Earlier this year, our hospital staff was weighing a new 24/7 family presence policy to allow immediate family members to stay with patients 24 hours a day. We knew this was a step in the direction of delivering patient- and family-centered care.
We presented the proposal at a meeting of our Patient and Family Advisory Council. One of the members of the council told a story that drove home the importance of this decision. When her son was battling a fatal illness in the hospital, she had to leave him when visiting hours ended. She couldn’t stand the thought of being far away, she told the group, so instead of going home she slept in her car in the hospital’s parking garage.
It’s hard to gauge exactly how her story ultimately affected The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s new 24/7 family presence policy. But one thing is clear: Involving patients and family members in decision-making fundamentally changes the conversation for the better, whether the issue involves an individual treatment decision or a hospital-wide policy.
Read the full article here.
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