Patient the center of care at Washington Hospital
Eleanor McNulty, left, Chairman of the patient family center and Kathleen Engelmeier, Director of Patient Experience make a presentation to volunteers and providers in the conference room at the Washington Hospital recently. Washington Hoispital’s new family centered care program offers a volunteer advocate assigned to a patient to help them negotiate the health care process.
Volunteer patient care advocates Dennis Schmidt, left and Nancy Church, right work with nurse, Megan Strasser and Shannon O’Rourke at the nurses station in Washington Hospital recently.
Volunteer patient care advocate Mattie McKenzie talks with patient Sharon Byers of Washington at Washington Hospital recently. Washington Hospital’s new family centered care program offers a volunteer advocate assigned to a patient to help them negotiate the health-care process.
Volunteer health care advocates from left: Mattie Mc Kenzie, Dennis Schmidt and Nancy Church walk the hallway to the conference center at Washington Hospital recently. Washington Hospital’s new family centered care program offers a volunteer advocate assigned to a patient to help them negotiate the health care process.
Volunteer health-care advocates, from left, Mattie McKenzie, Dennis Schmidt and Nancy Church walk the hallway to a conference center at Washington Hospital recently. Washington Hospital’s new family centered care program offers a volunteer advocate assigned to a patient to help them negotiate the health care process.
Sharon Byers of Washington awoke at 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving with severe pain in her back. She quickly began lose consciousness and doesn’t remember much from those early morning hours, except that her brother rushed her to the emergency department at Washington Hospital. There, staff determined that she had kidney stones, a fairly common affliction. But the resulting problems she suffered were anything but ordinary.
Byers’ blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level and her body was deprived of oxygen. She said she was rushed to surgery and died on the table. She was brought back to life by her medical team. And when she came to, she learned she had congestive heart failure, a condition in which a weakened heart causes fluid to build up in the lungs and body, and her kidneys had stopped working.
After months of recovery and recently returning to work, Byers can’t stop talking about her experience; not her near-death experience, but the treatment she received while a patient at Washington Hospital.
“From the time I got here until I left, everyone in the hospital worked to save my life,” she said after spending some time visiting some of the staff that cared for her. “I can’t stop thanking the people here.”
While Byers said she has always received good care at the hospital, she noticed a change this time around. She spoke about the housekeeping department making sure she was comfortable and the dietary department working with her to find foods that would increase her poor appetite. She recalled a doctor waiting in her room for her to wake up so that he could talk with her, and taking the time to discuss her prognosis with her father.
“I’ve had really good experiences here,” she said. “But this time it was wonderful.”
Perhaps Byers can attribute that change to Washington Health System’s philosophy of Patient and Family Centered Care, a movement that has been implemented in hospitals across the country to improve the quality and safety of health care, decrease costs and increase patient satisfaction.
While it seems as though care should always focus on the patient, sometimes the demands of performing clinical tasks leave health care workers with little time for listening to their patients and customizing care.Using Patient and Family Centered, or PFCC, Washington Hospital is focusing on patient experience and satisfaction, not only for patients, but their loved ones as well.
The PFCC movement started at the hospital in 2012. Now, it has expanded to include a steering committee, a council and advocates who volunteer their time. In addition, all staff has been trained in PFCC.
Kathleen Engelmeier, director of patient experience for Washington Health System, explained that PFCC includes four concepts: respecting the patient and family, opening communication between staff and patient and sharing information, encouraging patient participation in planning and decision making, and collaboration between all staff and patients and building on these experiences.
“Patient and Family Centered Care is a journey. This is the way health care is going. Technology has advanced so much, we can reach quality standards. However, it always goes back to how people are being treated,” Engelmeier said. “They may know that they have good doctors and good care, but if they are treated badly, they don’t want to come back. It’s about human touch.”
Engelmeier and Eleanor McNulty, an attorney who volunteers her time as chairwoman of the PFCC council, agree that patients will be able to see the changes, literally, from the ground up, starting with more comfortable furniture in patient and family waiting areas, and more outlets for people to charge their electronic devices.
“A lot of thought is going into every single level,” said McNulty. “For example, focus has been on discharge. But what about after, when people go home? Now we have volunteers call the patient and family to see if they need anything.”
While in the hospital, some of the changes can be seen as well as felt. Adorning every patient room is a paper with statements like, “I like to be called … My interests are … What is important to me …” A staff member or advocate then comes in shortly after a patient has been admitted and fills in the answers with the patient, reminders to staff that patients are unique, and providing patients with a level of comfort.
The cornerstones of the PFCC movement are the council and advocates, who donate their time in order to improve patient experience, said Engelmeier. The council meets monthly to work on projects, such as improving signage in the hospital or creating hospital policy. After being interviewed and chosen as an advocate, volunteers spend their time in a myriad of ways, from visiting newly admitted patients to reviewing informational videos.
“A lot of the advocates are patients themselves,” Engelmeier said. “They’re like secret shoppers. If they are in the hospital having a test done, we might ask them to look out for something specific in that department. Then they can make suggestions as to how we can improve.”
Pam Jones, an advocate who works full time for Pathways of Southwestern Pennsylvania, began volunteering in order to help her clients who are hospitalized. She remains because she wants to help all patients, from relatives to the homeless.
“I don’t want to have to go to Pittsburgh for care,” she said. “I want to see this hospital succeed.”
In addition to informing the community about PFCC, the hospital is looking for patients, family and community members to volunteer as advocates, said Engelmeier. Volunteers donate as much time as they want in whatever area they choose. They are asked what they are interested in and whether they would like to work one-on-one with patients or behind the scenes.
“Our advocates say, ‘This is our opportunity to give back.’ They are so thrilled,” Engelmeier said.
As both a staff member and a member of the PFCC council, Frank Poskon has a unique perspective. He recounted the story of his mother’s lengthy stay at the hospital while she was being treated for metastatic lung cancer. Poskon, who has worked at the hospital for 17 years and is now the assistant nurse manager of inpatient services, was working as a cardiac nurse and spending his free time with his mother, who eventually passed away. As the loved one of a patient, Poskon’s entire nursing perspective changed.
“I finally knew what it was like to be on the other side,” he said. “In general conversation, staff members would talk in medical lingo. I was a cardiac nurse in an oncology unit and I didn’t understand.”
It was that experience that made Poskon want to make positive changes in the hospital.
“Nursing has a lot of tradition to it. We needed to break away from the barriers of hierarchy: the patient to nurse, nurse to doctor,” Poskon said. “That’s not the way it should be. No patient should be afraid to ask a question. The patient is the boss.”
Poskon said he is proud of the work accomplished by the PFCC council and volunteers, and has received positive feedback from patients and families he speaks with.
“It’s a team effort. I’ve seen that here. Everyone has a voice and we acknowledge the patient’s voice and wishes. As a nurse, I can do everything exactly right. But if I’m cold or robotic, I’m not doing a good job,” said Poskon. “This place has always given good care. But now, there’s a personal touch.”