A patient and family advisor is someone who:

• Wants to help improve the quality of our hospital’s care for all patients and family members.
• Gives feedback to HRMC based on his or her own experiences as a patient or family member.
• Helps HRMC plan changes to improve care of patients.
• Works with HRMC for a (1) year commitment.
• Volunteers his or her time (usually at least one hour per month).

• When you or your family member was in the hospital, did you think there were things that could have been better?
• Do you have ideas on how to make sure other patients and families get the best care possible? Patient and family advisors give HRMC feedback and ideas from the patient’s perspective to help improve the quality of care provided.

No special qualifications are required to become an advisor. You can be an advisor if you, or a family member, received care at HRMC in the last three (3) years. What’s most important is your experience as a patient or family member. HRMC will provide you with any other training you may need.

As one of HRMC’s Patient and Family Advisors, you can help in the following ways:

• Share your story. Advisors help by talking about their health care experiences with clinicians, staff and other patients.
• Serve on HRMC’s Patient and Family Advisory Council. The advisory council meets regularly to discuss and plan improvements for hospital quality. Members include patients, family members and hospital staff.

Being an HRMC Patient & Family Advisor may be a good match with your skills and experiences if you can:

• Speak up and share suggestions and potential solutions to help improve hospital care for all.
• Share your experiences as a patient or family member being mindful and forward thinking beyond your own personal experiences.
• Talk about both positive and negative care experiences, sharing your thoughts on what went well and how things could have been handled differently.
• Work with people who may be different than you.
• Listen to and think about what others say, even when you disagree.
• Bring a positive attitude to discussions.