Our journey to improve the health of rural people and communities in British Columbia began in 2007. Four rural doctors and two staff members laid the foundations of our work and unique culture. In our early years, we focused on building relationships to improve rural training opportunities for medical students and residents to bridge gaps in rural healthcare delivery.

Almost two decades later and still led by rural doctors, RCCbc has grown into a network of hundreds of people—rural doctors and other healthcare providers, healthcare administrators, community members, policymakers, educators, researchers, and non-profit and business leaders.

And although our work has grown and evolved, our commitment to building relationships and co-creating rural-based solutions to enhance rural health equity continues. We remain guided by our values of collaboration and inclusivity, including a steadfast commitment to Indigenous cultural safety.

Funded primarily by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, we serve all rural, remote and Indigenous communities in British Columbia covered by the Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement.

The Partnership Pentagram Plus approach to building relationships
Relationships are the cornerstone of our efforts to improve the health of rural people and communities. To identify and spark connections between partners, we use a framework called the Partnership Pentagram Plus. It categorizes six sectors of partners—policymakers, health administrators, health professionals, academics, community members, and linked sectors (non-profit organizations and industries)—and gives everyone voice in addressing health gaps and overlaps.

From dreaming to delivery using Appreciative Inquiry

We’re glass half-full kind of people. We build upon the strengths of the systems that support rural healthcare in British Columbia, rather than tear things down and start from scratch. We also create space for all partners to come together and co-create rural-based solutions to improve rural health in British Columbia. 

When RCCbc partners come together, we meet as a whole to identify priority areas and build a common cause. We then enable partner groups, such as government policymakers, or non-profit leaders, to figure out what they can do to move the common cause forward. After that, we bring all partners back together to jointly build the solution and its practical application. This “breathe in, breathe out” approach can be repeated several times to allow partners to bring collaborative discussions into and out of their partner groups for further discussion and refinement.

Together, we discover, dream, design and deliver rural-based solutions. 

We don’t own anything
Some might say that we’re like a start-up of sorts. In part, we work with partners to get innovative rural-based projects off the ground and running smoothly. When they’re ready, these projects are handed off to a partner, such as a health authority, to sustain. We never own these projects for the long run.