Connecting Chinese Seniors with Easier Healthcare

Connecting with Chinese-Speaking Seniors in Vancouver

On October 4, Avee Health joined S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Health Fair 2026, 健康一日談, as a proud sponsor at the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Head Office in downtown Vancouver.

The annual Health Fair brings health education, screenings and community resources to Chinese-speaking residents. This year, visitors attended seminars in Cantonese and Mandarin, met healthcare professionals and explored services available to support their health.

For our CareRipples team, the event was an opportunity to do something equally important: listen, answer questions and help older adults better understand how virtual care can fit into their lives.

Making Healthcare Easier to Understand

Many of the people attending the Health Fair were seniors aged 60 and over.

Navigating healthcare can already feel complicated. When language, technology, transportation or long waits are added, accessing care can become even more difficult.

That is why working with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. was so valuable. Their team has built strong relationships within the Chinese-speaking community, and they helped make our conversations accessible by providing translation support in Mandarin and Cantonese.

It reinforced an important lesson for us: healthcare access is not only about making a service available. People also need to understand that service, trust it and feel confident using it.

How MSP-Covered Virtual Care Can Help

As fall moves into winter, respiratory illnesses such as colds and flu become more common, while clinics and urgent care facilities can become busier.

For many seniors, travelling to a clinic can also mean dealing with cold weather, transportation challenges and time spent in waiting rooms.

Through Avee Health, eligible BC residents with valid MSP coverage can speak with a BC-licensed physician or nurse practitioner by phone for health concerns that can appropriately be managed remotely.

Depending on the patient's needs and the practitioner's clinical judgment, virtual care may help with:

• Prescription renewals
• Cold and flu symptoms
• Common non-emergency health concerns
• Follow-up questions
• Lab requisitions
• Specialist referrals

Virtual care does not replace emergency or necessary in-person care. Anyone experiencing a medical emergency should call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Answering a Simple but Important Question

One question came up repeatedly throughout the event: Is this really covered by MSP?

For many visitors, the answer was new information.

Eligible BC residents with valid MSP coverage can access Avee appointments without an out-of-pocket appointment fee. For seniors who had never used virtual care before, learning that they could speak with a healthcare professional from home created genuine interest.

Many people returned to our booth after seminars and screenings to ask more questions. Those conversations showed us how important community education can be.

Sometimes the biggest barrier is simply not knowing that another option exists.

CareRipples Across Languages and Communities

This is what CareRipples is about.

A ripple can begin with one translated conversation, one question answered or one person learning about a healthcare option they can share with a family member, friend or neighbour.

At S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Health Fair 2026, those ripples crossed language barriers and reached a community that has built deep roots across British Columbia.

We are grateful to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and everyone involved in the Health Fair for creating a welcoming space for health education and connection.

We look forward to continuing those conversations across more communities in BC.