This is a great start to our day, bring it on!!! 🙏
On Tue, Feb 3, 2026 at 10:58 AM Sharon Speirs <sspeirs@thekey.com> wrote:
> Its happening! just waiting on some ideas of numbers
>
>
> Sharon, Speirs
>
> General Manager
>
> Vancouver, BC
>
> Office: 778.279.3634
>
> sspeirs@thekey.com
>
> TheKey.ca <https://thekey.ca/>
>
> [image: TheKey]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Testino, Costanza [VCH] <costanza.testino@vch.ca>
> Date: Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 5:24 PM
> Subject: RE: Sea to Sky Proposal
> To: Sharon Speirs <sspeirs@thekey.com>
>
>
> Thank you so much for your detailed response, Sharon. We will share with
> operations re the need to know # of clients to be discharged + weekly
> contact (which makes sense and I expect they would be open to) and get back
> to you soon. We’ll also get us started on the contract draft.
>
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
>
> Costanza
>
>
>
> *Costanza Testino*
>
> Acting Sr. Director, Contract Advisory
>
> Contract Management Office
>
> *Vancouver Coastal Health*
>
>
>
> mobile 778 558 2403
>
> e-mail costanza.testino@vch.ca
>
>
>
> For scheduling queries, please contact Karen Ku at karen.ku@vch.ca
>
>
>
> I acknowledge that my place of work lies on the traditional and unceded
> territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Musqueam, Squamish,
> and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
>
> The content of this e-mail is confidential and may be privileged. If you
> receive this e-mail in error, please contact the sender and delete it
> immediately.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Sharon Speirs <sspeirs@thekey.com>
> *Sent:* Monday, February 02, 2026 2:49 PM
> *To:* Testino, Costanza [VCH] <costanza.testino@vch.ca>; Wong, Melissa
> [VCH] <melissa.wong1@vch.ca>
> *Cc:* Timothy Thomas <tt@thekey.com>
> *Subject:* Fwd: Sea to Sky Proposal
>
>
>
> *EXTERNAL SENDER.* Does this email look suspicious? Click on Report
> Message/Phish Alert in the top right of your Outlook toolbar or forward to
> spam@phsa.ca and *Do not* open attachments or click on links.
> ------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
> Good afternoon Costanza
>
> Thank you for allowing us a little bit of time as we work through how we
> can best support clients in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
>
> I want to address each of your questions below; please see my answers in
> red.
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: *Testino, Costanza [VCH]* <costanza.testino@vch.ca>
> Date: Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 11:46 AM
> Subject: RE: Sea to Sky Proposal
> To: Sharon Speirs <sspeirs@thekey.com>
> Cc: Timothy Thomas <tt@thekey.com>, Wong, Melissa [VCH] <
> melissa.wong1@vch.ca>
>
>
>
> Hello Shannon,
>
>
>
> Hope you’re well. It’s been a while since we last connected and I am
> finally following up on the proposal you submitted re: the Sea to Sky
> region. We have some questions I am hoping you can answer:
>
>
>
> - Could you please confirm that your proposed flat daily rate of
> $1,400 per client still stands and is inclusive of caregiver compensation,
> transportation, mileage, and accommodation? Yes this is the rate we
> are proposing but we are asking for 48 hours notice to cancel care and or
> switch to the 8 hour min.The reason for this is based on caregiver pool
> being less for that corridor as well as having to secure accomodation and
> transportation ahead of time.
> - Our hope would be to initiate service very soon and have a contract
> in place until April 1, 2027. Could you please let us know if the proposed
> flat daily rate can be applied until April 1, 2027, with no increases? Yes
> we can commit to this rate until April 1, 2027
> - Following a case manager’s review, some clients that might have been
> discharged from the hospital with 24 hours of home care could be quickly
> assessed to need less hours of care. As such, we’d like to propose a
> service agreement that includes both a flat‑rate 24‑hour option and an
> hourly‑rate option, if you’re able to support shorter shifts and are
> amenable to that.
>
>
> - Please confirm whether your team is able to support less than
> 24-hour care in the Sea to Sky Region with a minimum of 8‑hour shifts.Yes
> we can support this BUT we would need 48 hours notice in order to make
> those changes as per the same reasons as above.
> - If so, in your proposal you indicated that you would be able to
> operate at the hourly rate of the current agreement for the North Shore,
> with additional compensation for travel time and mileage. Could you please
> let us know what your proposal would be on this? For mileage, please keep
> in mind that the CRA standard is $0.72/km and we wouldn’t be able to go
> above that. We will adhere to the .72 cents/km but if the CRA
> standard is increased then we will increase to that amount. Travel time and
> mileage is based on the estimate of time that I laid out for you but with
> shorter hours in play it will depend where the client lives and highway
> conditions based on real time so it could at times be more than the
> estimated times laid out but it will be within reason.
>
>
> - Please let us know how soon you would be able to start services.
> Note that it might take us longer to get the agreement in place, but my
> hope would be that once the parties agree on rate, scope, etc., then
> service can be initiated while we work on executing the agreement. We
> do feel we need some indication of the amount of clients you currently have
> that are possibly ready to be discharged and any insights into the scope of
> the number of clients needing 24 hour care based on trends you are seeing.
