Patient and Family Partnership Council 

Patient and family advisors provide a voice representing all patients and families who receive care at LRMC. By partnering with doctors, nurses, and administrators, Patient and family advisors help improve the quality of patient care.

A patient and family advisor is someone who:

• Wants to help improve the quality of health care for all patients and family members.
• Provides feedback based on their own experiences as a patient or family member.
• Helps propose changes to improve patient care.
• Works for either short or long-term commitments, depending on the project.
• Volunteers their time. (Usually at least 1 hour per month)

When you visited LRMC or one of the outlying clinics, did you think we could have done better?

Do you have ideas to improve patient care and experiences?

Advisors provide feedback and ideas to help improve the quality and safety of patient care and experiences.

Any adult can volunteer if they or a family member have received care at LRMC, or one of the outlying clinics in the last five years. You do not need any special qualifications to be an advisor. Your experience as a patient or family member qualifies you as an advisor. We will provide other training if needed.

• Share their story: Advisors help by talking about their own health care experiences with clinicians, staff, and other patients.
  Participate in discussion groups: Advisors' perspectives allow us to understand what we can do to improve.
• Review or help create educational or informational materials: Advisors help review or create materials like forms, health information handouts, and discharge instructions. Advisors help make these materials easier for all patients and family members to understand and use.
• Work on short-term projects : We sometimes ask advisors to partner with us in making improvements — for example, helping to plan and design a family resource room, newcomer's orientation, etc.
• Serve on a patient and family advisory council : An advisory council discusses and plans changes to improve clinic quality and safety. Members include patients, family members, and clinic staff.

Being a patient and family advisor may be a good match with your skills and experiences if you can:

• Speak up and share suggestions and potential solutions to help improve clinic care for others.
• Talk about your experiences as a patient or family member -- but also think beyond your own personal experiences.
• Talk about both positive and negative care experiences and share your thoughts on what went well and how things can be done differently.
• Work with a diverse group of individuals.
• Listen and think about what others say, even when you disagree.
• Keep any information you may hear as an advisor private and confidential.