Advisory Councils

Roles for Advisors

There are many kinds of advisory roles that you can play besides being on a formal committee. You may wish to participate in other activities – for example, providing training to professionals or reviewing written materials. Here are some examples:

• Members of task forces
• Advisory board members
• Program evaluators
• Co-faculty for staff education
• Mentors for other families
• Grant reviewers
• Reviewers of audiovisual and written materials
• Participants in focus groups
• Members of committees hiring new staff
• Fundraisers
• Participants at conferences and working meetings
• Participants in quality improvement initiatives

Projects and Initiatives

Advise and Counsel

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital regularly calls on PFAC members to provide a family perspective on hospital projects and family communications. Past projects have included:

• Participating in the application process for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to become the first children’s hospital to receive Planetree designation in 2017 and re-certification in 2021.
• Contributing to the design of the hospital rooms and family lounge for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital expansion.
• Developing a notebook given to families to assist them in asking questions about their child’s health.
• Collaborating on features for the free-standing building, including suggesting that a child’s voice be used in the elevator.
• Reviewing menu options for children staying in the hospital.
• Reviewing educational materials provided to families.

Family Support

The PFAC members support other families by sharing their experiences, answering questions and listening to families who are in the hospital. This support includes:

• Visiting patients and providing support to family members who are going through similar experiences to their own.
• Serving free meals to allow family members an opportunity to get out of their room and socialize.
• Offering cookies and coffee and some company to family members in the hospital.
• Assisting individual families in need when connected by hospital staff.

Staff Training and Appreciation

The PFAC supports families by partnering with the health care professionals who provide care to patients and families in the following ways:

• Educating health care professionals, including hospital leadership, about the importance of patient- and family-centered care.
• Serving as the voice of families in hospital-wide meetings with topics such as grievance, quality care and patient safety meetings.
• Participating in interviews of key leadership and staff positions.
• Recognizing hospital staff by having events during Nurse Appreciation Week in May and Patient Family Centered Care month in October.

Community Involvement

The PFAC members raise awareness of the importance of patient- and family-centered care in the community by participating in community events such as:

• Sponsoring a fun interactive booth at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Special Needs Fair in October.
• Collaborating with other PFACs across the nation at conferences. 

Joining the Patient and Family Advisory Councils

We're looking for people who have:

• A desire to make a positive difference in the hospital
• A positive approach and the ability to see many different points of view
• Enthusiasm about the hospital's mission of excellence, quality, safety, community focus and customer satisfaction
• The ability to share both positive and negative experiences in a constructive way
• The ability to communicate, listen to, and work with families and staff whose background, experiences, and styles may be very different from their own
• A willingness to share their own experiences with others
• An attitude that values partnership and teamwork

Advisors attend a volunteer orientation, at which several important aspects of privacy and confidentiality, as well as safety and other organizational priorities and practices, are discussed. The Volunteer Services department also conducts a background check and provides you with a hospital ID badge, indicating you are a patient/family advisor.

How Do I Join?

If your child or loved one has been a patient at the hospital, and you would like to join the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council or one of our sub-committees, please complete the downloadable application form below and return it to us via e-mail or fax.

• Patient and Family Advisory Council Application (PDF)
• Youth Advisory Council Application (PDF)

Once we have received your form, a member of our staff will contact you to continue the application process, which includes a personal interview and background check. You will be invited to attend our monthly PFAC meeting as a visitor. Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday evening each month. This will give you the chance to understand what we do and how we collaborate to improve patient and family centered care at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Following the meeting visit, you will receive more information about the responsibilities and logistics of becoming a council member.

Patient and Family Advisory Council
Joyce Dorn, Director of Patient Family Services
Office: 954-265-0196
Fax: 954-265-0199
E-mail: jdorn@mhs.net

Youth Advisory Council
Julia Miller, CLS, Youth Advisory Council Coordinator
Office: 954-265-0346
E-mail: julmiller@mhs.net