April 2009, Issue 22


Early Bird Registration

Open Through June 15th!

          

Institute for Family-Centered Care

The 4th International Conference on

Patient- and Family-Centered Care

Partnerships for Quality and Safety

August 17-19, 2009 · Philadelphia Marriott Downtown · Philadelphia, PA

with Leadership Support from

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

University of Pennsylvania Health System

Register Now

Patient- and Family-Centered Care at the University of Washington Medical Center
Program Brochure for The 4th International Conference on Patient- and Family-Centered Care
Creating a Patient and Family Advisory Council Webinar ~ Third Session Added!
Action Plan Updates: Three Reports
Institute CEO Writes Foreword for Book on Compassionate Care
Institute for
Family-Centered Care
7900 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 405
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
P: 301 652-0281
F: 301 652-0186
E: institute@iffcc.org
W:  www.familycenteredcare.org
Patient- and Family-Centered Care at the University of Washington Medical Center

Patient- and family-centered care at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) in Seattle, Washington, is a culture change movement started in 2002 to improve the delivery of health care for patients and families.

UWMC defines patient- and family-centered care as a philosophy of care that:

•    recognizes the importance of patient and family involvement in health care decision-making;

•    emphasizes the strengths, priorities, and preferences that are unique to each family; and

•    encourages a spirit of partnership between patients, families, and health care professionals.

At UWMC, patient- and family-centered care embraces six concepts: communication, information sharing, choices, respect, partnership, and strengths.

According to Stephen Zieniewicz, UWMC’s Executive Director, patient- and family-centered care is “foundational to the success of providing quality care in a safe and partnership-based environment." Stephen believes that patient and family involvement in health care greatly increases patient safety by reducing the number of falls, ensuring that patients understand care plan instructions, and contributing to reduced medical errors. Suggestions and insights provided by patient and family advisors improve the patient care experience and facilitate navigating the care process.

University of Washington Medical Center has six advisory councils:

•Perinatal Advisory Council;

•Inpatient Oncology Advisory Council;

•Rehabilitation Advisory Council;

•Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Advisory Council;

•Intensive Care Units Advisory Council; and

•Outpatient Advisory Council (launched in March 2009).

Patient and family advisors out-number staff members on the councils, and frequently share leadership responsibilities. Council members recommend changes, establish work plans, and implement and monitor the impact of the changes. Improvements in practice may be specific to a particular hospital unit or may be piloted in one unit before being implemented hospital-wide. For example, room service at UWMC—introduced in 2007—is one of numerous initiatives that originated in an advisory council. . . . READ MORE

aerial photo courtesy of University of Washington

Program Brochure for The 4th International Conference on Patient- and Family-Centered Care

The Institute for Family-Centered Care is pleased to release the program brochure for The 4th International Conference on Patient- and Family-Centered Care, August 17-19, 2009, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. We are delighted to have leadership support from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The Institute is proud to partner with these exemplary organizations.

Check out the online program brochure to learn more about The 4th International Conference, which includes more than 100 concurrent sessions culled from nearly 400 abstracts from 13 countries. The program brochure provides the schedule of events and includes a daily calendar of activities. The content of the concurrent and poster sessions is described and information about the presenters is included. See who should attend The 4th International Conference and learn all about the Exhibit Hall activities and special events, including networking breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, welcome reception, hospital tour, and peer support interest groups.

We invite you to join us in Philadelphia to learn from leaders around the world. Expand your knowledge, enhance your skills, and celebrate this opportunity to become an even more effective change-agent in health care.


Registration Now Open

Hotel Information and Reservations

Program Brochure

Creating a Patient and Family Advisory Council Webinar ~ Third Session Added!

On April 8, 2009, the Institute held a new webinar, Creating a Patient and Family Advisory Council. By all accounts, it was a great success! In fact, the second session to be held on April 28 is already sold out!

In light of this high demand, the Institute is adding a third webinar session on Thursday, April 30. Registration is now open.

Here is some of the feedback the Institute received from the first session:

•You are the best; my lifeline. Don't know what I would do without your [the Institute's] advice, guidance, and resources. Thank you!

•Great real life examples of how to approach communicating patient- and family-centered care efforts.

•Getting to ask questions along the way and hear others as well is so insightful when planning our own roads to take!

•Beneficial to hear what worked in some hospitals and hear examples of real councils.
To learn more about the webinar, check out the recent article in the Institute's March Pinwheel Pages E-newsletter.

Questions about the webinar? Please contact the Institute at 301.652.0281

Register now


Action Plan Updates: Three Reports

One of the unique features of the Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care (HCMF) Intensive Training Seminars is the opportunity to create individualized action plans for patient- and family-centered change. This month’s featured action plan updates include:

Red River College, Winnipeg, Canada: Wilma Schroeder, Faculty of Nursing, explains that in the absence of a single course devoted to patient- and family-centered care, she is responsible for teaching the "stream" of these concepts across the three years of the nursing program in a variety of courses. Red River College and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority will meet in May to discuss blending hands-on patient- and family-centered care concepts and the education of student nurses.

Eastern Maine Medical Center: Administrators, nurses, social workers, and physicians completed five of the Institute’s self-assessment surveys. The Critical Care Quality Committee sent invitations to sixteen patients and family members to develop a Critical Care Advisory Council, with its mission to make suggestions and advise about quality improvement measures within Critical Care. The first meeting will be a brainstorming session to identify patient/family perception of necessary improvements, most likely: rounding, communication, and role identification by the critical care team.

Christiana Care, Delaware: Staff held a day-long retreat for all the managers, patient care coordinators, and staff development specialists to get up to speed on patient- and family-centered care. A second team attended the Boston Seminar and Christiana Care Health System has just developed a hospital-wide Patient and Family Advisory Council. Since the seminar, some physicians now include families in rounding and nurses’ attitudes are changing about family “visitors."

Check out the Institute’s HCMF Intensive Training Seminars—the next one will be in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 26-29, 2009—for opportunities to send a team to develop an individual action plan!

Institute CEO Writes Foreword for Book on Compassionate Care


Putting the “Care” in Health Care: Improving the Patient Experience is a new, important, and timely publication from the Joint Commission. It is grounded in the premise that the patient experience must be the driver for quality improvement and the redesign of the U.S. health care system. The focus of the book is the need for compassionate care: what is it, how do hospitals and physicians deliver it, and how do patients and their families experience it.

Bev Johnson, President and CEO of the Institute for Family-Centered Care, has written an engaging foreword, complimenting the powerful stories. Drawing heavily upon tools created by the Institute and highlighting those individuals and organizations that demonstrate compassionate care, Putting the “Care” in Health Care: Improving the Patient Experience, is a tribute to the “collaborative processes that involve patients and their families, physicians, and other health care professionals."

The Institute is pleased to offer copies of the Joint Commission’s new book for $75, the Commission’s list price, plus shipping and handling. You can support both the Institute and the Joint Commission when you purchase this new book from the Institute. For more information, please contact the Institute or call 301.652.0281 to speak to one of our Information Specialists.

AVE THE DATE

Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with

Patient- and Family-Centered Care

An Intensive Training Seminar ~ Partnerships for Quality and Safety

With Leadership Support from:

University of Minnesota Children's Hospital

University of Minnesota Medical Center

October 26-29, 2009

Hilton Minneapolis

Minnesota, Minnesota