A special thanks to University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) for providing leadership support for October's intensive training seminar.

The Michigan Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar had nearly 550 participants, including clinicians, physicians, nurses, patients, and families, representing 101 organizations. Attendees represented a large number of departments and positions, including quality improvement, palliative care, human resources, safety and security, medical education, social work, child life, rehab services, radiation technology, health information, marketing/communications, risk management/compliance, patient satisfaction/customer service, patient experience, and many others.

More than 50 senior executives attended the Leadership Track, which included an executive leaders program, in addition to the regular seminar programming. Each leader received a copy of the Institute's newest publication, Partnering with Patients, Residents, and Families: A Resource for Leaders of Hospitals, Ambulatory Care Settings, and Long-Term Communities, which provides a wealth of information for leaders, including best practices from more than 130 exemplary organizations, and tools and links to on-line resources. Check out this publication, which is available from the Institute, to learn more about the role of leadership in advancing patient- and family-centered care.

Photos from the Seminar, including photos of the Tailgate Dinner at the Big House, are on the Institute's Facebook Page.

Reminder: In order to receive Continuing Education Credits (CEUs), seminar participants MUST complete the online evaluation no later than October 25, 2012. Questions or need help? Contact LeAndria Streeter at the Institute.

Consider attending the next Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar, Spring 2013; date and time to be announced soon. Check the Institute's website for updates.

Tony Denton, JD, MHA, Executive Director of University of Michigan's Hospitals and COO of the U-M Hospitals and Health Centers, and Ora Pescovitz, MD, U-M Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Health System CEO, spoke at the Institute's recent Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar, offering inspiring thoughts on patient- and family-centered care, team work, and the role of leadership.

Tony Denton, JD, MHA, Opens Leadership Track With Inspiring Personal Story

In his opening remarks for the Leadership Track, Tony Denton shared why patient- and family-centered care is one of U-M Health System's "high aspirations."

Tony spoke about "moments which opened my own eyes wider" reaffirming his commitment to the principles of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) as a result of his own family's experience "seeking to integrate ourselves" into the care team for his dad who had a stroke during a heart valve replacement surgery.

Tony gave this personal example: "Early after the stroke, my dad's blood pressure was spiking and unstable...he was trying to figure out what had happened, somewhat aware but obviously feeling trapped inside his own body that he could not control. I could sense his fear...he was using [his strength] mightily to resist new and unknown faces touching him, moving him, talking to him...I sought to help, but was kindly declined as they sought to calm him down to avoid further medication...I was standing on the sideline, watching my dad...struggle like I had never witnessed...After seeing lack of success in getting him to relax, I decided to take action...I walked into the ICU room...sat next to my father...where he could see me. I simply held out my hand for him to hold...his blood pressure dropped almost immediately upon my touch. I called for my mom to come in to replace me...his pressure dropped further into normal range...negating the need for other pressure meds at the time.

"It became immediately clear to the providers that these simple observations communicated by family could make a difference in my dad's recovery and rehabilitation. On that day, during that single moment, I sensed that we were becoming a new team with a single goal."

Tony Denton continued, "...for me, health care in general, and PFCC in particular, is all about relationships...where clinicians, patients, and families are brought together in what becomes a special space...where health mysteries: illness and injury reveal themselves.. and people (clinicians, patients, families) have to transform into unexpected teams to unravel facts, emotions, and uncertainty on the way to discovering cause...towards solving problems and making a plan for treatment, healing, recovery, and loss, as a team. PFCC requires hearing, listening, and acknowledgement that as an effective team, no one sits on the sidelines."

Tony said "...it is absolutely necessary to inspire the...fundamental improvement we seek, through PFCC models of care and service...'Being the change' means that we will keep at PFCC transformation despite expected bumps in the road that are part of any paradigm shift...because the difference is profound: experiences that are safer, more effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable...better health, better care at lower costs."

