Suburban’s Patient and Family Advisory Council and Our Patient and Family Advisers
A PFAC monthly hybrid meeting — some members are participating in-person and others virtually
This report covers the activities of Suburban Hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) during the 2023 calendar year. The PFAC is comprised of volunteer members — referred to as patient and family advisers (PFAs) – hospital clinical and administrative staff members and executive leaders. The PFAC’s structure models the partnership of patients, families, clinicians and hospital leaders that is the essence of patient- and family-centered care.
All PFAs have prior experience with the hospital as a patient, care partner or volunteer. The PFAs participate in more than 40 Suburban Hospital councils, committees and workgroups to provide the patient and family voice for hospital activities. This widespread participation by PFAs provides the patient, family and community perspective on nearly everything the hospital does. The work of PFAs ranges, for example, from reviewing the redesign of Suburban’s emergency department to ensuring that patient handbooks and other publications are understandable and that they contain relevant and necessary information.
The PFAC works closely with the hospital’s community health and wellness team. The team’s mission is to be a bridge between the community and the hospital. A member attends every PFAC meeting.
The PFAC continued its post-pandemic march forward in 2023. Monthly meetings are now routinely held using a hybrid model of in-person and virtual participation to facilitate broad engagement among all stakeholders. (See photo below.) Also, PFAs were asked to participate in regular meetings of committees and councils throughout the hospital, and the PFAs are now participating with groups with which they did not previously participate.
Suburban Hospital includes PFAs in interviews for key management hires. Examples from 2023 include interviews for Suburban’s vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer (George Cheely, M.D., M.B.A. was hired) vice president of operations (Alvin “Joe” D’Angelo, M.S., M.H.A., F.A.C.H.E. was the successful candidate) and, volunteer services manager (Alivia Peay, M.H.A. was hired). PFA participation in interviews ensures that the patient and family voice is present during the selection process, increasing the likelihood that executives understand the importance of patient- and family-centered care.
Tenets of Care
The PFAC’s main objective — to advance the practice of patient- and family-centered care — is unchanged, as are the key tenets of that care as defined by the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care:
- Patients and their families are treated with dignity and respect.
- Health care practitioners share complete and unbiased information with patients and their families in ways that are supportive and useful.
- Health care practitioners encourage patients and their families to participate in care and decision-making at the level they choose.
- Patients, families and health care practitioners work together to improve every aspect of the health care system and the delivery of care.
Patient and Family Advisers Participation on Committees and Councils
The PFAC’s patient and family adviseors (PFAs) participate in more than 40 councils, committees and workgroups at Suburban Hospital and throughout Johns Hopkins Medicine. Their involvement and insight bring the patient and family voice to every discussion and demonstrate Suburban Hospital’s ongoing and unwavering commitment to patient- and family-centered care.
The following list provides examples of PFA involvement at Suburban Hospital and at Johns Hopkins Medicine:
Patient Safety and Quality
- Workplace Safety and Violence Prevention Committee
- Johns Hopkins Medicine Violence Assessment Task Force
- Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) Teams
- Suburban Hospital Quality Committee
- Falls Team
- Infection Control Committee
- Suburban Hospital Board Quality Committee
Suburban Hospital Team Partnerships
- PFA Unit Liaisons
- Nursing Unit Councils
- Virtual Nursing
- Team/Department Collaboratives
- Interdisciplinary Clinical Policy Review Committee
- Diversity and Inclusion Council
Patient and Family Education
- Patient Education Committee
- Telemedicine
- Care at Home
- Home Health Collaborative
- Discharge Planning Workgroup
Disease Prevention
- Suburban Hospital Glucose Steering Committee
- Johns Hopkins Diabetes Clinical Committee
Johns Hopkins Medicine
- JHM Patient Family Advisory Council Collaborative
- JHM Diabetes Clinical Communities
- Johns Hopkins Hospital Sepsis Task Force