Greetings ,

This November/December issue is filled with resources that will educate and inform patients, families, and healthcare professionals.

All of us at IPFCC wish you happy and safe Holidays.

Kind regards,

The IPFCC Team

2025 IPFCC Leadership Award

In recognition of their enduring commitment to patient and family partnerships and visionary leadership in the practice of patient- and family-centered care, IPFCC presents the 2025 IPFCC Leadership Award to DeeJo Miller, Director of Patient and Family Engagement and Sheryl Chadwick, Manager of Patient and Family Engagement at Children's Mercy Kansas City. 

For over 17 years, these family leaders have collaborated with patients, families, clinicians, staff, and executive leaders in transforming the hospital’s organizational culture. They developed pioneering new and innovative ways to partner with families to improve safety, quality, the care experience, health equity, the education of health professionals, and research.

Upcoming Informal Conversation

January 20^th, 12-1pm ET

Reflecting Our Community: A Toolkit for Strengthening PFACs

This conversation will highlight the collective effort of two learning communities made up of 26 children's hospitals across North America working to embed true representation and health equity into Patient and Family Advisory Councils. This work builds on five years of research and collaboration across the children’s hospital community. The IPFCC team will also use this time to introduce the Toolkit used to guide the efforts of the learning communities. Learn about taking action to ensure every community voice is heard.

Thank you to our PFCC.Connect Sponsors!

IPFCC at Work

A Qualitative Study Exploring Different Perspectives of Safety Concerns

in Assisted Living Communities

IPFCC's Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Operations, Pam Dardess served as a co-author on a new study published in JAMDA titled "Exploring Safety Concerns in Assisted Living Communities: A Qualitative Comparison of Resident, Family, and Staff Perspectives." The article finds that some safety concerns, such as falls, are shared across groups. Other differences in safety priorities suggest the need to improve communication and incorporate resident and family perspectives into safety policies to address the unique concerns of each group. Access the article here.

Resources and Opportunities

Insightful Webinar Recording Provided by Healthcare Excellence, Canada on Supporting Safer Care

As part of their patient safety week in October, Healthcare Excellence, Canada (HEC) hosted this insightful and informative webinar, "From Awareness to Action: Beyond Harm, Toward Safer Care". Andrea Piche, Senior Program Lead at HEC, facilitated an expert panel of four individuals who brought different perspectives: Dr. Nancy Humber, physician, Lorraine Thomas, Manager of IDEAA at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Christie Ruff, Executive Director of Culture and Wellbeing at Horizon Health Network, and Harjeet Kaur, Patient Partner and Advocate. The webinar provided excellent ideas and strategies for improving safer care. Access the recording here.

Toolkit to Guide Improving Outcomes for Alzheimer's Disease

The Data for Action Toolkit developed by the Healthy Brain Initiative, Alzheimer’s Association, and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) was released in October 2025. It provides a four step process to guide users in using data to improve health outcomes related to brain health and particularly dementia. By following these steps, they will lead to an Alzheimer’s Disease Plan for the nation and for every state and the development of federally- or state-funded Alzheimer’s disease programs in health departments across North America. Access the Toolkit here.

Review of Case Studies for Evaluation of Public and Patient Engagement of Ten Healthcare Organizations

The "Casebook of Public and Patient Engagement Evaluation in Health Research, Health Systems, and Policy" was released in October 2025 by McMaster University, Public and Patient Engagement Collaborative. It provides ten different examples of case studies with each case providing valuable information and resources about public and patient engagement activity, evaluation process, summary of evaluation results, and key successes and challenges. Access the report here.

Portal Based Intervention to Identify, Engage, and Support Care Partners

This study, "Identifying, Engaging, and Supporting Care Partners in Primary Care Settings: A Portal-Based Intervention" was published in BMC Primary Care journal in November 2025. The researchers used a simple questionnaire titled, "Caregiver Intensity Index (CII)" to identify and support patients who have caregiving responsibilities. Ideas for identifying, engaging, and supporting caregivers were determined and summarized. Access the article here.

IPFCC's Resource Center

IPFCC is proud of its Resource Center that contains a multitude of important publications, guides, self-assessment, tools, and other resources. The Resource Center offers guidance, tools, and practical strategies for advancing patient- and family-centered care in all settings. Many of the resources are available for purchase but free downloads are also available. Visit the Resource Center. Check out the tool, “Key Steps in Creating an Effective PFAC & PFA Program: A Checklist.” It is a free download and will be helpful to those who are in the early stages of establishing a PFAC or PFA program. You can access it here.

2025 IPFCC Pinwheel Sponsorship- Renew, Upgrade or Join Now

Thank You to Our 2025 Pinwheel Sponsors!

PFCC.Connect

University Health

Health System

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Hospital/Organization

Akron Children’s Hospital

American College of Radiology

Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Children’s Specialized Hospital

IWK Health Centre

Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center

Moffitt Cancer Center

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital

University of Miami Health System

University of New Mexico Children's Hospital

Wellstar MCG