Riverwood PFAC members, from left, front row: Darlene Munneke, Carla Hakes, Diane Poree and Diane Everson; back row: Deb Clark, Bill Hakes and Arnold Reinhard. Not pictured: Judy Blomberg, Bea Roscoe and Linda Thompson.
In April, the Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC) of Riverwood Healthcare Center celebrated its one-year anniversary.
Made up of 10 members of the Aitkin County area community and two staff members, Social Worker Val Thompson and Quality Director Jayne Anderson, the group has met monthly over the past year to review specific procedures and communications and offer input. For example, they have reviewed signage for how patients can navigate the hospital and clinic services in Aitkin, examined the website patient portal (MyChart) giving patients access to their medical tests and more, and offered input on patient satisfaction mailings.
The mission of Riverwood’s PFAC is to provide a patient’s point of view and collaborate with the staff to promote quality patient and family centered care.
“We are very grateful for the valuable input and recommendations from our advisory council, which is helping our staff fine-tune and improve procedures and communications,” Thompson said. “As all have experience as Riverwood patients, they bring a personal perspective that we greatly value.”
Riverwood will be recruiting five new members for PFAC for two- or three-year terms beginning in April 2018. Anyone interested in becoming a member of Riverwood’s advisory council should contact Val Thompson, 218-927-5524, or Jayne Anderson, 218-927-5536.