The patient and family perspective has never been more
important or influential in health care than it is today. Patients and their
family members provide tremendous firsthand experience and feedback that is
important to ensuring we are always providing care that is centred around those
we serve. For the past five years, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC)
has had a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) that provides the
organization with advice and recommendations on matters where the patient
perspective is vital to advancing person-centred care. The council is made up
of Patient Experience Partners who bring patient and family
input closer to the bedside through input on policies, procedures and processes
by sharing their own ideas and points of view. There are different reasons why Patient Experience Partners
volunteer to participate and shape patient care in Muskoka, but what they all
have in common is their desire to positively influence other patient and family
experiences. I am pleased to introduce a handful of our Patient
Experience Partners to share what inspired them to join us in making
the patient experience better.
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| Tammy Purvis |
Tammy Purvis was an inaugural member of our PFAC back in 2017 because she and her family have used the hospital over the years, and felt it was important to be part of a council that would hear her voice and learn from her experiences while fostering partnerships with health care professionals.
“Being with like-minded people who are sharing ideas and suggestions to make a difference in the quality of care that patients and families are receiving is the most rewarding part of being a Patient Experience Partner,” says Tammy. “It is so rewarding to know that you are part of something that is making a difference in our community’s health care.”
Emily Carty has been on our PFAC since 2019 and serves as
the Patient Experience Partner on the Obstetrics Committee and the Workplace
Violence Committee.
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| Emily Carty |
“As a child and youth care practitioner I have supported
many youth who have accessed and received services from HDMH,” says Emily. More
recently, Emily spent time as a patient at SMMH to give birth to her children
and says the most rewarding part about being a Patient Experience Partner at
MAHC is knowing that her generation has a patient voice in the mix. “With my children and parents needing care from the
hospital I am experiencing services from both ends of the spectrum,” she says.
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| Jan Kindy |
Jan Kindy is relatively new to our PFAC and says her decision
to become a Patient Experience Partner came after her father’s lengthy hospital
stay. “It was during this time I was able to see how important
the patient, family and hospital connection was. I can imagine
this being positive in many ways… working with others to add value to the
patient experience,” she says.
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| John Lock |
John Lock had a 36-year career with Toronto Paramedic Services and was fortunate to serve on numerous hospital committees in the GTA, and around the province. He felt our PFAC would allow him to combine his own patient experience with his past professional and committee involvement to give back to his community.
“My wife and I have been patients of MAHC numerous times
over the past couple of years, and we have both commented that we have never
experienced the exceptional care that we have experienced at MAHC,” says John.
“The compassion, the welcoming atmosphere and the exceptional care begins at
the door of the hospital and continues through the experience. We are blessed
and very fortunate to have such a great team at MAHC.”
As a member of our PFAC, John hopes that by sharing ideas
and expectations of patients and families when they access hospital care that
he can shape and influence the same exceptional experiences that he and his
wife have had.
MAHC is actively seeking applications from community
members who have been a patient or a family member of a patient at either
hospital and want to partner with us to improve the care experience. Might you
be our next Patient Experience Partner? Please visit www.mahc.ca/PEPapplication/
to learn more about this opportunity.
