Sharing and Caring Together: TBRHSC Recommits to Patient and Family Centred Care

Six years after adopting the practice, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is celebrating a recommitment to Patient and Family Centred Care during Sharing and Caring Together week.

Patient and Family Centred Care (or PFCC) is the provision of care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient/family preferences, needs and values, and ensures that patient values guide all clinical decisions. To this day, TBRHSC remains the first and only hospital in Canada to receive a Leading Practice award in Patient and Family Centred Care (PFCC) from Accreditation Canada.

“PFCC, by involving our patients and families in decision making partnerships at every level ensures our hospital makes the very best decisions,” says Dr. Bill McCready, Interim President and CEO, TBRHSC. “It is the foundation upon which our new Strategic Plan 2020 was built and is one of the ways in which we become ‘Healthy Together’.”

“Patient and Family Centred Care is about the very best kind of healthcare,” explains Nadine Doucette, Chair, TBRHSC Board of Directors. “It’s about caring together, to create the optimal experience for patients and their families. That’s why with the recent release of our new Strategic Plan 2020, we have recommitted ourselves to PFCC. It will continue to guide us in everything that we do and we will ensure that patients and families are involved in every aspect of the care they receive at the Health Sciences Centre.”

Today, PFCC leaders and Patient Family Advisors (PFAs) were on hand to welcome members of the public, staff, physicians, and medical learners to the 6th Annual Sharing and Caring Together Exhibition. This event, which features over 20 exhibits highlighting various PFCC initiatives throughout different areas of the hospital, was just one of many activities taking place during the week.

The Exhibition is also a great way for Patient Family Advisors (PFAs) to connect with the community, and share information about the new initiatives that are created because of PFCC. PFAs are a dedicated group of approximately 90 volunteers who work closely with everyone at TBRHSC on every level to help make the patient experience as positive as possible.

“Accreditation Canada recognizes us as leaders in the way we involve our patients in all aspects of our hospital business, and that is something I’m proud to be a part of,” says Keith Taylor, Co-Chair, Patient Family Advisor Council. “As PFAs we are involved in every area of the hospital and we do our best to represent the needs of all the patients in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. Sharing and Caring Together Week is a great way for us to commend all management, healthcare professionals, staff and volunteers who have embraced the philosophy of PFCC which in turn has made TBRHSC a better and healthier place to be.”

Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, Executive VP, Patient Services and Chief Nursing Executive at TBRHSC, knows that the reason we have been so successful at PFCC is because everyone on the Health Sciences Centre team has embraced it – staff, physicians, and volunteers.

“Together, we have worked hard to be respectful of and responsive to the needs and values of our patients, families and communities,” says Ellacott. “With the recent release of our new Strategic Plan 2020, we are all completely committed to moving forward for the next 5 years with the same level of dedication towards PFCC.”

Ellacott further explains that every department in the hospital will have every staff member stand behind their commitment to PFCC by signing Philosophy of Care Commitment Boards. The boards will then serve as visual representations of TBRHSC’s promise to always put patients and families first.

To learn more about Patient and Family Centred Care or how to make a positive difference as a Patient Family Advisor, contact PFCC@tbh.net

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