About Our Program
The Winship Patient & Family Advisors are current or former patients or family members of patients, who volunteer to work in partnership with Winship's leadership, staff, and physicians to provide a patient's perspective by participating on committees, focus groups, project teams, and other groups dedicated to improving patient care.
Our Patient & Family Advisors serve at the following locations Winship Cancer Institute (Clifton campus), Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown and Emory Johns Creek Hospital.
As a patient and family centered care facility aimed at collaborating with members of the care team, Winship and Emory Healthcare embraces the following core principles:
- Dignity and Respect. Honoring patient and family perspectives and choices and incorporating their knowledge, values, beliefs and cultural backgrounds into the planning and delivery of care.
- Information Sharing. Health care practitioners communicate and share complete and unbiased information with patients and families in a timely manner, enabling them to effectively participate in care and decision-making.
- Participation. Patients and families are encouraged and supported in participating in care and decision-making at the level they choose.
- Collaboration. Patients, families, health care practitioners, and health care leaders collaborate in policy and program development, implementation and evaluation; in health care facility design; and in professional education, as well as in the delivery of care.
From policy review, development, and implementation to facility design to quality improvement of patient care, our Patient & Family Advisors (PFA) help us enrich the care experience for patients and families by providing their experiences, perspectives, and expectations to the decision-making process while making the job of providing care an even more positive experience for our staff.
Examples of Winship PFA participation and activities:
- Winship PFA Advisory Council
- Patient Education Committee
- Survivorship Committee
- Patient Satisfaction Committee
- Clinical Council
- Ambulatory Treatment Center renovation project
Become a Patient & Family Advisor!
If you want to turn your patient, family, or medical experience into a solution that will help others, serving as a Winship Patient & Family Advisor may be right for you. If interested in becoming one, please ask your nurse, physician, or any member of your healthcare team. For more information or if you have any questions, contact Volunteer Services.