Patient & Family Education Subcommittee

Contacts

Chair: Cindy Westley

Charge

The Patient and Family Education Subcommittee is charged to provide oversight for a systematic interdisciplinary, appropriate approach to patient and family education across the Health System. It reports to the Patient Care Committee and addresses issues that extend beyond the scope of a single professional discipline and beyond a single service or unit.

Membership:   
Membership includes representation from various points of entry to the health system - Outpatient clinics, Procedure areas, Emergency Department, Acute units, ICUs, Rehabilitation, Continuum Home Health, Pediatrics, Psychiatric, Women's including medicine, nursing, administration, pharmacy, dietary,  pastoral care, therapies, social work, radiology.  Risk management, Health Information Services, Quality and Performance Improvement, Marketing and other services will offer consultations as appropriate.

Meetings:  Every other month on the third Thursday.

Duties and Responsibilities:   

• Reviews JCAHO and other regulatory agency standards and recommends alternations in policies and procedures as indicated.
• Identifies health system needs for patient and family education and develops strategies to meet those needs.
• Provides oversight of the development, distribution, and maintenance of patient education materials and provides recommendations with regards to consistency, readability, and cultural sensitivity of materials.
• Provides oversight of Health System initiatives that involve patient and family education.
• Promote awareness of patient and family education resources, continuing education opportunities, and excellence in practice.
• Provides regular reports to the Patient Care Committee and to HS Administration