Partners in Care Conference 2026

 

The Shared Care Committee, a collaborative committee between Doctors of BC and the BC government, is pleased to announce the 2026 Partners in Care Conference, bringing together family physicians, specialists, health care providers, health authority leaders, project staff, and other health care partners to build and spread system change together.

This unique two-day conference will connect you with colleagues to exchange ideas, engage with new perspectives, learn about culturally safe care, and celebrate the successes of Shared Care. You'll hear and share how to collaboratively advance patient care in alignment with key system priorities. You'll also have the opportunity to develop and apply your leadership skills, with dedicated time for networking.

Join the conversation as we celebrate your achievements, learn from one another, and explore new skills and resources to enhance access to high-quality, patient-centred care in BC.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify approaches to improve patient care in alignment with the IHI Quintuple Aim.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to spread and scale up projects to achieve broader system impacts.
  3. Examine and effectively apply the strategies of change leaders.
  4. Recognize how others are taking steps to advance Indigenous-Specific Anti-Racism and culturally safe care.

Spotlight Presenters

Marlies van Dijk

Marlies van Dijk, RN, MSc, began her career as an ICU nurse before moving into system-level innovation and transformation. She has worked across provincial and national health systems to drive safety, redesign care, and lead major change in some of Canada’s most complex organizations. Her early work included helping lead Safer Healthcare Now! with the former Canadian Patient Safety Institute and co-implementing a provincial surgical infection reduction program across 25 hospitals in British Columbia. Navigating bureaucracy and moving ideas into action is her superpower. In 2016, Marlies founded The Design Lab at Alberta Health Services, introducing design thinking and innovation into a 110,000-person organization. Today, she leads The Pivot Group, a boutique consultancy that helps leaders and teams across Canada rethink how they work. They have helped professional associations, health authorities, and post secondary teams to design future forward strategies. A seasoned keynote speaker since 2015, Marlies has delivered dozens of high-energy keynotes and TED-style talks for government, healthcare, and leadership audiences. Her talks share with people how to hack the system, outrun red tape, and create real change from inside the trenches.

Dr Jaason Geerts

Jaason earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge and three postgraduate degrees from the University of Toronto and Cambridge. He is a TEDx and keynote speaker; he publishes in international peer-reviewed journals and the Globe and Mail; and he has given interviews for CBC national news and CTV News. He was an invited expert consultant for the International Hospital Federation (IHF) and a WHO symposium on pandemic recovery. His model of leadership in a crisis is the theoretical basis for a current $450,000 CIHR grant. Jaason is also a program director and instructor at the Telfer School of Management (UOttawa) and the Schulich School of Business (Toronto). Jaason is also a qualified teacher and was nominated for the Toronto Star’s Teacher of the Year.

Heather and Shawn Atleo

Bio to come.

What to Expect

Location

This year's event will be held in person at:

Westin Wall Centre
3099 Corvette Way
Richmond, BC 

This event is invite-only. If you are interested in attending, please contact Shared Care for more information. Fundholders have been allocated a specific number of seats and will receive a direct link to register.