Who are we?
Our Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) is a volunteer group of CMC patients, family members and caregivers who work in partnership with the CMC staff in a wide range of areas to make sure that patients’ and family members’ perspectives are part of the decision-making process. Our goal is to help promote a more patient-centered and family-centered environment at all CMC facilities.
What do we do?
Our Patient & Family Advisors (PFAs) are active in several areas:
- Hospital Committees—Most of our members serve on hospital committees. They provide input into the topics for which a committee is responsible. Examples include: Infection Prevention Committee, Patient Education Committee, Telemedicine Steering Committee, Quality & Patient Safety Committee, and Palliative Care Committee.
- Performance Improvement Projects—As a need for projects is identified, PFAs offer insight from the patient and family perspective. This ensures that new programs and processes are patient-centered, thus contributing to the high quality of care provided at CMC.
- Patient Rounding—Some of our PFAs visit with in-patients to make sure the patients’ needs are being met, and to help relay any unmet needs to unit managers.
- Staff Orientation—Some of our PFAs assist with leading staff orientation. We were instrumental in introducing two communication tools to CMC:
- Language of Caring©
- AIDET©
These communication tools are an integral part of staff orientation and help establish communication standards throughout CMC for both staff-to-patient communication and staff-to-staff communication. We’ve heard it has also helped staff to communicate better in their personal lives.
- State of New Hampshire—Some of our PFAs participate in the State of NH PFA group to share ideas and “best practices” with PFAs from hospitals throughout the State.
QUALIFICATIONS OF PATIENT & FAMILY ADVISORS
- Ability to see beyond their personal experiences with healthcare services; This is not a forum to air personal grievances
- Ability to work collaboratively with other PFAs and staff from different backgrounds and perspectives;
- Be a good listener and be comfortable voicing your opinions;
- Have a passion for improving the experience for patients and families at CMC.
INTERESTED IN JOINING US?
All PFAs are registered as CMC volunteers, and should have experience as a patient, family member or caregiver of a patient who has received care at CMC.
If you’d like more information on becoming a Patient Family Advisor, please contact Anastasia Luby by email at
Anastasia.luby@cmc-nh.org or by phone at 603.663.6069
.