text: Girl Guides of Canada—Guides du Canada (GGC) is using ePACT to securely collect and manage critical health and emergency information. Starting in September 2019, British Columbia will be the first province to pilot this initiative - launching during the first week of September, 2019. Launch date for additional provinces will be announced closer to 2020-2021 registration.
  ePACT replaces the need to fill out the H.1 paper form, and is an exciting opportunity for us to alleviate administrative burdens on both Guiders and parents!
  Below are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that can help you learn more about this project.
  ePACT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
  A. ePACT is a secure emergency network, that Girl Guides of Canada (GGC) is using to collect medical and emergency contact information electronically from parents / guardians for girls. It will replace the Personal Health Form for Girl Members (H1) and it will also help GGC accelerate communication with families in the event of an illness, injury, or larger scale emergency. ePACT surveys have found the following insights from families:
  91% prefer it over paper forms
  93% find it easy to use
  93% agree that it makes them feel safer – enabling them to better manage any emergency
  Q. How does ePACT work?
  A. You will receive an email invite from ePACT to share your information with them shortly. When received, click 'Complete Request' to create a free account, or log-in (and link to an existing account, if your Girl Guide family account is different from your ePACT account email address) if you already have an existing ePACT account. Enter the required information and share access with GGC.
  Q. What kind of information does ePACT collect?
  A. During the sign-up process, ePACT will ask you medically specific questions about your daughter / ward while also obtaining your emergency contact information. The same type of questions that you were asked on paper forms will be mirrored on ePACT's sign-up page, such as medical information, allergies, health conditions and medications.
  Q. What are the benefits to you?
  A. GGC is partnering with ePACT in a quest to achieve the following for you as a parent:
  Saving you time – with ePACT, you only need to enter your daughter's / ward's information once. You can then use that same record for other programs or subsequent years at GGC.
  Better support – it's easy for you to share comprehensive health and emergency contact details with ePACT, so GGC can provide the best support to your daughter / ward. You can also update her information at any time, so GGC always has access to her current information.
  Peace of mind – enjoy even more peace of mind knowing that your daughter's / ward's health and emergency contact information is at the digital fingertips of anyone who needs it at GGC.
  Q. What are the benefits to your daughter's / ward's Guider(s)?
  A. Partnering with ePACT will allow your daughter's / ward's Guider(s) to:
  Have real-time access to important information – once you've signed up, a digital record of her information will be easily accessible by her Guider or any event organizer(s). It will be accessible to them from anywhere with the mobile app – even without an internet connection!
  Respond quickly to emergencies – access to that data will allow for quick identification of girls with specific allergies or medical conditions, if Guiders need that information.
  Use your latest emergency contact information – in the event of an emergency, your most up-to-date emergency contact details will be digitally available to those who need them.
  Q. What is the process to sign-up and what happens if I don't?
  A. We HIGHLY encourage you to follow the prompts in the ePACT email that will be sent to you shortly, and sign-up ASAP. Getting this taken care of as soon as you can ensures that we have your daughter's / ward's current health and emergency contact information in digital form. If you do not sign up before your daughter / ward attends a meeting, you will have to fill out a paper-based version in-person. Additionally, if your daughter / ward does any trips or events, not with her unit, she will be required to have a new health form for each event.
  As a GGC parent or guardian, is it mandatory to sign my daughter/ward up for ePACT?
  A. No, it is not mandatory to sign your daughter / ward up for ePACT, however it is highly recommended. Doing so brings additional benefits to you and your daughter as well as her Guider(s) – enabled by access to digital information.
  Q. I did not receive a sign-up email from ePACT – what do I do now?
  A. The below decision tree will help you determine the appropriate steps to take:
  Q. Has Girl Guides of Canada used ePACT in the past and was it successful?
  A. GGC has successfully used ePACT for provincial camps like SOAR (BC) and LEAP (ON). It was very well received at both camps. The goal of this current pilot is to onboard more BC units – allowing Guiders to utilize your daughter's heath information.
  Q. What information will GGC be collecting during this pilot?
  A. During this BC pilot, ePACT will only request and collect information found on the Personal Health Form for Girl Members (H.1). Information from other forms may be collected in the future (e.g. wellness statement, medication records etc.) – this decision will be made after review of the pilot.
  Q. Where is the information stored that ePACT collects?
  A. ePACT data is stored on secure servers located only in Canada.
  Q. How secure is my daughter's/ward's information with ePACT?
  A. ePACT deals with very sensitive and confidential information. As such, it is a highly secure network that uses industry best practice encryption and data protection standards. It meets (and often exceeds) the same security standards as online financial institutions. As a company, ePACT is also FOIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act), PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) compliant.
  Q. Do I need to sign-up for ePACT every new Guiding year?
  A. Not at all! If you've already signed up for ePACT and shared access with GGC (regardless of when) you DO NOT need to input your information again. However, you are responsible for maintaining two things moving forward:
  Your daughter's/ward's current medical information. You will be prompted once a year to validate her existing information within ePACT; changes can also be made at any time during the year if information changes.
  If this information changes at any time you can update it in one place, and it will automatically be updated across any other units/Girl Guide events with which you have also shared your record.
  Q. If I have a question regarding ePACT, who can I contact for support?
  A. The Customer Success Team at ePACT is ready to support you! You can send questions and/or feedback directly to them via help@epactnetwork.com or you can call 1-855- 773-7228 ext. 1 to speak with the team.
  Q. Is there an ePACT training resource I can access?
  A. Yes, there is! Click HERE to access a one-minute video tutorial on how to log on to ePACT's platform and access your daughter's/ward's health information.