King's Daughters seeks patients, family members for volunteer advisory council

For the past 10 years, the world of healthcare has marked October as Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month. King’s Daughters is taking the opportunity to invite patients and family members to serve as volunteers on the medical center’s Patient and Family Centered Care Advisory Council.

“Patient Centered Care means patients are seen as equal partners in planning, developing and assessing their healthcare to ensure it is most appropriate for their needs and values,” said Jane McClelland, King’s Daughters Patient Experience supervisor. It means King’s Daughters and our healthcare professionals work to put patients and their families at the heart of all decisions. Our advisory council gives us critical feedback that enables us to do a better job with all of our patients and families.”

Those who wish to find out more about the volunteer advisory program can go online to kdmc.com/pfcc for information and an application or call (606) 408-8056.

Qualifications:

• No experience required.
• Interested patients and families should be committed to improving care and service for all.
• Participants must be willing to listen and consider other points of view as well as able to share positive and negative experiences in a constructive way.
• Those on the advisory council should be enthusiastic about King’s Daughters vision to bring “World-Class Care To Our Communities.”
• Participants should be able to communicate with people from different backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles and points of view.

Training:

Selected advisors attend a four-hour training session discussing teamwork, team roles and safety. Sessions are conducted at convenient times and locations.

Since the Patient and Family Centered Care Advisory Council was formed four years go, the committee reviewed and made recommendations for a number of areas including improving Release of Information consent forms, directional signage, parking, valet and way finding, clarifying palliative care, improving access to and security of wheelchairs, improving waiting area locations, designating quiet hours and a rest initiative, bedside shift reporting and even the layout of the physician directory.

“Patients are the experts about themselves and their healthcare experiences. We listen to them and advocate for them and their families to amplify their voices, cultivate partnerships between them and their physicians and provide collaborative care that gets to the heart of their true needs and how we can better serve them,” McClelland said. “Bottom line; we are listening and making real changes based on their recommendations to us.”