HISTORY
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As one of the founding branches of the Victorian Order of Nurses our organization first came to prominence when four of our nurses accompanied a government expedition to the Klondike to support isolated families in need. The country was enthralled by newspaper accounts of these brave women “leaping, springing and climbing over sharp and jagged rocks, a strain that only the strongest and most sinewy woman could bear.”
In the following decades, our nurses opened cottage hospitals along the coast, provided care to remote northern communities and met the needs of families unable to afford healthcare. Supported by donations and small government grants, our nurses delivered babies, offered new mothers’ education and clinics, collected clothing and supplies for young families and provided nursing care to the underprivileged population. From the 1950s to mid-1970s, VON had nine branches in British Columbia providing visiting nursing and home support services, but in 1976, all but one of these branches closed when the provincial government cancelled contracted nursing services and began to utilize government funded health units. The last remaining branch (eventually known as VON BC) decided to focus on preventive and supportive health services that keep people healthy and living in the comfort of their own homes and communities. These services include charitable programs such as Meals on Wheels, the Family Respite Centre and Community Integration Project, as well as Health Promotion Services delivered by registered nurses to homes and businesses throughout the province. When VON Canada restructured into a single, administrative national entity in 2006, the Society elected to become an independent organization to best serve British Columbians and adopted its current name at that time. While the name may be different, we remain the same organization that British Columbians have looked to for help for more than a century. Read about our Vision and Mission in the "About" section. |