In it for the Experience
At Liberty Hospital, your premier experience goes beyond quality care or the success of treatment. It also includes how you feel before, during and after your visit or stay.
What better way to understand patients’ experiences than hearing it directly from them?
That’s what a PFAC does – learn from patients and family members about their experiences.
PFAC stands for Patient and Family Advisory Council. It’s a group of community volunteers and Liberty Hospital staff who work together to bring the perspective of patients and their families to the decision-making that shapes the care provided.
Only 60 percent of hospitals in the U.S. have a PFAC – and Liberty Hospital’s PFAC is fortunate to have a robust, committed group of individuals on board.
Getting to Know Liberty’s PFAC:
Meet Shaunda and Amanda
Shaunda Hawkins has been with Liberty Hospital for 14 years, and every day she focuses on improving patient experience. As the patient engagement survey administrator, she has been involved with Liberty Hospital’s PFAC since it was founded.
Amanda Tucker is a two-year PFAC veteran. As the nurse manager of the medical telemetry unit, she oversees the largest medical unit within the organization. She co-chairs the PFAC with Shaunda.
“Our thinking is that my unit, with the largest amount of people, could have the greatest impact on patient experience,” Amanda explains. “We want to grow our PFAC to have more patients and families included in the group.”
Amanda can then take that input back to her team.
Shaunda said PFAC work groups have completed projects for wayfinding, which included looking at current signage and making it easier for the public to read when they move through the hospital.
One PFAC project sought to educate patients on how to update their emergency contacts on their phones.
“That was a big project because everybody has a different phone, whether it's an iPhone or an Android.”
PFAC also completed a project on sepsis education, ensuring the information nurses provided to patients about their condition was easy to understand and share with their care providers and families when they go home.
“Eventually, we will have a member serve on our safety committee at the hospital,” Shaunda says, “and then the other committees throughout the organization to help really bring that patient perspective to every aspect of the care we provide.”
Other Community PFACs: Meet Tim
Tim Brady, a lifelong Kansan, is a perfect example of a founding PFAC member with more than 10 years of experience on a long-established PFAC at The University of Kansas Health System Olathe Hospital.
Tim and his wife live in Gardner, just outside Olathe, and his wife is a nurse at the Olathe hospital.
As a life-long educator, who now runs the school district’s education foundation, Tim is committed to his community. His work with PFAC is just one of the many ways he tries to give back to the community.
His PFAC involvement makes him feel like a conduit between the hospital and the community he loves. Tim says the hospital CEO was a familiar face at PFAC meetings, and the members always felt that they had a voice in decisions being made at the hospital.
For example, the Marketing Department often sought input on various campaigns, recognizing how valuable their perspective was in capturing patient experience. When designing the latest version of the website, the marketing team asked for feedback on all aspects of the design, from wording and imagery to function, navigation and overall messaging.
“Our PFAC doesn’t just focus on the Olathe community because a lot of folks come to this hospital from all over,” Tim says.
PFACs, large and small, are always interested in new members. If you are a current or recent patient or family member at Liberty Hospital, you are encouraged to apply to join PFAC - even if you live outside the area.
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