FRMC Patient Advocacy Meeting

FRMC Patient Advocacy Meeting

April 13, 2009

At Firelands Regional Medical Center patients have a very special “friend” known as a patient advocate to help them gain a better understanding of their rights as a patient, discuss and resolve concerns and complaints about their healthcare and provide answers to other questions regarding healthcare services and programs.
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As with many other hospitals and healthcare systems across the nation, Firelands will be recognizing the work of the patient advocate during April 12 through 18 by celebrating Patient Advocacy Week.

“The primary role of the patient advocate is to concentrate directly on complaints and problems brought forth by patients or family members and to resolve the issues as quickly as possible,” says Marilee Spore, Director, Patient Advocacy Program at Firelands Regional Medical Center. “Giving the patient a voice is important to patient advocates as it is often difficult for patients to articulate problems or to access the appropriate decision-makers. The service a patient advocate provides is invaluable in terms of ensuring patients' concerns are heard and resolved as well as keeping the consumers satisfied.”
In addition to being a voice for patients, patient advocates are also a voice for the care providers and the physician. Care providers and physicians, for example, may request the assistance of the patient advocate in order to improve a process or service within the system. The approach is the same; find an answer, solve a problem, mediate a discussion or resolve a conflict.
Firelands Regional Medical Center believes that each staff member acts as an advocate for our patients. Each day stories unfold in the hospital setting, stories of recovery and triumph, as well as stories of change and loss. Each nurse, technician, doctor, registration clerk, housekeeper and cafeteria worker, not to mention scores of others, provides their own piece of support, compassion, and expertise to the patient who comes to the hospital for healthcare. And in those pieces lie the Silent Heroes, those who continually go above and beyond to share a creative, encouraging, or supportive solution that helps that patient go one more step toward recovery.
Above all else, a healthcare worker acts as an advocate for the patients they serve and the silent heroes are the best among them. Stories of silent heroes at Firelands who have given extra of themselves to show that they truly care for the patients who come their way include:
• An MRI technician stayed late on a Friday evening to help get an unscheduled test done for a college student who was only home for the weekend, and did it with such friendliness and positive attitude that the patient wrote a letter thanking her.
• A physical therapist brought in roses for every one of the Inpatient Rehab patients on Valentine's Day.
• A Dialysis nurse found out that two patients were supporting each other a great deal during their three-time a week dialysis procedures and went out of her way to schedule them at the same time and in side by side chairs as often as possible.
• A counselor provided prom dresses so that a client could attend her prom.
• A nurse brought in a cake for a patient's 90th birthday and asked staff to go into the room and sing, giving the patient a tremendous thrill.
• A surgery nurse went out of her way to provide comfort, support and information to the out-of-town family of a patient having emergency surgery. She even found them affordable accommodations in the area.
To access the patient advocate at Firelands Regional Medical Center, call 419-557-6572. If the hospital does not have a patient advocate, ask to speak with the administrator to discuss issues and concerns.

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20090413/UPDATES01/90413012