KGH Patient Experience Advisor, Karen Nicole Smith is interviewed by a CBC crew from New Brunswick reporting on the advances made in patient and family centred care at KGH.
KGH Patient Experience Advisor, Karen Nicole Smith is interviewed by a CBC crew from New Brunswick reporting on the advances made in patient and family centred care at KGH.
Credit
Matthew Manor/KGH

It's been quite a month for Kingston General Hospital in the national media, and the spotlight has been right on our Patient- and Family-Centred Care program.

The CBC's Dr. Brian Goldman introduced our work to a huge audience of people across the country a few weeks ago in his weekly national radio program White Coat, Black Art. A CBC television news team then travelled here from New Brunswick to see for themselves what we are doing to partner with our patients. As part of that coverage, CEO Leslee Thompson was interviewed live on CBC radio by hosts across the province interested in finding out how patient- and family-centred care could be imported to New Brunswick.

"It's been great to see our hospital get this high-profile attention for the work we've been doing and it's sparked even more interest among our peers in the health care system," says Daryl Bell, Patient- and Family-Centred Care Lead for KGH. "It seems to be an idea that's time has really come. People want to know more about how patient- and family-centred care can work and we are passionate about sharing what weíve learned along the way."

It's a journey that began at KGH about four years ago, when the principles of patient- and family-centred care were first incorporated into the education we were doing to support our Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Model (ICPM). The next big step was the launch of the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) in February of 2010. Since then, over 50 Patient Experience Advisors have been brought on board and they are now making contributions all over the hospital.

Now is a chance to hear more about the work they are doing in person. As part of International Patient-Centred Care Month, everyone who works, learns or volunteers at KGH is invited to a special celebration of our progress in the Burr Gym on Thursday, Oct. 17 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Two KGH advisors will speak at 2:15 p.m. and many others will be on hand. Cake and coffee will be served.

"I'm looking forward to this event as it's going to be chance for us to all get together to talk about our evolving role here at KGH," says Karen Nicole Smith, Patient Experience Advisor.

Smith has been an advisor in the nephrology department for almost two years. She volunteers 30 to 40 hours a month and often travels to conferences or meetings to lend her perspective and represent KGH.

"Patients and their family members have a unique perspective on how their care is being delivered and that's what being a Patient Experience Advisor is all about - bringing that knowledge and point of view to the table to help create improvements that then benefit patients and their health care teams."

A recent example of this partnership in action between staff and our advisors is the ongoing creation of five new standard practices that are being fined tuned and will be rolled out soon. They include completing whiteboards in patient rooms, wearing ID badges and the holding of Patient Feedback Forums to name some of them.

Learn more about our Patient Experience Advisor program.

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