Retaining and recruiting advisors after the PFACs have launched can also present a challenge. Some advisors have had to resign due to job demands, relocation, health issues, or the need to take care of family. To resolve this issue, we have asked PFAC chairs to continuously actively recruit advisors. By doing so, the councils gain new perspectives and ensure there are adequate number of advisors should a vacancy occur.
Sustaining PFACs once they are established requires time, effort, and commitment of leadership, advisors, and dedicated staff resources. The council needs to be continuously engaged in meaningful projects and feel that their participation is impactful and creates change. It is important that clinical leadership stays actively involved and attends all PFAC meetings. If there is a change in leadership as we experienced on our Shapiro PFAC, it is critical that the interim chair participates and supports the goal of the council. Regardless, leadership must show sustained enthusiasm for PFAC engagement and achievement.
Employing technology can also help sustain councils. Although we prefer in-person meetings, the option to attend meetings through online or phone conferencing should be made available to support advisors who are unable to attend in person. At this time, only one of our councils uses web conferencing, while several of our councils offer an option to call in via a conference line. The conference line has been beneficial in helping us retain and engage advisors who travel a significant distance to attend meetings.
We recognize that BWH has many resources available due to its status as a large, academic medical center in an urban center. Nonetheless, PFACs can play a vital role in hospitals no matter the setting, location, or size as long as there is buy in from hospital leadership. Although BWH has 16 PFACs, it is not necessary to have this many councils. Having one PFAC may be sufficient for smaller hospitals; the ideal number of councils depends on the size and complexity of the institution. Hospitals without a dedicated department like the Center for Patients and Families can create PFACs by partnering with volunteer services, patient engagement, or quality and safety departments. Existing departments with the capability to train advisors and provide meeting resources to support patient/family recruitment and engagement should be harnessed whenever possible. It is, however, important to have a dedicated staff member to serve as a point person for the advisors should they have any questions or concerns. Technology, such as web conferencing described above, can facilitate attendance by patient/family advisors who have limited time or resources and will be valuable for hospitals in a rural setting. The stages we have described are critical to the success of creating and sustaining a PFAC regardless of where they are developed and can be adapted to fit the unique needs and environments of any healthcare setting.
Conclusion
BWH’s Center for Patients and Families has created 16 PFACs since 2008, which are in various stages of development. Our PFACs are successful for many reasons, including a rigorous recruitment and interview process, leadership support, advisors’ commitment to their PFAC, and making modifications made based on lessons learned, as illustrated by the 3 PFACs discussed. We are able to sustain our councils by continually engagingadvisors, having leadership partner with advisors, setting feasible goals, and recruiting new advisors for a fresh perspective. PFACs promote patient- and family-centered care and can shift the model of care from a prescribed model to one that embraces collaboration with patients while advancing care delivery. As patient- and family-centered care advances, it is important that best practices for building and sustaining PFACs are developed and made available to ensure all hospitals have access to this valuable resource.