Appendix 1
Profiles of British Columbia's Six Health Authorities
British Columbia has six health authorities that, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, manage and deliver most publicly funded health services in the Province. Responsibility for local health services, such as home and hospital care, rests with five regional health authorities. The sixth health authority, the Provincial Health Services Authority, is responsible for providing province-wide specialized services, and for supporting the regional health authorities with their service delivery.
Figure 1: Map of B.C. Health Authorities
Interior Health Authority (IHA)
Web Address: http://www.interiorhealth.ca
2005 Population:14 717,012
IHA serves a large geographic area, which ranges from densely populated to scarcely populated areas. IHA covers a region that stretches from Williams Lake to the U.S. border and from Anahim Lake in the Chilcotin to the Alberta border. The mixture of population density provides challenges to effectively delivering health care services to the region's residents.
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| 14 | Population estimates for all Health Authorities obtained from BC STATS. (P.E.O.P.L.E. 30) 2004. Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services. |
Fraser Health Authority (FHA)
Web Address: http://www.fraserhealth.ca
2005 Population: 1,466,328
FHA consists of a small geographic area with a high population density. Its borders stretch eastward from Delta to Burnaby to Boston Bar and southward to the U.S. border. Over the past 10 years FHA has experienced significant population growth and currently represents about 34 per cent of B.C.'s population. This historic and projected population growth, compounded by an aging population has created increased demands for health care services in this region.
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA)
Web Address: http://www.vch.ca
2005 Population: 1,040,614
Similar to FHA, VCHA is small in geographic area with a high population density. VCHA serves residents in Vancouver, Richmond, the North Shore and communities in the coastal region, including: Squamish and Whistler along the Sea-to-Sky Highway; Gibsons and Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast; and Powell River, Bella Bella and Bella Coola. VCHA also partners with Providence Health Care in Vancouver.
Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA)
Web Address: http://www.viha.ca
2005 Population: 723,002
VIHA serves the residents of Vancouver Island, the Gulf and Discovery Islands and the residents of the mainland located adjacent to the Mount Waddington and Campbell River areas. Almost half of Vancouver Island's population lives in and around the provincial capital of Victoria, at the southern end of Vancouver Island.
Northern Health Authority (NHA)
Web Address: http://www.northernhealth.ca
2005 Population: 307,566
NHA covers almost two-thirds of B.C., and is bordered by the Northwest and Yukon Territories to the North, and the B.C. interior to the South, and Alberta to the East, and Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The primary challenge for NHA is to administer and provide quality services across a large, sparsely populated region with significant recruitment and retention issues due to its Northern location.