Ora Pescovitz, MD, on Team Work and Leadership

Ora Pescovitz gave closing remarks at the University of Michigan Stadium Event, October 3, 2012, in which she talked about team work and leadership.

Given the venue, Ora spoke first of these concepts in the realm of football, "Former coach Bo Schembechler famously said that 'No man is more important than the team. No coach is more important than the team. The team. The team. The team.' "

Ora then spoke of team work and leadership in the context of health care, "We haven't universally embraced the team concept in health care, even though the work that we do cannot be done to maximum safety and success without a team. And it seems that when we do talk about health care teams, more often than not, we are referring to doctors, nurses, and others who provide direct patient care. What people often fail to recognize is that it takes everyone involved in the patient care experience to create the ideal patient experience—and that includes the patients and families...[and others]." From the people who sterilize rooms, to those who schedule appointments and tests, to kitchen staff and meal servers, to those who "handle billing, provide directions, work in the pharmacy, update the website, or offer comforting words or a sanctuary to those who may be grieving. If any of these pieces is missing, we are not at our best. Everything about health care is a team effort and everyone involved is an important team member."

In closing, Ora Pescovitz urged the seminar participants to "think about how we can build on the momentum we've generated here over the last several days and how we can keep it going. How can we inspire colleagues at home and abroad to be part of the patient- and family-centered care movement?"

The Asia Pacific Forum (APAC) Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, a conference for the Asia Pacific Region, was held in September, 2012, in New Zealand. This exciting Forum, presented by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Ko Awatea, with major sponsorship from the Health Quality & Safety Commission of New Zealand, drew 900 people from 16 countries.

Beverley Johnson, President and CEO of the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care, along with Bruce Arroll, MB ChB, PhD, Professor, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, New Zealand and Karen Hoare, PhD, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing and Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, New Zealand, presented a pre-conference intensive day-long session on Patient- and Family-Centred Care: Partnerships for Improving the Patient Experience, Safety, and Quality. During the forum, Bev and Bruce also presented a shorter version of this presentation as one of the concurrent sessions offered to attendees. Check out this video of their APAC presentation.

Both sessions included the core concepts of patient-, client-, and family-centered care and how they challenge traditional definitions of approaches to care; practical strategies for partnering with patients and families to improve quality and safety and transform organizational culture; and the importance of hearing patient and family stories and effective methods for facilitating patient and family panels.

Key practice changes discussed included:

• No longer viewing families as "visitors" but instead viewing them as allies for quality and safety, and the necessity of the patient defining "family" and their involvement;
• Conducting nurse change of shift at the bedside, including the patient and family in the process; and
• Conducting interdisciplinary rounds at the bedside collaboratively, including the patient and family.

Bruce and Karen shared their personal and professional experiences. Bruce, a physician and professor, gained great insight into the patient perspective as a result of his recent experience as a patient with leukemia. Learn more about Bruce's experience in an interview published in the New Zealand Listener, as well as from his 2012 article, "An Insider's Guide to Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Treatment" in the British Journal of General Practice. Karen, who has worked in West Africa as well as New Zealand, learned that partnerships with villagers in West Africa were critical for her work in health care to succeed. Karen is also the editor/author of a nursing textbook entitled Australia and New Zealand Community as Partner: Theory and Practice in Nursing, and other articles. 

Learn more about the Forum, and its many other presentations.

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It was wonderful to see that one of the posters on display at the APAC Forum included "Excellence Through Patient and Family Centred Care Project" from the Bay of Plenty Health District Board (one of 20 District Health Boards in New Zealand) that not only included the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care's core concepts but also included quotations from the keynote speech that Steven Johnson presented at the Institute's 2012 International Conference. Learn more about the Conference.

Pinwheel Lapel Pin Now Available!

