Riverwood Healthcare Center has received a Minnesota Hospital Association grant to facilitate the formation of a Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC).
“Patients and their families are at the center of the health care delivery system,” explains Kristine Layne, Riverwood’s chief nursing officer. “The experience of care, as perceived by patients and families, is a key factor in improving health care quality and safety. The patient/family advisor is a volunteer who is a patient or family member who has experienced care in a Riverwood clinic or hospital.”
This advisory group will work in partnership with Riverwood to help make its services more responsive to the needs of patients and families. The members of this council will have the opportunity to share their unique perspective about care experiences at Riverwood, and then partner with staff to improve patient care.
Riverwood is planning to form an advisory council with Val Thompson, social worker, as the chairperson for this team. Jayne Anderson, director of Quality will also serve on the council, along with 12 patient/family members.
“Riverwood is embracing a culture shift, a unified mindset where the patient is truly one of us,” Layne adds. “It is a whole new health care approach. This brings everyone together for a common goal of making the health care system the best it can be.”
After the council is up and running, Riverwood will share an update on changes implemented to improve patient care at its hospital and clinics.