What is Patient and Family-Centered Care?
The Christ Hospital is committed to a patient and family-centered care philosophy. Patient and family-centered care is an innovative model of patient care that guides the planning, delivery and evaluation of healthcare. It is grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships among healthcare patients, families and providers. Patient and family-centered care applies to patients of all ages, and it may be practiced in any healthcare setting.
The word “family” refers to two or more persons who are related in any way - biologically, legally or emotionally. Patients and families define who is family to them. As part of the hospital’s commitment to patient and family-centered care, The Christ Hospital has formed a Family Advisory Council to assist in creating a patient and family-centered environment. The committee provides input on hospital decisions and works on various projects that make a difference in healthcare.
Concepts of Patient and Family-Centered Care
There are four core concepts of patient and family-centered care that The Christ Hospital strives to meet with every patient and family.
♦ Dignity and Respect – As healthcare practitioners, we listen to and honor patient and family perspectives and choices. Patient and family knowledge, values, beliefs and cultural backgrounds are incorporated into the planning and delivery of care for our patients.
♦ Information Sharing – As healthcare practitioners, we communicate and share complete and unbiased information with patients and families in ways that are affirming and useful. Patients and families receive timely, complete and accurate information in order to effectively participate in care and decision-making.
♦ Participation – We encourage and support patients and families in care and decision-making at the level they choose.
♦ Collaboration – We include patients and families on a hospital-wide basis to provide valuable input related to facility design, educational materials and program/project development, implementation and evaluation.
What Does The Christ Hospital Offer?
The Christ Hospital incorporates patient and family-centered care in several key areas including clinical care, facilities and technology and family involvement.
Clinical Care
With the patient and family-centered care model as a guide, The Christ Hospital has made a variety of improvements to policies and procedures regarding the involvement of family in clinical care, such as:
♦ Elimination of visiting hours
♦ Families are invited to their loved one’s bedside in the recovery room
♦ In emergency situations/procedures some family members may be invited to be present
♦ Family members are included in rounding discussions with physicians and hospital employees
♦ Family and patients are active participants in decision-making
♦ Families are invited to engage and consult with Critical Connections, The Christ Hospital’s telemedicine monitoring service for intensive care unit (ICU) patients, staffed by highly-skilled critical care physicians and nurses.
Facilities and Technology
The Christ Hospital has implemented a variety of technologies and facility improvement to enhance the complete healthcare experience for our patients and their families. These include:
♦ Free wireless internet access.
♦ Valet parking available at the main entrance and The Heart Center entrance.
♦ Navicare – an electronic patient care flow tracking system that allows family members to be kept informed of their loved one’s progress during a procedure.
♦ Amenity bags available for patients and guests in need of toiletry items.
♦ Room-service style meals.
♦ Guest meal service available.
♦ Daily newspaper delivery by request.
♦ Laundry accommodations available to patients and guests upon request.
♦ Shower arrangements available for patients’ guests.
♦ Guest sleeping accommodations available in patient’s room, provided that the patient has a private room.
♦ Skylight, our interactive patient television service, offers local and cable channels, free movies on demand, educational videos, games, email access and tools to contact hospital departments for housekeeping, patient relations and other services.
For more information about the services and initiatives we offer, please check with your unit’s nursing staff or contact patient relations by calling 513-585-1200. You may also contact many hospital services through your Skylight TV.
Family Involvement
In order to continue our journey in patient and family-centered care, we believe it is important to engage families to offer insight and suggestions on various initiatives and programs. To do this, we have created a Family Advisory Council to represent the patients and families served by The Christ Hospital. This council is made up of community members representing a variety of professional backgrounds and personal experiences, as well as employees from disciplines throughout the hospital. Family Advisory Council members have been asked to participate in various hospital initiatives including:
♦ Family rounds in the ICUs
♦ Construction, patient room planning and aesthetics
♦ Quality improvement initiatives for patient care
♦ Skylight television system
♦ Room service dining planning
♦ Pilot programs such as music therapy and nursing reports at the bedside
♦ Patient education materials input.
Members of the Family Advisory Council have volunteered to serve on a number of hospital committees including:
♦ Ethics Committee
♦ Patient Satisfaction Committee
♦ Family-Centered Care Steering Committee
♦ Research Council
♦ Board Quality Committee
♦ Heart Failure Steering Committee
Family Resource Centers
The Christ Hospital offers several family resource centers to provide patients and their families a refuge with a relaxing atmosphere and a source for information, education, support and a means for connecting with family through checking e-mail or updating CarePages. Our Family Resource Centers are located on:
♦ C Level of the Heart Center, near Admitting and Diagnostic Services
♦ The Sharron Moore Eckel Cancer Resource Center, D Level of the Heart Center
♦ Medical Intensive Care Unit, 7 West
♦ The 4 West Resource Center
♦ The Women’s Imaging Center, Medical Office Building Suite 324
Make a Gift to Patient and Family-Centered Care
A gift to The Christ Hospital to support patient and family-centered care helps us to continue to deliver the standard of excellence in healthcare that we believe our community deserves. Your gift makes a difference and strengthens the institution for generations to come. Past donations for patient and family-centered care have gone to support patient and professional education, amenity bags for family members staying the night unexpectedly, a children’s play area in the emergency room lobby and to support the Family Advisory Council.
To make a gift, please call The Christ Hospital development office at 513-585-3394 or visit The Christ Hospital Foundation Web page.
The Christ Hospital would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support of patient and family-centered care:
♦ Karen Wellington Memorial LIVING with Breast Cancer Fund
♦ Champlin/Haupt, Inc
♦ CareSpring Health Management
♦ HORAN
♦ CareTech Solutions
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