March 2010, Issue 31

Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward

with Patient- and Family-Centered Care

An Intensive Training Seminar ~ Partnerships for Quality and Safety

With Leadership Support from:

Baylor Health Care System & Children's Medical Center

April 19-22, 2010  •  Dallas, Texas  •  Sheraton Dallas Hotel

Registration - Limited Space Available

Tessa Billman, Family Coordinator, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of MN
Positive Impact of Family Presence During Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Rounds
Institute Seminar in Dallas to Include Sessions on Family Presence During Rounds
Aligning Forces for Quality
H1N1 Recommendations Available on Web Site
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
Tessa Billman, Family Coordinator, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of MN

Tessa Billman is the mother—by the “gift of adoption”—of two daughters, Claudia, 20 years old, and Gabriella, 11. She is also the first paid Family Coordinator for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Claudia arrived from Guatemala, malnourished, developmentally delayed, and in need of a great deal of medical intervention. Tessa navigated the medical care system, making sure that her daughter received all the necessary interventions and Claudia thrived. Eager to repeat the experience and the rewards of adoption, Gabriella joined the family in 1998.

Knowing that when Claudia first came to the United States she needed time to “catch up,” Tessa believed that all she needed to do was get Gabriella home to Minnesota and duplicate what she had done before. She knew that “internationally adopted children may be on their own developmental time table” but Gabriella retreated into her own world, and despite all efforts, seemed unable to interact with her new family. She would not smile, had difficulties maintaining eye contact, would not eat, and seemed to be regressing developmentally, at times becoming totally unresponsive.  

After a year of trying to get answers (nine pediatricians and specialists later), Gabriella was diagnosed with an irreversible brain injury, resulting in epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and severe global delays. Tessa was told that Gabriella would never walk or talk, and would never care for herself.  Read More...

Positive Impact of Family Presence During Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Rounds



A study at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—in a 45 bed PICU that (1) has approximately 3000 medical and surgical admissions per year and (2) has conducted bedside rounds with families since 1998—concludes that “family satisfaction is high when families are present for rounds.” This observational study to determine the impact of family presence during PICU rounds examined not only family satisfaction, but also resident teaching and length of rounds. Following the observational part of the study, family members and residents completed surveys. Results showed that 98% of the family members liked being present at rounds, 85% of residents preferred family members to be present for rounds and agreed that communication and patient care improved with family presence, and new information was discovered from the family 46% of the time when family members were present in rounds. The study revealed that—despite the concern that many physicians express—there was no increase in the time spent with each patient when family members were present during rounds, but residents often think that teaching is decreased when families are present. Additionally, families may need special attention from the medical team on the first day of a patient’s admission, because they are less likely to understand the plan of care and more likely to have privacy concerns. 

Aronson, P.L., Yau, J. Helfaer, M.A., and Morrison, W. (2009). Impact of Family Presence During Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Rounds on the Family and Medical Team. Pediatrics, 124.

Institute Seminar in Dallas to Include Sessions on Family Presence During Rounds

Come to the Institute’s Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar, in Dallas, Texas, April 19-22, 2010, to learn more about family presence during rounds. The Dallas meeting will provide a wealth of information, including a variety of teaching sessions that directly address the topic of including patients and families during rounds. Pros and cons will be discussed, along with how to support physician, nursing, and other staff concerns, and privacy issues. Here are some of the offerings:

  • Patient- and Family-Centered Rounds: What’s In It for Patients, Families, and Professionals
  • Supporting Staff for Family Presence and Participation in Nurse Change of Shift, Rounding, and Other Nursing Practices
  • Collaborative Rounds in Adult Cardiology/Patient Advisors for Cardiology
  • Involving Physicians in Patient- and Family-Centered Initiatives: Applying Principles to Practice
  • HIPAA and the Implications for Patient- and Family-Centered Practice

To learn more, see the Seminar Agenda

Register here.



Check out the Institute's revised Past and Current Initiatives
and
For your convenience, view the Institute's Calendar of Events





Congratulations to Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, for winning the Pinwheel Scholarship for the Dallas seminar. For information on how your organization can qualify for a scholarship to one of the Institute's Intensive Training Seminars.....Read more

Aligning Forces for Quality

Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) signature effort to improve the overall quality of health care in targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities, prevent medical errors and miscommunication, and provide models for national health care reform. AF4Q asks the people who receive care, give care, and pay for care to work together toward common, fundamental objectives to lead to better care.

The partnering of health care professionals, patients, and families is crucial to improving the quality of health care. Lessons learned and best practices from these programs and initiatives are  shared to increase knowledge and deliver lasting change across entire communities.


Currently, 15 communities have AF4Q multi-stakeholder teams positioned to make fundamental and cutting-edge changes to rebuild their health care systems. Three primary areas of focus are: (1) community performance measurement and public reporting, (2) community-level support for quality improvement, and (3) consumer engagement.

In 2009, RWJF created an opportunity for AF4Q grantees and other organizations in their communities to apply for additional funds in three key areas—health information technology, payment reform, and patient-centered care. Three organizations that received funding for two or three-year initiatives in the category of patient-centered care are Maine Quality Counts, Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement in Minnesota, and Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation.

The Institute for Family-Centered Care, with funding support from RWJF, is proud to be providing training and technical assistance for these three AF4Q Patient-Centered Care initiatives. The Institute will provide consultation, assessment tools, educational resources, webinars, and faculty for state-wide meetings.

H1N1 Recommendations Available on Web Site


With the arrival of H1N1 influenza, hospitals and clinics are making decisions about policies and practices to aid in efforts to prevent disease transmission. In October 2009, a working group was convened during the Institute’s Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar held in Minneapolis, MN, to create a set of suggestions that reflect patient- and family-centered care to consider when developing a pandemic response plan. We received feedback from many of our PinWheel Pages readers emphasizing the fact that during any outbreak of infectious disease, it is important to not only take steps to contain the illness, but to also remember that family members are stewards of patient safety. The continued presence of a family member with a patient, during a pandemic, has both a safety and psychological component. To read the final report and view all the recommendations


Thank you to the task force and all of you who reviewed the document, made suggestions for improvement, and shared ideas about this timely topic.


Continuing Education Units Available to
Dallas Seminar Participants

Seminar participants may earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Nurses,Physicians, and Social Workers. To be eligible, participants requesting continuing education certification are required to:

  • sign in daily at the Registration Desk;
  • verify contact information so certificates can be sent after the seminar; and
  • complete the online evaluation no later than May 17, 2010.