| Patient & Family Centered Care Programs |
Patient & Family Partnership Councils
The Patient & Family Partnership Councils are a valuable resource that helps to guide the hospital as we expand existing services and create new ones. The council helps to drive decisions about programming and policies within our hospitals. The council is at the heart of our family-centered care practices as we partner with the patients and families we serve.The Patient & Family Partnership Councils are comprised of 25 families and staff members representing various departments from the hospitals.
There are currently six Patient & Family Partnership Councils:
- Mary Bridge Family Partnership Council
- Mary Bridge Teen Partnership Council
- Adult Tacoma General and Allenmore Patient & Family Partnership Council
- Tacoma Family Medicine Patient & Family Partnership Council
- NICU Family Partnership Council
- Oncology Patient & Family Partnership Council
The Patient & Family Partnership Councils works in partnership to:
• Enhance medical care through education and partnerships of staff and families.
• Help create a positive environment for patients and their families.
• Represent the diverse needs of all patients and families.
• Offer the valuable patient and family perspective through “expert eyes”.
• Serve on hospital committees.
The work of the Councils is valuable in improving patient and family satisfaction and promoting positive relationships between MultiCare and the community.
There are a variety of ways in which families can participate. If you have special interests or talents, we look forward to putting those to work!
Here are a few examples of accomplishments from our councils:
- Assisted in designing new white boards for each hospital room that enhances communication between caregivers and the patient and families.
- MultiCare listened and responded to the voices of our patients on the council and made some great improvements to MyChart.
- Currently the Council is working with on the After Visits Summary team within the electronic medical record, in order to improve patient safety and patient/family understanding of discharge instructions. We have seen great changes and there are more to come.
- Advocated for parents to participate in family-centered rounds.
- To increase communication between staff and families the FAC developed the “Parent Daily Record” as a communication tool for parents to partner in the care of their child.
- Assisted in writing “My Book About Me,” a care notebook given to parents as they keep track of their child’s health care needs.
- Assisted in writing “A Family Guide to Patient and Visitor Services.” This valuable publication is included in every patient room and includes information a family may need to know while their child is in the hospital.
- Designed and planned the renovation of the family kitchen in the medical/surgical unit.
- Teamed up with Mary Bridge staff to teach core concepts of family-centered care practice to new employees.
- Participated on the art selection committee for the Mary Bridge Children’s Health Center expansion.
- Played an integral part in planning and implementing policies regarding parent presence during a code, procedures and in the recovery room.
- Advocated and chose snacks for a daily snack cart in the hospital.
- Planned and facilitated movie nights for hospitalized children and teenagers.
- Helped in selecting menu items for the new Mary Bridge Health Center Bistro.