RVH uses a patient-centered comprehensive care approach for patient management. All considerations of the patient’s personal preferences and values, their family situations, and their lifestyles are made. The patient and their loved ones are an integral part of the treatment team in that they collaborate with their health care professionals in making clinical decisions for patients. This is evident across the continuum of care with all focus on the patient and by extension to their family. When analyzing this organization using the Patient- and Family-Centered Care Organizational Self-Assessment Tool, low marks are received across the board except in the area of communication with hospital staff. RVH spear headed a Patient-Center bedside report years ago and encourage patients and their family to be actively involved during nurse to nurse report. This has become a standard of care across the continuum of all hospitals and proven to save time, improve communication and care, but most important save lives. Daily meetings or phone calls with family are the expectation for doctors while patients are in the hospital. This coupled with 24 hour visitation on all units encourages family involvement in patient care. In RVH outpatient settings, patient/family centered care is evident with the introduction 3 years ago of MYChart where patients and family can receive up to date information specific to their care, and have direct communication with their doctors.
However, patients and family involvement have limited to no direct involvement in projects, concepts of organizational leadership, advisors or team development. Small steps have been made with patient/family focus groups, and patient/family input on two hospital wide committees. The focus groups members are patients and families who are invited back after their hospital stay. They meet with the