>
> We also would like to propose a weekly call or email so we can
> understand on a weekly basis what the need is so we are prepared. We would
> like to be able to start as soon as possible but do have some housekeeping
> pieces that need to be arranged so I would say We could begin February
> 16th. Due to the nature of the work and the distance I am again asking that
> we are given 48 hours notice on this project to cancel care and 24 hours to
> start care as that will be crucial for me to keep the flat rate proposal in
> play.
>
>
>
> I am copying our Contract Advisor Melissa on this email thread and I would
> ask that you please make sure you copy her in your reply as I transition
> this work to her. Do not hesitate to let us know if you have any
> clarification needed on any on the above.
>
>
>
> Thank you again and we look forward to hearing from you!
>
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
>
> Costanza
>
>
>
> *Costanza Testino*
>
> Acting Sr. Director, Contract Advisory
>
> Contract Management Office
>
> *Vancouver Coastal Health*
>
>
>
> mobile 778 558 2403
>
> e-mail costanza.testino@vch.ca
>
>
>
> For scheduling queries, please contact Karen Ku at karen.ku@vch.ca
>
>
>
> I acknowledge that my place of work lies on the traditional and unceded
> territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Musqueam, Squamish,
> and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
>
> The content of this e-mail is confidential and may be privileged. If you
> receive this e-mail in error, please contact the sender and delete it
> immediately.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Sharon Speirs <sspeirs@thekey.com>
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 16, 2025 4:03 PM
> *To:* Testino, Costanza [VCH] <costanza.testino@vch.ca>
> *Cc:* Timothy Thomas <tt@thekey.com>; Butler, Heidi [VCH] <
> heidi.butler@vch.ca>
> *Subject:* Sea to Sky Proposal
>
>
>
> *EXTERNAL SENDER.* Does this email look suspicious? Click on Report
> Message/Phish Alert in the top right of your Outlook toolbar or forward to
> spam@phsa.ca and *Do not* open attachments or click on links.
> ------------------------------
>
>
>
> Good Afternoon Heidi and Costanza
>
>
>
> I am writing to propose a flat-rate model for client services for the Sea
> to Sky project. This approach would replace the current hourly rate
> structure for individual clients and allow us to immediately meet client
> needs while ensuring consistent, high-quality care in a geographically
> challenging area. The proposed flat rate would cover caregiver
> transportation, mileage, and accommodation, with no additional charges to
> VCH, ensuring a predictable and simplified billing process.
>
> This change is especially important as we move into the winter months,
> when poor road conditions, long commutes, and weather-related risks make
> caregiver travel more difficult and unsafe without proper compensation and
> planning.
>
> *Proposed Model:*
>
> · Flat Daily Rate: $1,400 per client for 24/7 care
>
> · Includes: Caregiver compensation, transportation, mileage, and
> accommodation
>
> · No additional costs billed to VCH
>
> · Contract: Would require a new or amended service agreement to support
> this rate model
>
> Alternatively, we are open to continuing under the current North Shore
> Home Support contract using the existing hourly rate, with additional
> compensation for mileage and travel time.
>
> Based on caregiver feedback, lack of travel reimbursement (one hour to
> Squamish, two hours to Whistler, and 2.5 hours to Pemberton) has been a
> significant deterrent to accepting shifts in these regions. This model
> addresses that issue directly and supports both recruitment and retention
> of qualified caregivers willing to serve this area.
> *Cost Analysis:*
>
> All calculations below assume 24-hour coverage by two caregivers traveling
> from West Vancouver. Mileage is calculated at $0.82 per km; $0.13 less than
> our community client rate; and includes round-trip travel.
>
> Location
>
> Distance
>
> Travel Time
>
> 24 Hour Care
>
> Travel Time Cost
>
> Mileage Cost
>
> Estimated Daily Total
>
> Squamish
>
> 56km
>
> 1hr
>
> $978
>
> $163
>
> $91.84
>
> *$1232.84*
>
> Whistler
>
> 115km
>
> 4hr
>
> $978
>
> $326
>
> $377.20
>
> *$1681.20*
>
> Pemberton
>
> 145km
>
> 5hrs
>
> $978
>
> $407.50
>
> $475.60
>
> *$1861.10*
>
>
>
> Note: Accommodation is not included in these estimates. If we adopt the
> flat rate model of $1,400 per client per day, TheKey will assume
> responsibility for securing safe, local caregiver lodging, ensuring
> continuity of care and cost efficiency.
>
>
>
> In conclusion, we are open to discussing any and all options. However, if
> support is needed immediately, we must discuss mileage, travel time and
> accommodation to ensure both the clients and caregivers are safe and
> well-supported.
>
> I would love the opportunity to discuss further how we can make Sea to Sky
> expansion a reality and help open some beds in your region.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Sharon
>
>
>
>
>
> *Sharon Speirs *
>
> General Manager
>
> sspeirs@thekey.com
>
> Mobile: (778) 991-3361
> Office: (778) 279-3634
>
> *TheKey.com* <https://thekey.com/>
>
>
>
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--
Claudia Vasquez
Caregiver Manager | TheKey
Direct Line: 778.403.0854
Office Number: 778.279.3634
claudia.vasquez@thekey.com
[image: TheKey] <https://www.thekey.com/>