New Patient and Family Advisory Council
Debbie Perkins says she formed such nice relationships with her GBMC caregivers during treatments for breast and endometrial cancers in 2004 and 2005 that she hated to say goodbye. Soon after remission, the 61-year-old Parkville resident found herself volunteering in the radiation oncology department. And because of her enthusiasm, she was asked last fall to join the Cancer Center’s newly created Patient and Family Advisory Council.
The Council was formed to provide a forum for current and previous cancer patients and their family members to hear about the medical center’s oncology programs and plans, and provide feedback from their point of view, says Oncology Support Services Manager Donna Lewis, RN, CPC, who chairs the new advisory board.
Ms. Lewis says she and her colleagues took care to include patients from varying age groups, demographics and diagnoses. The council, which also includes leadership members from GBMC’s oncology programs, meets quarterly to provide input into the development of new programs and services to enhance the patient care experience as well as patient satisfaction across the continuum of cancer care. “We have our patients’ best interests at heart,” Ms. Lewis says. “My vision is that this advisory council will be an integral part of our planning for the future.”
Though their work has just begun, council members already have provided valuable suggestions that the hospital is enacting, says Ms. Lewis, including recommending that the hospital designate parking spaces specifically for infusion therapy patients (reserved spaces already are available for radiation patients). The Council also is looking to establish an e-mail answering service for patients who have non-emergent questions.
Cancer survivors on board say they appreciate the ability to give back to others. “If you’re nurturing the human spirit, then people are going to do better,” Ms. Perkins says. “I like listening to other people’s comments and really delving down to their base feelings.”
Baltimorean Jeffrey Katz, 61, who was treated at GBMC eight years ago for cancer of the tongue and tonsils, says groups like this are necessary for the betterment of patient care. “If I can make a difference in helping future patients get through this system easier and without problems, then that’s success to me.”
