We wanted to share with you some changes in our PFCC Team. Sadly, we are saying good-bye to our long-time colleague Juliana Harris who is moving on from her position as PFCC Project Manager at the end of the month. As well, we are welcoming a new Unit Manager to the team - Melanie Mattiisen-Dewar and wanted to introduce her to you.

Many of you will have encountered Juliana Harris in her role as PFCC Project Manager with the Patient and Family Centred Care Team. You may have sat beside her at a committee meeting, joined forces with her on a project, learned from her in an education setting, or experienced her leadership in a council meeting. Wherever she has been, she has encouraged us all to think more wisely about what it really means to be patient and family centred and to engage patients and families in the work we do.

Juliana has been instrumental in bringing the PFCC lens to the work at ACH for the past 10 years. We know we are going to miss her ability to see the big picture, to ask challenging questions, to coordinate multiple pieces, to facilitate meaningful sessions, to provide leadership to new work, and to create beautiful and practical documents. Over the years, she has been a driving force for articulating the role of the PFCC team and has moved the PFCC work forward from piecework to a more integrated whole.

We will miss you Juliana! Thank you for your passion and dedication to your role!

I am very excited to be joining the PFCC team in the unit manager role and appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself! I am a Speech-Language Pathologist by trade and worked for 15 years in clinical practice in adult acute & critical care, head & neck cancer, community care, and Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC – right here at ACH with our very own ACETS team!). In 2018, I was fortunate to have been chosen to take on the unit manager position overseeing rehab disciplines (OT, PT, SLP, Audiology) and programs and services here at ACH – what a learning curve and a huge honor. 

In my rehab leadership role, I benefitted from the advice and support of the PFCC team and multiple family advisors in many projects, program developments, and quality improvement initiatives – I recognize that we couldn’t begin to make good healthcare decisions without the unique input of our patients & families.

In my personal life I am a very proud wife to a superman, and a very proud mom to two amazing daughters, aged 12 & 15 (and one plump and loveable cat). Our family loves travelling, skiing, hiking, diving, golfing, cooking (and eating!), and spending lots of time with friends and family. One quirky thing about me that you are welcome to tease me about is that I play the oboe in a community group called New West Symphony & Chorus, and I embrace my band-geekiness to the fullest extent!

I am grateful for the opportunity to be a member of the PFCC team and look forward to helping the program continue to shine, make impact, and inspire!

June 6th is What Matters to You? Day. This day is a worldwide movement encouraging meaningful conversation between patients, families, and healthcare providers. 

Healthcare providers are encouraged to find out what matters to patients and families. You could ask:

·   What's most important to you at the moment?

·   What can I do to best support your care today?

Patient and family member are encouraged to share what matters to you:

·   These are the goals that are most important to me.

·   I'm hoping you can answer these questions today.

Take the time to explore "What matters to you?" on June 6th! (and everyday!)

Click here for more information and resources. 

After three years of online Zoom meetings, CAYAC (the Child and Youth Advisory Council) returned to meeting in-person for their last meeting of the season on April 29th. For many of the members, this was their first experience with meeting at the hospital. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the opportunity to get to know each other better and many members told us they found it easier to provide their input and feedback as compared to their online experience. It is expected that most of the CAYAC meetings will be in-person next year.

The Family Advisory Council trialed a hybrid meeting for their last meeting of the season on May 16th. This meeting allowed many of the members from the local area to personally connect with each other while rural members were still able to actively participate in the meeting agenda. It is hoped to provide this opportunity to members a couple of times a year.

Learn about Leader Rounding at this lunch hour education session sponsored by the Calgary Zone Patient and Family Centred Care Committee:

Leader Rounding: Improving Care One Conversation at a Time

Thursday, June 15th from 12:00-1:00pm on Zoom.

Leader Rounding is an enjoyable and rewarding one-stop-shop to improve patients’ and families’ experiences, boost team morale, and identify improvement opportunities.

Come hear from two Calgary Zone leaders about their lessons learned through Leader Rounding. Whether you’re a seasoned leader rounder or have never heard of leader rounding, you’ll leave with practical strategies to build or start your practice.

Open to all staff, physicians and volunteers.

Click here to register. (sign up even if you can't attend to get a copy of the recording).

This will be our last newsletter before the summer break.

We wish everyone a relaxing and fun summer.

We'll be back with more updates in the fall!