Ten Years of Patient and Family Advocacy

August 07, 2023

Driven by a strategic imperative to improve quality and patient safety, wellness, and clinical integration of health care, HAP developed the nation’s first state hospital association-sponsored Person and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) during 2013. This enables HAP and Pennsylvania hospitals to benefit from the guidance of a diverse group of patients, family members, community leaders, and health care personnel, as they work to improve the patient experience of care.

HAP’s PFAC supports Pennsylvania hospitals in their goal of providing high quality, safe, fiscally responsible, patient-centric health care. Technical and education support is supplied by:

• Regional, State, and National Educational Events/Projects
• Medical School Student Education
• National Research
• Teenage Patient Advocacy Education
• Blogs, Articles, Videos, Vignettes
• Patient Education Materials
• Hospital-acquired Conditions Collaborations
• Patient/Provider Communication Tools
• Resource Guides
• COVID-19 Electronic Toolkit
• Hospital Needs Assessment Surveys

Future PFAC plans include addressing racial health equity, behavioral health, support of the LGBTQ+ health care patient, and workplace violence.

HAP’s philosophy regarding person-centered care is that all health care interactions are human interactions. We encourage our hospitals to go beyond the “patient” label, and to recognize the person behind the illness or medical condition.  

HAP has become a recognized leader in the movement toward enhanced patient engagement in health care. A HAP Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) provides a platform for Pennsylvania hospitals to network, learn, and problem solve together in order to enhance hospitals’ patient and family engagement efforts.

Hospital representatives, patients, family members, and community leaders may join the HAP PFAC to include your voice in efforts to provide patient-centric care to Pennsylvania health care consumers. Contact HAP PFE lead, Janette Bisbee, for more information.