Consider patients' family members for committees
Input from consumers key
To form a partnership with patients and family members, consider including them as members of councils and committees pertaining to patient education.
Health care institutions that have patient and family education committees in place have long realized the importance of making them interdisciplinary, including not only nurses and physicians, but also nutritionists, physical therapists, and others involved in education. Now, patients and family members are being added to of these committees.
This makes sense, says Cezanne Garcia, MPH, senior program and resource specialist for the Institute of Family Centered Care in Bethesda, MD. The focus of the committee is patient and family education; therefore, this group should be represented on the committee, she explains.
This practice is followed at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. People who volunteer as patient advisors have a chance to work on the main patient and family education committee or be a part of one of two subcommittees, states Andrea Dotson, a health educator at the Health Information Resource Center, Patient and Family Education Services. The Education Development Committee is one subcommittee, and the Resource Center Work Group is the second.
Eight patient advisors sit on the main committee, which consists of 38 members. This committee has a variety of goals that include developing and implementing long-range plans for the delivery of patient and family education, and selecting and implementing initiatives for a three-year plan determined by a house-wide assessment.
The Education Development Committee works on staff education projects, such as cultural training and online access to educational materials. It also oversees the development of patient education materials. According to Dotson, patient advisors don't often choose to become part of this subcommittee. Therefore, they are brought in for special projects such as developing tip sheets for physicians on a variety of cultures.
However, the Resource Center Work Group is a popular choice among patient advisors, and they make up half this committee, with staff members filling the remaining seats.
This work group was in place before the resource center opened, helping with the blueprints, design elements, and operational ideas, such as how to label the library books and make the computers accessible to all patients. It continues to help in the operational decision- making process.
"The purpose of the committee is to help sustain and grow a successful health information resource center at the University of Washington Medical Center," says Dotson.
The resource center was designed to help patients and families find health information and provide services, such as copy machines and e-mail access, to family members who need to remain close to a loved one who is hospitalized. Patient advisors help to make sure the medical center meets the needs of all visitors.
Tap into interests
The committee meets once every other month. However, in between meetings patient advisors work on projects that interest them. One advisor is interested in helping identify funding sources, such as foundations, as well as developing a donor program. Others who are in wheelchairs like to be involved in accessibility issues, and others enjoy marketing the center and making sure waiting rooms throughout the medical center have a good supply of brochures.
Although members of the Resource Center Work Group are involved in all the decision-making processes, it is not a board of directors, but rather a means to provide checks and balances, explains Dotson.
"All the decisions go through our advisors, because the resource center is for our patients and families at the hospital, so we want to hear directly from them what will be beneficial," she says.
During work group meetings, all members have equal say, and matters are decided collectively. Dotson says all members are participating for the same reason to make sure the resource center is sustained and grows.
The most recent meeting agenda covered several issues. Fund-raising is a current focus; therefore, there was a report from the parent advisor doing research on the topic, as well as brainstorming by the committee members.
A discussion over adding a sign to encourage visitors to the resource center to ask for help was also on the agenda. Dotson said the wording would be discussed, as well as why the sign was needed. Often, visitors don't realize staff can help them find more in-depth information.
How to add new information to the resource center brochure was discussed. Members talked through the wording to come to an agreement on what language was the friendliest.
Changes to the resource center survey were discussed, as well as why they were necessary. The center is evaluated on a quarterly basis, and improvements are made accordingly. Also discussed were all the evaluation data from the previous year.
Updates to the center's web site are always reviewed at meetings, and often committee members have suggestions on how to improve the site.
Patient advisors are volunteers who have an advisory role. People who volunteer in this way can choose where they would like to serve. For example, those who have had an experience with premature birth may want to sit on the neonatal intensive care unit council. Or, if a family member was recently paralyzed, he or she may choose the rehab council, says Dotson.
To find patient advisors, information forums are held twice a quarter. These are open sessions where patients and their family members hear a presentation on what it means to become an advisor.
Sources
For more information, contact:
Andrea Dotson, Health Educator-Health Information Resource Center, Patient and Family Education Services, University of Washington Medical Center, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 356153, Seattle, WA 98195. Telephone: (206) 598-7448. E-mail: [email protected].
Cezanne C. Garcia, MPH, Adjunct Faculty, School of Public Health, Senior Program and Resource Specialist, Institute for Family Centered Care, 7900 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 405, Bethesda, MD 20814. Cell phone: (206) 459-5516. E-mail: [email protected]. Web site: www.familycenteredcare.org.
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