Patient & Family Advisory Council

​Rooks County Health Center seeks community volunteers to serve on a new advisory council that will ensure the patient perspective is integrated throughout RCH’s health care system.

BECOME A PFAC MEMBER!

Click here to download the application to become a patient and family advisor: RCH PFAC application

​Patient and family advisors provide a voice that represents all patients and families of patients who receive care at Rooks County Health Center (RCH). They partner with hospital staff to help improve the quality of RCH’s care for all patients and family members.

What is an RCH Patient & Family Advisor?

A patient and family advisor is someone who:

  • Wants to help improve the quality of our hospital’s care for all patients and family members.
  • Gives feedback to RCH based on his or her own experiences as a patient or family member.
  • Helps RCH plan changes to improve care of patients.
  • Works with RCH for either short or long-term commitments, depending on the project.
  • Volunteers his or her time (usually at least one hour and not more than four hours per month).

Why should you become an RCH Patient & Family Advisor?

  • When you or your family member was in the hospital, did you think there were things that could have been better?
  • Do you have ideas on how to make sure other patients and families get the best care possible?


Patient and family advisors give RCH feedback and ideas from the patient’s perspective to help improve the quality of care provided.

Who can be an RCH Patient & Family Advisor?

No special qualifications are required to become an advisor. You can be an advisor if you, or a family member, received care at RCH in the last five years. What’s most important is your experience as a patient or family member. RCH will provide you with any other training you may need.

Stephanie Bjornstad,
Patient Experience Coordinator
785-688-3618

stephanie.bjornstad@rch.health

 

What does an RCH Patient & Family Advisor do?

As one of RCH’s Patient and Family Advisors, you can help in the following ways:

  • Share your story. Advisors help by talking about their health care experiences with clinicians, staff and other patients.
  • Serve on RCH’s Patient and Family Advisory Council. The advisory council meets regularly to discuss and plan improvements for hospital quality. Members include patients, family members and hospital staff.
  • Work on short-term projects, for example helping to plan and design a family resource room.

Is being an RCH Patient & Family Advisor right for you?

Being an RCH Patient & Family Advisor may be a good match with your skills and experiences if you can:

  • Speak up and share suggestions and potential solutions to help improve hospital care for all.
  • Share your experiences as a patient or family member being mindful and forward thinking beyond your own personal experiences.
  • Talk about both positive and negative care experiences, sharing your thoughts on what went well and how things could have been handled differently.
  • Work with people who may be different than you.
  • Listen to and think about what others say, even when you disagree.
  • Bring a positive attitude to discussions.
  • Keep any information you may hear as an advisor private and confidential.