growth to the present time. The history has been divided into three periods; the first, under the Women's Auxiliary; the second, after integration into the hospital administrative structure, and the introduction of trained workers; and finally, the present organization. An evaluation and comparison by standards has been included, together with suggestions for improvement of existing services. The Vancouver General Hospital has consistently maintained an "A" rating for medical service to patients. The Social Service Department is only one of the services offered by the hospital, and is not yet recognized as an essential component of the medical team. The study of its development explains the nature of the traditional ties from which the department is endeavoring to emancipate itself. The present policy is to build a gradually strengthening base upon which a truly professional service will be recognized, appreciated and sought. In order to obtain a picture as complete as possible, early documents, reports, records and files, both from the Hospital and from the Women’s Auxiliary, have been studied. Information was also secured from interviews with persons concerned with the department in the past and present. The existing department has been studied by personal observation and through contacts made while working in this setting. Inadequacies and problems which hamper the service have been revealed in the study, but also, there is indication that the department is healthily aware of these, and is planning its future with care. There is room for much interpretation of the profession of social work to the medical and administrative staff, and to the community, in order that full understanding and support may be obtained. Likewise, doubled staff will be required before the department will be able to operate as it would wish. There is a cumbersome involvement with administrative and clerical duties, particularly in Outpatients' Department, which will need to be eliminated before the staff may be free to perform its casework function. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to critically examine whether hospitals located in high seismic risk areas such as Vancouver can respond as post-disaster facilities in the aftermath of a major earthquake. Earthquake experience in California during the 1971 San Fernando and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes in particular demonstrate that hospitals may be vulnerable and rendered unable to fully respond to their communities needs. In the case of earthquakes, risk management methods are limited to two strategies: pre-event mitigation to reduce the effects of the earthquake on life safety and loss of property; and providing recovery services after the event. In the case of post-disaster hospitals, experience shows that mitigation strategies ensure the functionality of the facility. Therefore, mitigation strategies must not only include structural mitigation to protect the life safety of its occupants, they must also include strategies which ensure the functionality of both the building operations as well as that of therapeutic and diagnostic medical equipment in the aftermath of an earthquake. Vancouver General Hospital is used as a case study to critically examine seismic pre-event mitigation strategies which include: the structures; building operation and medical equipment which are dependent on the supply of potable water and power. Findings of this study indicate that the current supply of potable water is not reliable and that some of VGH's essential building operations and medical equipment will not be functional due to losses in water pressures and disruptions in service. This study recommends that VGH should consider mitigation strategies which make the hospital independent of outside sources of both water and power supply in order to meet its emergency role as a post-disaster facility following an earthquake. The functionality of VGH in the aftermath of a major earthquake will be seriously curtailed unless there is adequate storage of potable water on site to meet the emergency needs of this hospital.

The purpose of this study is to critically examine whether hospitals located in high seismic risk areas such as Vancouver can respond as post-disaster facilities in the aftermath of a major earthquake. Earthquake experience in California during the 1971 San Fernando and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes in particular demonstrate that hospitals may be vulnerable and rendered unable to fully respond to their communities needs. In the case of earthquakes, risk management methods are limited to two strategies: pre-event mitigation to reduce the effects of the earthquake on life safety and loss of property; and providing recovery services after the event. In the case of post-disaster hospitals, experience shows that mitigation strategies ensure the functionality of the facility. Therefore, mitigation strategies must not only include structural mitigation to protect the life safety of its occupants, they must also include strategies which ensure the functionality of both the building operations as well as that of therapeutic and diagnostic medical equipment in the aftermath of an earthquake. Vancouver General Hospital is used as a case study to critically examine seismic pre-event mitigation strategies which include: the structures; building operation and medical equipment which are dependent on the supply of potable water and power. Findings of this study indicate that the current supply of potable water is not reliable and that some of VGH's essential building operations and medical equipment will not be functional due to losses in water pressures and disruptions in service. This study recommends that VGH should consider mitigation strategies which make the hospital independent of outside sources of both water and power supply in order to meet its emergency role as a post-disaster facility following an earthquake. The functionality of VGH in the aftermath of a major earthquake will be seriously curtailed unless there is adequate storage of potable water on site to meet the emergency needs of this hospital. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate