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13
Summer/Fall 2016
POWER TO
THE PATIENTS
Hospitals get
back to basics
to improve
patient care
Oregon hospital patients are speaking. Now more than ever, hospital leaders are listening.
Community hospitals across Oregon have active Patient and
Family Advisory Councils, which give patients and their
families an outlet to share feedback about their experiences.
The feedback allows hospitals to improve care at all levels of
patient care.
For instance at
Mercy Medical Center
in Roseburg, patient
suggestions have already led to improvements. For example,
after touring the hospital’s emergency department and
providing feedback, Mercy created a training video for staff
on how to improve communication with incoming patients.
In addition, members of the Council have toured the
Progressive Care Unit, Family Birth Place and Centennial
Medical Group’s orthopedic offices and offered suggestions
and ideas for enhancing overall experiences.
They have also reviewed several marketing documents and
gave recommendations, which included reducing the amount
of text, clarifying some of the statements and removing
industry jargon.
The Council is currently made up of five community
members and is supported by Mercy Medical Center’s
chief nursing officer, communications director, director of
mission services, patient advocate, and service excellence
coordinator.
“At Mercy, we have always been committed to listening to
the diverse needs and desires of the community we serve,”
said Kathleen Nickel, Director of Communications. “Our
Patient and Family Advisory Council gives us another great
way to learn from the people who matter most to us: our
patients. We are excited to work alongside patients as a team
in the name of making health care better.”
According to health care journal BMJ Quality & Safety,
involving patients in their own care can result in:
•
Fewer adverse events
•
Better patient self-management
•
Fewer diagnostic tests
•
Decreased use of health care services
•
Shorter lengths of stay
Evidence also demonstrates that family members who
are involved in patient care are able to give providers new
information when they are present during rounds. Patients
and families frequently provide care coordination and
can help to assess care practices for consistency, accuracy
and safety. Family members are also called upon to make
decisions when patients aren’t able to act on their own
behalf. Their presence can positively influence a patient’s
recovery.
At
Lake District Hospital
in Lakeview, high-quality health
care means combining cutting-edge technology with direct
input from patients and their families about how to improve
the everyday operations of the hospital.
“The best environment for healing is where patients, families
and health care providers can collaborate and support each
other,” said Charlie Tveit, CEO of Lake District Hospital.
“Patients who understand their care plan have a better
chance of staying healthy. Moreover, patients are helping
us by offering suggestions and insights that improve the
patient care experience.”
Patients and their families at Lake District Hospital are
welcome to participate in team meetings for the hospital’s
Swing Bed program. A “swing bed” is the term used for a
hospital room that can switch to different levels of care—
the actual room does not change; what changes is the kind
of care that the patient in that room receives. In addition,
the hospital recently began a program of having clinical staff
report to one another at the patient’s bedside during shift
changes, so that patients can provide input about their care.
Lake Health District’s Home Health & Hospice program
considers family members to be part of the team of patient
care, working with them to provide the best care possible,
whether palliative or curative. For Hospice, this continues
after their loved one dies through a bereavement program.
continues on page 16