MedStar Health now has a Patient and Family Advisory Council for Quality and Safety (PFACQS). We have assembled a team of national leaders in patient advocacy and partnerships to help guide our hospitals in the formation of local Patient and Family Advisory Councils for Quality and Safety. Our advisors will be available to share their own experience to better your care.
Across the country, leading healthcare organizations are enlisting the guidance of patients and families to advise on strategic practices around the delivery of care through formalized Advisory Councils. Through MedStar's Institute for Patient Safety, we will share best practices around what we have learned through the formation of our system-wide Patient and Family Advisory Council for Quality and Safety, helping others to establish their own local Councils.
Members of MedStar Health's Patient and Family Advisory Council for Quality and Safety include:
Rosemary Gibson
Adding the Patient’s Voice into the Safety Conversation
Rosemary Gibson is an author, speaker, and national leader in U.S. health care. She is principal author with Janardan Prasad Singh of the critically acclaimed book, Wall of Silence, which tells the untold human story behind medical errors, and The Treatment Trap, which tells the public what health care insiders know about the extensive overuse of unnecessary surgeries, CT scans and other procedures and tests. At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey for sixteen years, she led national initiatives to improve the quality of America’s health care and reduce the harm from medical errors and hospital-acquired infections.
She designed a $200 million national strategy using philanthropic funds to establish palliative care in hundreds of hospitals around the country. She is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Rosemary worked with Bill Moyers and Public Affairs Television on the PBS documentary, "On Our Own Terms," which showed to more than 20 million viewers how the U.S. health care system can better care for seriously ill patients and their families.
She has been a guest blogger for Consumers Union, KevinMD, and the policy journal, Health Affairs. Her website is www.treatmenttrap.org.
After graduating from Georgetown University and the London School of Economics, she joined the American Enterprise Institute as a senior associate in health policy. She became Vice President of the Economic and Social Research Institute, a policy think tank, and then a consultant to the Medical College of Virginia and the Virginia state legislature's Commission on Health Care. She has been a volunteer and board member for a free medical clinic in Washington, D.C.
Marty Hatlie
Carole Hemmelgarn, MS
Carole Hemmelgarn, MS, has worked in the healthcare field with Industry for 25 years. Her early years were spent in sales interacting with private practice providers, and academic institutions with interns, residents, fellows, and attendings. Her past nine years consist of working with Health Plans, Medical Groups, and Employers collaborating on quality improvement, disease management, and prevention programs for their patients and employees. Personal interest in the field of Patient Safety has led Carole to get a Master of Science Degree in the field of Patient Safety Leadership from the University of Illinois Chicago. Carole is currently working on a second master's degree in the field of Bio Ethics from Creighton University.
Sorrel King
Parent and Family-Centered Care Advocate
Sherri T. Loeb, RN, BSN
Parent and Family-Centered Care Advocate
Michael L. Millenson
Armando Nahum
Co-Founder and President of Safe Care Campaign
In 2006, Armando Nahum and his wife Victoria established Safe Care Campaign after three members of his family became infected in three different hospitals, in three different states in 10 months’ time, culminating with the death of his son, Josh. He was 27.
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Health care and community associated infections
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Communicating loss in a way that successfully creates impetus for change
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Motivating patients to modify their behaviors
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The patient / family experience
Presentation Objectives
At the end of the presentation, participants will:
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Healthcare and community acquired infections
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Communicating loss in a way that successfully creates impetus change
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Motivating caregivers to modify behaviors in delivery of care.
Victoria Nahum
December 2006 - Present: Safe Care Campaign, Atlanta, GA
Co-Founder and Executive Director
In 2006, Victoria Nahum became the face the American health care system has come to associate with the problem of health care acquired infections after 3 members of her family became infected in three different hospitals in three different states in 10 months’ time, culminating with the death of her stepson, Josh. He was 27.
Just weeks after Josh’s death, she and her husband Armando created Safe Care Campaign, www.safecarecampaign.org to bring a sharper focus on infection prevention within the American health care environment.
