New FLS site at Chilliwack General Hospital, BC

Brookfield Chair in Fracture Prevention funds new Fracture Liaison Service Program in Chilliwack, BC

Chilliwack General Hospital is thrilled to launch a new Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) program to improve fracture care for patients living in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia.

FLS is a patient-centered fracture prevention program providing patients who have had an osteoporosis related fracture with the investigations, treatments and community supports they need to prevent future fractures from occurring. FLS is good for patients and by preventing new hospital visits for fracture care, saves money and resources for the health system.

The Chilliwack FLS program is one of the first BreakFree FLS funded by Dr. Earl Bogoch in his role as the Brookfield Chair in Fracture Prevention, University of Toronto. The Brookfield Chair has the mandate to support spread of new fracture prevention programs across Canada and Chilliwack Hospital is very excited to be the recipient of FLS start up funding.

Photo: Agassiz-Harrison Observer

The 2-year funding has provided Chilliwack General Hospital with the financial resources to train and hire a FLS nurse and medical lead, with a plan to keep the program going long-term. The dynamic Chilliwack General Hospital team is lead by Robert Stam – Manager, Dianne Campbell – Director, Dr. Harold Ian Robles – Orthopaedic Surgeon and Dr. Derrick Chan – Geriatrician.

Further supporting the Chilliwack General Hospital team is Dr. Sonia Singh and the FLS Implementation Science Team funded by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Dr. Singh and her team established the first FLS in British Columbia at Peace Arch Hospital in 2015 and have provided valuable advisory support to Chilliwack General Hospital. Despite many challenges in 2021 including COVID-19 outbreaks, a severe heat dome, and more recently devastating floods, the new FLS program was launched in December 2021.

This exciting news also include the announcement that Michael Hing (RN) has been hired as the FLS nurse and will be working alongside Dr. Derrick Chan – MD, Geriatrician, Medical Lead for FLS at Chilliwack General Hospital.

Michael is working with the staff on the surgical ward including the rehabilitation staff and the orthopaedic team to bring fracture prevention strategies to hip fracture patients during their recovery. The Chilliwack FLS will start as a hip fracture only FLS, with the plan to expand into the outpatient clinics and include other fracture types very soon. In addition, the Chilliwack FLS Team will be working closely with Indigenous communities to ensure that FLS processes and strategies are aligned with their needs.

The Chilliwack Hospital team and Dr. Singh began the FLS program in January 2022 which has demonstrated the benefits for the patients from the Fraser Valley Region to benefit from this amazing program.