In 2014, the Suburban Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) established the PFAC Leadership Award to recognize volunteer and staff champions working to build a culture of patient- and family-centered care. PFAC members nominate candidates for the award, and the council votes to determine the recipient(s).

The criteria for nominating a unit or team include the following:

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to promoting the four core principles of Patient- and Family-Centered Care (PFCC) at Suburban Hospital: dignity and respect , information sharing, participation and collaboration.
• Play a leading role in implementing one or more PFCC initiatives at Suburban Hospital.
• Demonstrate effective leadership by educating and motivating colleagues to implement PFCC principles.
• Serve as a model for other staff regarding the delivery of PFCC.

Jean Hochron, PFAC co-chair, with Stuart Graff, who accepted the Leadership Award on behalf of his wife, June

The PFAC presented the PFAC Leadership Awards for 2023 to the Patient and Family Virtual Resource Center planning team; Diane Colgan, assistant vice president of medical affairs; and Jennifer Raynor, the d irector of pharmacy, and her pharmacy team.

The Patient and Family Resource Center shut down in 2020, shortly after it opened, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the PFAC formed the Patient and Family Virtual Resource Center planning team to determine how best to pivot from providing medical and hospital information in person at the resource center to providing it virtually. Ultimately, after many meetings, the team determined that a robust, easy-to-navigate website was the best approach to offer information to the Suburban Hospital community. The Leadership Award was presented to Stuart Graff, husband of June Graff, team chair, who passed away in early 2023. She also contributed greatly to the work of opening the resource center before the pandemic. Her husband expressed deep appreciation to the PFAC for the award. Additional team members named in the award are PFAC members Stephen Bokat, Kris Hakanson, Jean Hochron, Karen Jaffe, Barrie Kydd, Chloe O’Baker, Merlyn Rodrigues and Jane Small.

The PFAC presented a Leadership Award to Diane Colgan , assistant vice president of medical affairs, for her long-standing commitment to patient- and family-centered care and her support for establishing the PFAC. A PFAC member since its founding in 2010, Colgan continually seeks venues for the PFAC to spread its message and frequently includes PFAs in physician/clinician meetings, educational events and professional retreats.

A Leadership Award was also presented to Jennifer Raynor, director of pharmacy, and the Suburban Hospital pharmacy team, for support of the Suburban/Johns Hopkins Prescription Drug Take Back Days (see PFAC Participation in National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in this report), which are held in the spring and fall each year. PFAC team members and PFAs collect hundreds of pounds of unwanted medication and sharps that might otherwise end up in landfills or flushed down toilets, causing water pollution. In addition, the Leadership Award recognized participation by Raynor and her team in clinical rounds, and their conscientious efforts to address the many COVID-19 pandemic challenges.

PFAs with PFAC member Jennifer Raynor (with plaque), recipient of the PFAC Leadership Award