Advocate Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Family Advisory Council (PFAC)
Mid-Year Report | 2015 - 2017 Term
PFAC Member Profile
15 Family Members• The families have accessed the trajectory of care settings that we offer—from being born here to staying
inpatient and accessing our outpatient facilities. Our committee also hosts three families who are bereaving the loss of a child. Our families’ experiences include, but are not limited to, X-ray, CT, MRI, lab draws, transport team, child life and rehab services. The children’s diagnoses range from cardiac in nature, cancer and tumors to cerebral palsy, Crohn’s disease and genetic syndromes.
14 Health Care Members• The health care members represent a wide variety of areas within inpatient, outpatient, therapies and
intensive care units. The committee includes nurses from the 4th and 2nd floors, PICU, Keyser Center and NICU; a respiratory therapist; the medical director of the PICU; the manager of child life services; and the coordinator of development, along with the nurse practitioner for palliative care. Other areas represented are social work and the medical director for the CCCMC.
Co-Chairs Elected March 2015
Lou Carrillo Meggan Mikal Family Member Health Care Member
Family Member: Lou Carrillo loves to fix things (cars, any house project, etc). Lou stated that he appreciates the opportunity to serve the children through our efforts with the PFAC. He also said that it’s just a perfect way to pay back for all of the wonderful help they received when Adam (his son) was so sick. This is Lou’s third year and second term as co-chair.
Health Care Member: Meggan Mikal is coming up on her 12th year as an Advocate employee. She enjoys coming to work every day to journey alongside her patients and families. Meggan also loves to run and take her English bulldog swimming. This is Meggan’s third year and second term as co-chair.
HOSPITAL TOURSFamily members have the opportunity to sign up for a full tour of the Children’s Hospital before each PFAC meeting.
Some of our families’ experiences have been limited to the inpatient setting; therefore, a tour allows them a chance to observe and understand the trajectory of care services available for our patients. It also allows them to see some of the workflow and offer feedback on projects.
OPENING/WELCOME MEETING JUNE 2015• New and existing PFAC members shared
stories/background
• Discussion of requirements to fulfill volunteer obligations
• Snapshot/preview of topics for next meeting
BRAINSTORMING SESSION JULY 2015• Twenty-nine PFAC members, divided into five groups,
participated in a brainstorming session to identify areas of opportunities.
• Each group started at one of the stations listed below and rotated to the next station after 20 minutes. By the end of the session, each PFAC member had a chance to brainstorm in each station.
– Flow/Processes/Environment – Communication – Safety – Support/Education
• The brainstorming boards were collated, and common themes/projects were identified.
• Approximately 24 common themes/projects were identified from the brainstorming session.
WORK GROUP DEVELOPMENT JULY 2015 - PRESENT• We identified a portion of the 24 identified themes/
projects that were already being addressed within the hospital or Advocate Health Care.
• Other themes/projects were determined to be too large in scope for the given timeline of project completion.
• With the remaining list of four themes/projects, each family and health care member voted on their top four projects they would like to work on.
• Everyone was able to get in their top one or two choices.
• Four work groups were initiated and started in July 2015
– Hand Hygiene – Parent-to-Parent Support – Transition/Discharge Process – Family-Centered Care
Other ways the PFAC is giving back! Feedback/recommendations offered by PFACPrior to each PFAC meeting, an email is sent out to the managers, APNs, medical directors and chairs of the Unit Councils at the Children’s Hospital to assess if they have any projects they are working on that they would like PFAC feedback on.
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1. Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) Update• Jean Smith, Manager of the NICU, previewed new
NICU and obtained feedback on the facilities
2. Hospital Safety• Dr. Larry Roy, Vice President of Quality and Safety
for the Children’s Hospital, discussed partnering with families on safety initiatives
• Reviewed SPS HACS
3. 2 Hope • Our PFAC weighed in on thoughts related to
initiating a quiet time
• Scheduling for children that are on 2 Hope for an extended time
4. Manager – Tiffany Wiksten, Manager of Infection Prevention• Family engagement in Advocate-wide hand
hygiene initiatives
5. Press Ganey (patient and family satisfaction survey that is utilized at our hospital)• Ideas for increasing response
• Feedback on certain questions within the survey
6. Family Panel• Tuesday, April 12, 2016
• Discussion will be centered on the parents’ journey through our hospital system
7. Communication Boards in Rooms• Parents provided feedback on the development of a
new communication board for each patient room
8. Telemedicine • Dr. Kathy Webster presented on the growing field of
telemedicine
• Obtained feedback on expectations, communication techniques and how the parents thought it can best be utilized
9. Co-Chairs Advocacy Work for Parent Liaison Role – Staff Position at ACH• Developing job description and proposal for on-
staff parent liaison role
• Will plan to present proposal to exec team – Goal to present by May 2016
10. Pediatric Family Advisory Council – Award Development• With continuing the work where last term’s PFAC
left off, our families wanted to create an award that represents our core values and beliefs, with an exemplary commitment to those values and beliefs.
• The acronym CARE
C – Communication A – Advocacy R – Respect and Dignity E – Empowerment
was used as the basis for the award.