Safe Care Campaign partners with health care systems, hospital administrations and frontline caregivers to remind, provoke, motivate and inspire all who work within the continuum of care of their most noble challenge and moral duty to prevent these infections that annually infect more than 1.7 million and kill more than 99,000 patients in the U.S.
Areas of expertise
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Health care acquired and community acquired infections
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Communicating loss in a way that successfully creates impetus for change
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Motivating caregivers to modify behaviors in delivery of care
Prior to 2006: U.S. Broadcasting, Southeastern Region U.S. Radio Division
Director of Sales and Marketing
Victoria currently sits on the Joint Commission’s Patient and Family Safety Advisory, the Board of Directors at Consumers Advancing Patient Safety and the Georgia Hospital Association Advisory Board to Prevent Infection and is an Associate of The World Health Organization’s.
Patty Skolnik
Mother-Founder- Executive Director, Citizens for Patient Safety
CPS is a non-profit organization that believes that patients must be a participant in their own healthcare and partner with their healthcare professionals. Ms. Skolnik is an international speaker and teaches Patient Advocacy “Taking a Safe Healthcare Journey” a course sponsored by medical facilities interested in educating their community. She also teaches the course “Switching Chairs” for health care professionals among other presentations. CPS has also published a personal health journal “Taking a Safe Healthcare Journey.”
Ms. Skolnik will tell you she did not choose Patient Safety as her profession but rather it chose her after the untimely death of her only child to medical error.
CPS has had three laws passed on transparency, the first time a law has been named after a person in the state of Colorado: The Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Acts 2007, 2008, and 2010.There will be legislation going forward in 2013 to capture the balance of the regulated medical professionals.
Patty has been named one of CNN’s “Intriguing People” and was invited to the White House to discuss health care. She is the winner of the National MITTS HOPE Award, the Colorado Patient Safety Coalition: Patient Safety Leadership Award and The Colorado Trial Lawyers Consumer Protection Award in honor of her son. She is also featured in the new book “Take Back your Government” by State Senator Morgan Carroll and Unaccountable by Dr. Marty Makary from Johns Hopkins.
Ms. Skolnik has had a powerful press presence as well as being featured on The Today Show and many other national news channels.
Contact information for Patty and Citizens for Patient Safety is:
www.citizensforpatientsafety.org
Dr. Knitasha V. Washington, DHA, MHA, FACHE
Dr. Washington has served a considerable amount of time in her consultative practice partnering with leading organizations across the country and promoting a systems approach toward quality improvement, patient safety, health equity and diversity. Knitasha has gained extensive knowledge of hospitals and health system’s operations to include safety net, public, community, private and academic medical centers. She is a high functioning relationship manager with a working knowledge of effectively building collaborative strategies designed using multiple disciplines and stakeholders to include patients, public officials, governmental agencies, allied associations, hospital administrators, physicians, clinicians, and front-line workers.
In her current role with MedAssets Healthcare Advisory Solutions (Denver, CO) Knitasha works with clients to employ “best practice” non-labor expense management strategic plans. Since 2008, Dr. Washington has also built an independent consultancy practice (Washington, Howard and Associates) where she partners with media, public relations and political expert Sean T. Howard to employ a thought-leadership skill set toward projects focused on policy and strategy design, health care innovations, research, quality, patient safety and patient engagement. Moreover, her experience and knowledge base expands internationally as she has completed health studies in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Health Organization; in the countries of Belize and Ethiopia and attended the 2012 World Congress on Public Health in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Knitasha is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the current President of the National Association of Health Services Executives Chicago Midwest Chapter. She serves on the NAHSE National Executive Committee and the Policy and Advocacy Committee. Her work has been paramount in NAHSE Chicago’s involvement in local policy issues and nationally with the NAHSE’s partnership role with the Commission to End Health Care Disparities. Her work and servitude spirit extends to various other boards including the Northwestern Office of Minority Health Ad Hoc Steering Committee, St. James Health System Missions HR Committee, Cross Roads Coalition of Cook County Southland, and Fertile Ground Foundation. In 2009, Ms. Washington in the memory of her late father expanded her intellectual capacity when she began representing and advocating the importance of diversity in the patient safety discussion and was nominated to serve on the Coalition for Quality and Safety of Chicagoland Council. In 2011 her work in patient safety extended to her appointment to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Seven Pillars Project Consumer Advisory Board and now in her advisory capacity with the DHHS National Partnership for Patients Initiative in collaboration with Project Patient Care. To her credit have been extended many nominations and awards including, 2013 ACHE Regents Health Care Leadership Award, 2009 NAHSE National Young Healthcare Executive Award and the featured cover story Spring 2010 of Girlfriends HealthGuide Magazine; added by so many other notable achievements.
