The BC Academic Health Council is a not-for-profit organization linking the healthcare and advanced education sectors. Goals determined by members include facilitating collaboration, communication and knowledge brokering between the health and education sectors and supporting initiatives that address provincial system goals and objectives. The Academic Health Council supports initiatives that enhance the educational preparation of healthcare providers for practice in rural and aboriginal communities, in collaborative interprofessional practice settings and for other key healthcare strategies. The Council has achieved national and international recognition for their programs and initiatives.

The BC Academic Health Council evolved from a proposal the Council of University Teaching Hospitals (COUTH) made to British Columbia's Health Authorities. In that proposal, COUTH recommended the Health Authorities consider forming an organization to link research, education and practice across the province. The Council was formed, consisting of member organizations that include health authorities, post-secondary institutions and government ministries. In the years since BCAHC was formed, it has become a unique and successful strategic forum designed to facilitate collaboration between healthcare and post-secondary education at a province wide level.

BCAHC's goal is to connect people and organizations to strengthen academic health in BC, with particular focus on health profession education. We believe that academic health is a shared mission among health research, health education and health care practice organizations. To meet our mandate, we aim to strengthen regional capacity and engage in province-wide activities that involve all health professions along the entire continuum of health care. They include:

• Developing action plans and deliverables for key health professional education issues
• Fostering and supporting collaboration
• Serving as an important forum for the development and implementation of solutions and innovations
• Undertaking strategic, longer-term planning on key aspects of health professional education
• Facilitating the sharing of best practices and resources
• Serving as networking and communication link for academic health in BC
• Informing policy makers at all levels
• Coordinating selected projects during their development phase

BCAHC serves as a major strategic forum for effective collaboration, partnership and leadership by senior leaders in healthcare, research, and education.

Commitment to collaboration by BCAHC member organizations from the healthcare and post-secondary education sectors will assure an adequate supply of appropriately educated health professionals, which is critical to meeting current and future population and patient health needs in BC.

1. Provide leadership for integrating health care provider education planning and implementation with health services priorities, directions, research, and human resource plans.
2. Provide leadership for the development, maintenance, and sustainability of high quality practice education.
3. Provide high quality, relevant membership services that are cost-effective.
4. Integrate continuous quality improvement.

*Approved by the Board of Directors February 4, 2011.