Patient and Family Advisory Council members from nearly 40 hospitals and health systems in Massachusetts attended a Betsy Lehman Center virtual forum last month, engaging in conversation about the substantive roles councils can play in supporting safety and quality work at the health care organizations they advise.

Presenters from three PFACs shared recent work with their peers from across the state.

• Southcoast Health: Lindsay Dowd, R.N., Southcoast Physicians Group Clinical Practice Manager, and Yinka Oluwole, PFAC Co-Chair and Executive Director of Service Excellence & Patient Experience, described a year-long program to reduce disparities in diabetes management and outcomes. A patient representative from the PFAC was deeply involved in advising the program’s leadership on outreach and communication with the at-risk populations the health system wished to engage. 
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Kimberlee Perry shared her experience attending a quality improvement retreat hosted by the hospital’s Department of Medicine, along with two other patient-family representatives from the hospital’s PFAC. She and Laura Dickman, L.I.C.S.W., BIDMC’s Program Leader for Patient and Family Engagement, had a lively conversation about the advantages and challenges of integrating patient expertise in improvement efforts.
• Cooley Dickinson Hospital: A current and former co-chair of the hospital's PFAC explored the changing nature of PFAC work, especially after the height of the COVID pandemic. Lisa Ekus, Co-Chair of the hospital’s PFAC, and Cynthia Suopis, Ph.D., former PFAC Co-Chair, who now serves on the hospital’s Board of Trustees, spoke about increasing the visibility of their PFAC to senior leadership and PFAC involvement in quality and safety efforts, among other topics.

The fall forum was the second in a series of opportunities for PFAC members from organizations in Massachusetts to gather in a virtual environment and discuss strategies to maximize the impact and value of the councils to the organizations they advise.

The forums are part of the Center’s commitment to amplify the work of PFACs and bolster efforts to integrate the patient and family voice into safety and quality improvement. The Center also collects and publishes annual reports prepared by PFACs to share ideas with peer organizations and offers links to up-to-date resources of interest to PFACs.