The Institute is proud to announce that it is changing its name to Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care.

The Institute for Family-Centered Care was established in 1992 to advance the understanding and practice of family-centered care in all settings where individuals of all ages and their families receive care and support. The Institute was founded on the belief that patients of all ages are essential members of the care team.

Much of the Institute’s early work focused on advancing family-centered care in pediatric, maternity, and newborn intensive care, where family members—in addition to the patient—play a crucial role on the care team. Over the last fifteen years, the Institute’s work has expanded to include adult and geriatric care, in which patients are involved in their own care. In reality, patients often include their family members as part of the care process, making both patients and families indispensable to the collaborative partnerships that the Institute promotes.

The Institute facilitates patient- and family-centered change by promoting collaborative, empowering relationships among patients, families, and health care professionals. As a result, using either the term “family-centered” or “patient-centered” alone does not adequately describe the Institute. Both patients and family members are essential and valuable as advisors and partners in improving care practices and systems of care.

Over time, the Institute has changed its terminology, and now consistently uses the term patient- and family-centered care in its publications, resources, tools, and education and training efforts. So, it is fitting to have a name that is consistent with our mission.

The Institute has a new address for its website and e-mail to go along with the new name. You can reach the Institute at www.ipfcc.org or institute@ipfcc.org. So, change your address book and bookmarks, but be assured that during the transition, if you use either our new or our old addresses, you will still be able to reach the Institute.

The Institute’s Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care ~ An Intensive Training Seminar is heading to Pinehurst Resort, in the Village of Pinehurst, NC. This seminar will provide three and a half days of comprehensive and practical sessions designed to help administrative leaders, board members, physicians, nurses and other clinical staff, and patients and families become effective agents for patient- and family-centered change in their institutions. Learn more about this seminar.

The Carolina Hotel—a National Historic Landmark built in 1901—at the Pinehurst Resort will provide a serene and beautiful setting in which to learn. Nestled in the majestic pines in the Sandhills of North Carolina, the resort includes a Four-Star rated spa, fitness center, and indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna, and steam room, not to mention their world-class golf courses. Complimentary resort services include high-speed internet access, wireless connections in common areas, afternoon tea, bicycle rental, resort-transportation within the 2,000-acre property and Village of Pinehurst, valet parking, 24-hour business center, and other resort services.

Pinehurst is holding a limited number of rooms at the Carolina at a special seminar rate. Call 800-487-4653 and reference the IPFCC fall seminar to receive this special group rate.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport is the most accessible airport to the resort, which provides shuttle service. Call 910-215-8465 for information about rates or (24 hours in advance) to reserve the shuttle, which runs approximately every two hours during the day. Once at Pinehurst, parking and transportation are complimentary throughout the property. It is recommended that before making any airline reservations, please contact Pinehurst Transportation to coordinate transportation or make a shuttle reservation.

The Seminar is expected to fill to capacity so register early and save money by taking advantage of the Early Bird registration rate. Seminar Registration Now Open.

In April, President Obama nominated Donald Berwick, MD, Harvard professor and President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). “Dr. Berwick has dedicated his career to improving outcomes for patients and providing better care at lower cost,” President Obama said. “That’s one of the core missions facing our next CMS Administrator, and I’m confident that Don will be an outstanding leader for the agency and the millions of Americans it serves.”

Dr. Berwick, long time friend of the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care, has authored numerous articles on the benefits of patient- and family-centered care. See, for example, What 'Patient-Centered' Should Mean: Confessions of an Extremist, July/August 2009 Health Affairs, and Transforming healthcare: A safety imperative, (Reviewed in Pinwheel Pages, January 2010).

The American Academy of Family Physicians quickly endorsed the nomination, saying in a prepared statement that Berwick has "demonstrated a long-standing commitment to building a patient-centered, quality-focused and efficient health care system." The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) endorsement  notes that Berwick's career has demonstrated a "drive to provide patient-centered care, patient safety, quality improvement and care coordination in health care." These endorsements are being conveyed to the Senate Finance Committee, which is preparing to hold hearings on the Berwick nomination ahead of a vote by the full Senate. For more information…

As hospitals and health care systems implement patient- and family-centered practices, they are recognizing the importance of establishing paid positions for patients and family leaders. Given this, the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care often receives requests for information about hiring patient and family leaders—specifically regarding position structure, title, and salary range.

In an effort to capture baseline information, the Institute launched an informal voluntary Zoomerang™ survey for patient and family leaders hired by their health care organizations. The survey was posted on the Institute's website, distributed to members of the Patient and Family Advisors and Leaders of Advisory Councils (PFAC) for Hospitals listserv, and patient and family leaders were invited to respond via a survey link published in the Institute's electronic newsletter, Pinwheel Pages. Read more..

Homer, C. J., & Baron, R. J. (2010) How to scale up primary care transformation: What we know and what we need to know? Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(6), 625-629.

In a special supplement of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Charles Homer, President/CEO of the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality, and Richard Baron, a Philadelphia-based internist, offer ten factors critical to the transformation required to become a medical home. They are: leadership, financial resources, personal and organizational relationships, engagement with patients and families, competence in management, improvement methods and coaching, health information technology properly applied, care coordination support, and staff development. Citing the pediatric medical home model, they suggest that patients and families should be encouraged to engage in their own care and be prepared and supported to participate in development and implementation of the medical home. They note that  few of the adult medical home demonstration projects include this type of engagement and that research is needed to show what training and support for patients and families is most effective. Dr. Homer's and Dr. Baron's research was funded by the Commonwealth Fund, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation.