This type of philosophy is known as patient- and family-centered care, and it is a trend that is being recognized and embraced by hospitals across the United States. A recent commentary was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, with a followup article by the Wall Street Journal, discussing the benefit to patients when hospitals listen to patients’ needs and change their policies accordingly.

MCG Health System, based in Augusta, Ga., is recognized as a pioneer in patient- and family-centered care by the American Hospital Association. The health system is sponsoring an international seminar in Augusta, presented by the Institute for Family-Centered Care of Bethesda, Md., that will help hospitals from across the United States and Canada understand and implement principles of patient- and family-centered care. This is the first time a seminar dedicated to advancing patient- and family-centered care in the adult setting will be offered.

“Work in patient- and family-centered care began in children’s hospitals across the nation,” says Patricia Sodomka, Senior Vice President of Patient- and Family-Centered Care at MCG Health System. “The MCG Children’s Medical Center developed as a result of this desire to begin incorporating this principle into our philosophy of care. During the course of the seminar, MCG Health System will unveil the landmark changes that we’ve also implemented in our adult hospital. Thanks to these advances, our patients and families are empowered to be involved in their own care and in how we care for others.”

MCG Health System has incorporated patients’ perspectives in the redesign of several areas in the adult hospital, including the mammography area of MCG Breast Health Services, a PET/CT unit and a Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, to create warm and welcoming spaces to help increase patient comfort, privacy and convenience. Patients and families also serve on the MCG Health Partners Advisory, a council that provides perspective on changes in procedures and policy at the health system.

The Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is actually a model patient- and family-centered care unit, which will be used as a template for the redesign of other units in the hospital. Staff and doctors were interviewed by patients and signed a statement demonstrating their commitment to patient- and family-centered care. Patients also served on the planning committee for the unit, which features universal rooms that can convert from intensive care to step-down care. Space was also designated in each room for the family’s use to allow them to stay with the patient if they wish. “The health system has had open visitation in its ICUs for years, a key point in the recent articles by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Wall Street Journal,” says Sodomka.

“The changes we’ve implemented have been featured in a video created by the American Hospital Association and the Institute for Family-Centered Care that will be previewed at the seminar,” adds Sodomka. “The video is part of a patient- and family-centered toolkit that will be distributed in mid-October to more than 6,000 hospital and health system CEOs from across the country to keep them informed of this growing trend.”

“Patient- and family-centered care can be applied to all settings, including oncology, surgical inpatient and outpatient programs, emergency care, geriatrics, adult critical care, rehabilitation, ambulatory care and more,” says Beverley H. Johnson, President/CEO of the Institute for Family-Centered Care. “When these concepts are implemented, there are measurable improvements in quality, patient safety and patient satisfaction.”

Multidisciplinary teams from 36 hospitals from across the United States and Canada will attend this year’s conference, including H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Fla.; University of Texas Medical Center, Galveston, Tex.; Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale, Calif.; The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto; University of Virginia Health System; Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn.; and Clarian Health Partners, Indianapolis, Ind. The conference takes place September 27 to 29.

MCG Health System is composed of three separate organizations -- MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. The physicians of MCG Health System are community physicians and faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group, not employees of MCG Health Inc. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children’s Medical Center, the MCG Sports Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by providing an environment for faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group and community physicians to deliver the highest level of primary and specialty health care. For more information, please visit www.MCGHealth.org.