Dr. Washington received her Doctorate of Health Administration Degree from Central Michigan University, Masters of Heath Administration from Governors State University (IL) and Bachelor of Arts (Chicago State University). Knitasha’s vision is to continue serving through her outward extension of ministry byway of her work creating social justice for the causes of health care and economic development. Her life is committed to being a transformational leader with a servitude spirit. Knitasha is the mother of two children, Knadya and Antwon and as a teenage mother uses her personal life’s testimony as a means of guiding youth mentees.
Local Patient and Family Advisory Councils for Quality and Safety
What are the Patient and Family Advisory Councils for Quality and Safety (PFACQS)?
PFACQS are advisory boards being established at all MedStar Health hospitals. The councils will be made up of patients, family members of patients, and people who work at MedStar hospitals, all working to help MedStar continuously improve the safety and quality of care and always with a commitment to putting patients first.
What are the objectives of the PFACQS at MedStar Health?
The objectives of the PFACQS are to:
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Provide ongoing feedback to MedStar Health that addresses patient safety, quality of care or patient service issues;
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Assist MedStar Health to continually improve the services it offers the patients and families who seek care at MedStar Health;
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Strengthen communication and collaboration among patients, families and other non-professional caregivers, and MedStar Health professional staff and associates;
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Promote information sharing between MedStar Health and the patients, families, and community it serves;
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Aid in establishing MedStar Health organizational priorities in response to patient, family and community needs; and
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Promote patient and family advocacy and involvement.
Who should apply to join the PFACQS at MedStar Health?
Patients, family members of patients, and people who work at MedStar Health are invited to apply. This is an opportunity for those who want to be actively engaged as a volunteer in helping the hospital put patients first and continuously improve the safety and quality of care.
The term “family member” will be broadly defined to include persons related by blood, persons related by marriage, domestic partners as well as close friends or neighbors who have a relationship with a patient that includes helping care for their health.
For patients or family members: MedStar Health is interested in forming a partnership with people who have experienced high quality care, satisfactory care that could have been improved, or unsatisfactory care. All are eligible to apply. Persons who have health insurance and those who do not have health insurance are equally eligible to apply.
For MedStar Health associates: Associates are equally eligible to apply regardless of job title or rank.
What are the eligibility requirements for the PFACQS at MedStar Health?
The following eligibility requirements apply for each class of PFACQS members:
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The commitment to actively support the purpose of the PFACQS and achieve its objectives;
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The commitment to regularly attend meetings of the PFACQS, which will be 2 to 3 hours in length;
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Agreement to take the immunizations required by MedStar Health to protect the health of MedStar Health patients, PFACQS members and MedStar Health staff and visitors;
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Agreement not to disclose confidential information given to you as a member of PFACQS; and
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Willingness to actively participate in the PFACQS projects, committees or working groups and be responsible for accomplishing their goals.
PFACQS members are expected to participate in meetings consisting of a minimum of 2-3 hours and on various committees or projects that will require a varied number of hours.
When will the local PFACQS meet?
The PFACQS will meet for 2-3 hours on designated weekday evenings. Check with your local PFACQS for specific details.
Who will lead the local PFACQS?
To model partnership, the council will be co-led by two members, one of whom has been a patient or family member of a patient and one of whom is a person who works at MedStar Health.
To whom will the local PFACQS report?
The PFACQS will report to the site’s Health Quality, Safety, and Professional Affairs Committee (QSPAC), which is a committee of the Board of Directors.
The local PFACQS also will report and coordinate with a PFACQS established at the MedStar Health system level, the role of which is to maximize patient and family partnership across all care settings within the MedStar Health system.