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.
Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC)
left to right: Pam Caetano, Bill Klein, Joanne Leach, Yvonne Gillen, Patricia Young, Kari Sanborn, Anastasia Luby and Ashley Conley.
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
.