Midland Health Seeks Community Partners to Improve Patient Experience
Midland Health is seeking community members to partner with to advance best practices. One way that has shown to be effective is the utilization of a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC). In a PFAC, volunteer patients and families provide valuable insights to hospitals. There is a wide range of topics that PFACs discuss to ensure that multiple perspectives are taken into account. This allows an opportunity for the views of patients and clinicians to be better understood. Midland Health is eager to add one more way for patients’ and families’ perspectives to be provided.
Midland Health’s mission of leading healthcare for greater Midland can only be achieved with the inclusion of our community. Our partnership will help us all achieve the vision of being the healthiest community in Texas. Our PFAC provides an opportunity for community members to effectively partner with our clinicians and support teams to improve the overall experience for all patients.
It is paramount that a PFAC be a representation of the entire community that Midland Health strives to serve. The hope is to include patients and families that have had experiences in many ways with our health system. For example, patients who have visited our emergency department, had an inpatient stay, or utilized any of the great outpatient services that Midland Health provides. As our community becomes more diverse, we also seek to ensure that our PFAC is equally diverse. This will ensure that all Midlanders and beyond have an opportunity to have their voice heard when it comes to the care provided.
PFAC meetings will happen regularly throughout the year. Meetings will be held virtually with the prospect of transitioning to in person in the future. Regular meetings will allow the council to be active participants in working towards our organizational goals. It will be important for the PFAC to be introduced to Midland Health goals and establish goals of their own. Achieving this will require a structured orientation provided to PFAC members.
Our plan is to gain perspectives on various policies, care practices, and education materials. As we work to improve quality metrics, patient safety results, and patient experience survey results will be provided to gain valuable insight from our patients and families. The PFAC will provide an additional opportunity to increase patient- and family-centered care through Midland Health.
Midland Health will host a Q&A session on July 31st at 2:00 PM and August 13th at 7:00 PM for any community members who have interest or questions for the PFAC. An application to serve on the PFAC can be completed on our Midland Health website. (www.midlandhealth.org) Applicants will be contacted and interviewed for appointment to the PFAC. Meeting dates will be determined based on availability of appointed members.