The Pinwheel Lapel Pin is now available from the Institute's Resources Page. The Pinwheel—the official emblem of the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care—is a perfect way to recognize patient and family advisors and other patient- and family-centered care champions. The .75" cloisonné lapel pin is two-tone blue, encased in polished silver, with an 8mm post and butterfly clutch. Only $10! Quantities of 12 sold at a discount.

Two remarkable events took place in Wade Roseth's life in 2008: Wade had a pulmonary embolism and he became a member of the Essentia Children's Family Advisory Council. 

_{^{Wade, his wife, Lisa, and their daughter, Alexis}}

Wade has Factor V Leiden, a hypercoagulability disorder. During the acute phase of Wade's pulmonary embolism, Wade, who was away from home, called and described his symptoms to his primary care physician (PCP). The PCP told Wade to drive over 80 miles to the office to be treated. Wade's PCP did not involve Wade in creating his treatment plan. Wade grew concerned that his primary care physician was not paying attention either to him or to his disease, which required a hospital readmission and lifelong treatment to prevent a reoccurrence. As a result, Wade felt forced to reconsider his personal health care team, as well as health care delivery in general. At about the same time, Dr. Gordy Harvieux, Wade's daughter Alexis' pediatrician, suggested that he become a member of the Essentia Children's Family Advisory Council, and Wade agreed.

Since 2008, Wade Roseth has participated as a patient partner with a number of groups at Essentia Health, providing the patient perspective in advancing the practice of patient- and family-centered care at Essentia Health. Goals of the various projects include improving the health of the patient population; enhancing patient care; improving quality, safety, access, and reliability; and reducing costs. 

From 2008–2010, Wade sat on the 19-member Essentia Children's Family Advisory Council's network of 4 health care providers and 15 family members ....Read More

Congratulations to Pinwheel Sponsor, Vidant Medical Center (VMC), formerly Pitt County Memorial Hospital, located in Greenville, North Carolina, for its recent tie for first place in "Patient-Centeredness" (HCAHPS data) and equity of care. This ranking was done by nationally recognized UHC, an alliance of 116 academic medical centers and their 276 affiliated hospitals representing 90 percent of the nation's non-profit academic medical centers.

In a statement to employees sharing this news, Steve Lawler, President of Vidant Medical Center, stated, "We have a great team in place that ensures we are doing the right things for our patients at the right time...and this includes making them the center of their care and partnering with physicians and family members to make the right decisions for the patient."

Equity of care is determined using Joint Commission Hospital Core Measures and testing for significant differences in outcomes in gender, race, and socioeconomic status. In other words, according to Steve, Vidant Medical Center is "providing the best care to every patient who comes into our facility, no matter their race, gender, or payor mix."

Sue Collier, RN, MSN, FABC, Vidant Health's Vice President, Patient/Family Experience, shared this information with Bev Johnson, President and CEO of the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care, and said, "We would not have achieved this rank had we not had the wisdom and guidance from you and your team. Thank you for all you have done to help us partner with patients and families."

Congratulations to Vidant Medical Center for their great accomplishments!

Welcome to Our College Intern, Julia MacPherson

The Institute is thrilled to welcome Julia MacPherson, a senior at University of Maryland, as a member of our team.

As a requirement of earning her BS in Community Health (which she will receive in December), Julia is completing a four-month internship at the Institute.
 Julia—while learning about the Institute, and patient- and family-centered care—is helping to improve the Institute's website in a variety of ways, including the development of new content. Julia's areas of responsibilities include research, writing, and website design. She also works on the Institute's social media sites and helps other team members as requested.

In addition to her schoolwork, and her internship, Julia also works at a consignment store, which she enjoys. She has also worked as a bank teller, an administrative assistant, and on websites and social media sites for other public health organizations.

Julia lives in Washington, DC, and grew up in the suburbs of Maryland, where her parents still live. Julia became interested in studying public health, in part, because both of her parents work in the field, and because she was born three months prematurely. Julia has two older brothers. In her spare time, Julia enjoys baking, photography, and spending time with her new Corgi puppy, Clover.