As the summer comes to an end, we are just getting ramped up for Fall Programs. First up, September 17th marks World Patient Safety Day 2023. This year the World Health Organization identified Patient Family & Community Engagement as it's theme for bringing awareness to Patient Safety.

It's July. It's hot and the baseball season is halfway over! My father in law once told me that the older I get, the more time would accelerate and that certainly seems to be coming true!

I hope the summer days have brought warmth and sunshine to you! I don't know where the summer slow down went, but my goodness the PFAnetwork is super active!

The 2023 PFCC Conference: Accelerating Humanity in Healthcare is just a few weeks away! The Conference Planning team has been busy planning a very robust day highlighting some amazing patient family engagement practices. It's going to be a great day of learning and I hope that you can join us in Los Angeles.

Recently, I learned about a horrendous patient safety event from a PFAnetwork member who works in the trenches of local patient support and advocacy.

Welcome to the new year – we are giddy with excitement over what this year has in store for the PFAnetwork. The tally is in, and we set a new “high score” across the PFAnetwork. Over 500 unique patient/family caregiver voices were engaged in last year’s community events!

As the year comes to a close, it's a good time for reflection on the growth and impact of the PFAnetwork. No doubt there has been a lot of both and I am so proud of this community of Patient Family Partners! You guys show up for each other, challenge the status quo and drive real change in the health system so that others can achieve better health outcomes.

Did you see the paper from the Camden Coalition exploring the language of partnership? Our colleague, Evelyne Kane spoke to people with lived experience in complex care needs about their preferred terms. When we spoke with Evelyne last month, she mentioned her organization is shifting from the term Consumer to the PWLE - People with Lived Experience.

The PFAnetwork will be hosting a virtual screening of The Color of Care from October 20-27; you can view the documentary whenever you choose between those dates. On October 28 at 11a PT the DEI Leadership Council will host a discussion; we invite you to view the documentary and join the discussion. The film is free. All are welcome.

Last month we were thrilled to offer Core Competencies of Effective Partners with interpretation offered for Spanish-speaking Patient Family Advisors. Using interpretation allowed us to grow the diversity, not only in demographics but in the experiences that were shared.

One of the challenges of effective partnership with healthcare organizations in program design, is the need for patient family partners to understand the context of the project to the organization.

As things ramp up even more going into summer, we have received a lot of questions about how the PFAnetwork is funded, operated, and organized. To be clear, this community is not funded by any one entity or program. Rather it is a network convened by PFCCpartners - and we strive to preserve the space for patient/family advisory members to come together as a community.

As Mental Health Awareness Month draws to a close, I find the racist attacks in Rochester and Laguna, and the incomprehensible attack on our children in Uvulde, to be yet another signal that not only is our mental health in crisis, but our public health and communities are under attack.

Last month I wrote about several Patient Family Partners who expressed frustration at the slow pace of change in healthcare. Understandably, Patient Family Partners have a heightened sense of urgency for improving the health system due to the lived experiences we share, and it can be discouraging to see how slowly the effects of partnership take hold. These moments are where the members of the PFAnetwork can step in… to encourage each other, to relieve burdens, and to boost each other’s energy to continue the effort.

First, let me say that I am so excited to see the new faces joining the conversation in the PFAnetwork! Welcome to all of you! Whether you are a seasoned (…and I don’t mean old) patient family advisor or totally new to partnering with health systems, you belong here and we are happy you have joined us.

In honor of Black History Month and PFCCpartners’ commitment to diversity and inclusion, we asked our Advisors to share some advice for a hospital leader interested in hosting conversations about race and health equity in their hospital.

The season of gratitude is upon us! It's easy for me to feel deep appreciation for the diverse perspectives, the bottomless support and the energy this community gives to improving the healthcare system. I'd like to acknowledge the accomplishments of all PFAnetwork members over the past year, and also to thank Rosie Bartel and Beverly Rogers for sharing their recent publications, which you can read below.

The season of gratitude is upon us! It's easy for me to feel deep appreciation for the diverse perspectives, the bottomless support and the energy this community gives to improving the healthcare system. I'd like to acknowledge the accomplishments of all PFAnetwork members over the past year, and also to thank Rosie Bartel and Beverly Rogers for sharing their recent publications, which you can read below.

The season of gratitude is upon us! It's easy for me to feel deep appreciation for the diverse perspectives, the bottomless support and the energy this community gives to improving the healthcare system. I'd like to acknowledge the accomplishments of all PFAnetwork members over the past year, and also to thank Rosie Bartel and Beverly Rogers for sharing their recent publications, which you can read below.

If you aren't familiar with PCORI, I would encourage you to take a look at their website to learn about all the ways the organization creates space for patients and families in research. You might be thinking, "What could I possibly contribute to research???” and the answer is, as with all of our patient partnership activities: your lived experience.