The Vancouver Division of Family Practice once again offered our community family practice clinics a financial grant to support ideas to improve your clinic operations and to build your networks. Our objective was to encourage as many clinics as possible to access the grants for projects that make meaningful differences to clinic and staff. Clinics could receive $1,800 to a maximum of $5,400 in total based on number of family physician Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) per clinic.
Clinics received an invitation to participate in this year’s program and participation in the Clinic Grant program was as easy as 1, 2, 3…
Clinic Project Ideas
Clinic Grants may be used to enhance aspects of your PMH or further your PCN connections. The ideas for using your grant are unlimited.
Looking for some ideas to help you get started?
New this year – Featured Projects!
Why choose a Featured Project?
Learn more about each Featured Project including supports for your clinic
Network with other clinics who are considering similar projects
Receive additional support from the Division to complete your project.
Other Project Ideas
As food for thought, below are some project ideas. These are by no means the only eligible projects, and we encourage you to submit a request based on what’s most important for your clinic.
Primary Care Network Enhancement ideas:
Meet with PCN physicians to create a call group or to explore resource sharing
Create a clinic website on Pathways
Patient Medical Home Improvement ideas:
Implement an online appointment booking tool
Digitize paper charts and remove old charts from the clinic
Update clinic software or expand clinic Wi-Fi
Train your MOAs on new technology or other skills
General improvements:
Update your employment contracts or associate agreements
Evaluate clinic technology privacy and security, and implement improvements
Already have a project in mind? Need help with a project idea? Planning your project should take no more than 30 minutes. Featured projects – Clinics who choose a Featured Project are invited to attend our upcoming, 1 hour, Town Hall. Clinics may engage in further networking after the event and with their peers as needed.
2. Submit your Application
15 – 30 minutes
The Vancouver Division will send your custom application form. To complete the application all you need to do is provide FP hours worked in your clinic, provide a short summary of your project, and the estimated costs.
3. Run your Project
Project dependent
We encourage clinics to hire support where possible to assist in completing their projects. Clinics have up to 4 months to complete their projects. The Division team can help connect clinics with vendors and project resources.
4. End of Project Report
30 minutes
End of project reports will be sent to you on February 29, 2024. Complete your end of project report by March 15, 2024 to receive your final funding.
Grant parameters at a glance:
Clinics can receive up to $5,400 in funding. See FAQ for more.
The grant can pay for clinic staff and/or external vendors to deliver the project.
Grants cannot be awarded for purchase of computer hardware or clinical equipment to provide direct patient care, or where other funding already exists. See FAQ for more.
Grants are designed to financially support the initial project, and not for ongoing / sustaining costs.
Your clinic will receive 80% of the funds upon acceptance of your project proposal, and the remaining 20% of the funds at project completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated November 20, 2023
The Vancouver Division of Family Practice (VDOFP) is proud to offer our community family practice clinics a one-time financial grant to support your ideas to improve your Patient Medical Home practices and to build your Primary Care Networks. Our objective is to encourage as many clinics as possible to access the grants for a project that will make a meaningful difference to your clinic and staff.
The clinic grant program is available to Vancouver PMHs with family doctors providing primary care to patients in the community, and not in a care facility (e.g. hospital facility).
Specifically:
The clinic or practice is Vancouver-based, and is not 100% virtual.
The clinic provides some aspect of primary care services (though not exclusively longitudinal, and could include specialized populations / specialized services).
The clinic is primarily MSP-funded, and has at least one practicing, primarily MSP-funded Family Doctor. Clinics without Family Doctors are not eligible.
Family Doctors do not have to be practicing full-time or be VDOFP members.
VCH (or other HA) owned and operated clinics are not eligible.
Grant amounts are funded based on the number of physician* full-time equivalent (FTE) at a clinic. Clinics with:
0.1 to 1 family physician FTE will receive $1,800
2 – 4 family physician FTEs will receive $3,600
5 or more family physician FTEs will receive $5,400
For example, if your clinic has 2 full-time physicians and 3 physicians that see patients half-time, the clinic is eligible for $3,600 (2 + 1.5 FTEs = 3.5 FTEs).
* Funding is based on Family Physicians working in the clinic (not specialists, NPs, allied health, etc.)
Vancouver Division reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change grant amounts.
Grant monies are considered income for accounting and taxation purposes.
It is important that you consider your clinic structure to allow you to match grant income and expenses appropriately for your circumstances.
The Vancouver Division issues T4A’s for all individual income. Corporations are not issued T4A’s. You will be asked to confirm whether grant funding is to be disbursed to an individual or a corporation following approval of your grant application.
Clinics are advised to seek accounting advice if they have any further questions.
Yes. Clinics may work together on a joint project the positively benefits each clinic. Each clinic will be awarded the grant based on the number of physicians working at each clinic, up to $5,400 per clinic. Only one Clinic Owner or Clinic Manager needs to submit the grant request on behalf of all clinics involved.
No. The application is for the entire clinic (or group of clinics). A single application can include multiple ideas that all support the improvement of Patient Medical Homes and building Primary Care Networks.
Each clinic, or group of clinics may request one grant for a project of its choice. We encourage Clinic Owners and Clinic Managers representing an individual clinic (or representing a group of clinics) to apply on behalf of the entire clinic.
Applications are now closed.
This year the Vancouver Division is aiming to make the application process for clinics even easier. Each clinic will be sent a customized application form. The application deadline for this year was November 18, 2023.
The grant is to encourage clinics to invest in practice support and networking, two things that clinics may have been unable to work on given the impact of COVID-19 and the primary care crisis. Clinic grants can be used for a variety of improvements.
Many clinics use the grant to improve their operations through technology. Grants can be used towards the purchase of computer hardware that is not attached to clinical equipment. This would include clinic computers used by physicians and staff.
Grants cannot be awarded for purchase of clinical equipment or computer hardware to provide direct patient care, or where other funding already exists. Please see the FAQ item on Exclusions.
Grants cannot be awarded for purchase of clinical equipment or computers to provide direct patient care, or where other funding already exists:
E.g., GPSC already offers funding for clinics to perform panel management and to implement Health Data Coalition’s EMR data portal.
E.g. 2, The Ministry of Health provides free PPE to clinics, and a clinic should not need to use this grant to obtain PPE.
Clinics will receive 80% of the funds shortly after project approval, and the remaining 20% of the funds at project completion.
Projects must be completed by February 29, 2024 providing clinics up to four (4) months to achieve their desired outcomes.
A clinic (or group of clinics) will receive the remaining 20% of project funds upon project completion. We will send you a template to provide a brief update on your project, after which you will receive the remaining funding.
No. The grant will cover the clinic’s initial project costs, and it is the clinic’s responsibility to pay for any ongoing costs beyond the initial project.
