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Our Three Areas of Focus

Making a difference in Health

Finding ways to support health in the community is an obvious way for a company like Pacific Blue Cross to give back. We're proud of the active role our employees take in helping various health related charities and causes.

At Pacific Blue Cross, we've identified a particular health focus for us is in working toward achieving better mental health in our communities. Statistics show that a mental health issue will affect one in four people. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability for British Columbians and it's the second highest drug cost in our business.

We are proud advocates for mental health and have partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association to further our common goals:

  • To eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness
  • To ensure mental health is given the same priority as all other matters in public policy and in the allocation of resources

The Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division, is charity that promotes the mental health of British Columbians and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness through public education, community-based research, influencing of public policy, and direct services and supports.

The important work they do makes a difference toward building stronger, more compassionate communities.

We are proud to offer our support and honored to have the CMHA as our community partner.



Canadian Mental Health Association

We are proud to offer our support and honored to have the CMHA as our community partner.

Making a difference in the Environment

Reducing our impact on the environment is an important objective for Pacific Blue Cross and it's employees. We believe being conscientious of how we impact the environment is something that we should all instinctively do. To reduce our footprint, our Green Team continually looks for ways to:

  • Reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from our business operation
  • Increasing awareness of ways employees can reduce waste and energy consumption at work and at home

Here are some of our successes:

Reduce

  • Reduced Hydro usage by 6% from 2007 to 2009
  • Reduced natural gas consumption by 34% from 2007 to 2009
  • Enabled multifunction devices and duplex printing to reduce copy paper use
  • Reduced number of devices (printers, faxes, copiers) from 204 to 94

Recycle

  • Diverted 4,614 cubic yards of recycled material from landfills
  • Implemented a recycling program for all computers and equipment

Better Choices

  • All copy paper and envelopes are now 30% post-consumer waste (PCW)
  • Window envelopes now use an environmentally friendly plastic film
  • Over 60,000 of our members have opted for electronic reimbursement of claims


Making a difference in the Community

So many of our employees have taken an active role in helping various health related charities and causes. At Pacific Blue Cross, we strongly believe in supporting our employees when they volunteer or take part in activities within their own communities. From large events to grassroots initiatives, our employees are willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved. Our Pledge Program supports the actions of our employees in the community by providing a $100 pledge in support of his or her participation in health related causes.

In addition to the Pledge Program and our support of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Pacific Blue Cross also provides sponsorship for other important community initiatives. Here are just a few of the charities and programs we support.

Canadian Blood Services

We are a Partner for Life with the Canadian Blood Services program. We regularly shuttle our employees to blood clinics throughout the year. Pacific Blue Cross was honored to be recognized as the largest corporate blood donor between 2005 and 2007. Our involvement with the program is championed by Simon Matthews, our Manger of Information Security. Simon has personally donated 300 units of blood over the past 33 years. His contribution as a donor alone is the equivalent of saving 900 lives.

BC Children's Hospital Foundation

In addition to various fundraising initiated by our employees, Pacific Blue Cross is the official sponsor of the Lapel Pin for the for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation's Jeans Day™. Our own John Crawford is a long time supporter of the Foundation. His passion for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation has spilled over to the hearts and minds of Pacific Blue Cross employees resulting in an additional corporate contribution in excess of $500,000 over the years.

Ovarian Cancer Canada—Winners Walk of Hope

The Winners Walk of Hope is annual event held in support of Ovarian Cancer Canada. The event is designed to raise awareness about the disease and also to create a sense of community for women living with ovarian cancer and their family and friends. Money raised from the event goes towards funding ovarian cancer research, Ovarian Cancer Canada programs for women with the disease and their families, and education and awareness programs for the general public and health care professionals. The Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans is proud to be a National Premier Sponsor of this event.

Make-a-Wish Foundation and Children's Wish Foundation of Canada

The Make-a-Wish Foundation, grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Pacific Blue Cross is proud to provide travel insurance for the courageous children and their families when a travel wish is granted. Normally, there might be restrictions on travel coverage for anyone with an existing serious health condition. We make it possible for these wishes to come true without families having to worry about paying for high cost emergency care emergency medical care if needed outside of BC.

As a member of the Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans, we provide the same travel insurance support to the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada.

BC Transplant

BC Transplant is responsible for all aspects of organ transplant in British Columbia. Over the past four decades, more than 4,500 British Columbians have received a life-saving organ transplant. Currently, more than 700,000 British Columbians have registered on the Organ Donor Registry. Pacific Blue Cross is proud to include our name as an organization supporting public awareness campaigns for BC Transplant. To register as an organ donor, or to learn more about BC Transplant programs like "Give Life at Work" visit their website

The Community Against Preventable Injuries

Pacific Blue Cross is proud to be a contributing and founding partner of The Community Against Preventable Injuries. Though a grass-roots initiative, The Community has become a province-wide, multi-partner organization designed to raise awareness, transform attitudes, and ultimately change behaviours. Its goal is to significantly reduce the number – and severity – of preventable injuries in BC. With a positive approach to prevention, The Community focuses on what British Columbians can do to prevent injury, not what they shouldn't do.



Making a difference toward the future

At Pacific Blue Cross, we believe supporting the education of our youth is an investment in our future as much as an investment in the health of British Columbians. We provide scholarships to dedicated students building careers in medical and dental care, business and actuarial sciences. We also provide scholarships to the children of our employees through our Reach Your Potential program.

In 2009, we provided over $20,000 in scholarship funding:

UBC

  • Pharmacy - $2,000
  • Dentistry Entrance - $1,000
  • Medical Entrance - $1,000

SFU

  • Actuarial Science - $1,000
  • Management and Organizational Studies - $1,000

UVic

  • School of Nursing Undergraduate - $2,000

Reach Your Potential: $17,000

We provide scholarships to the children of full-time employees as part of our Reach Your Potential program. Recipients are awarded $1,000, to a maximum of $4,000 over a four-year period.

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