Do you know someone who wants to make a difference in hospital care? Point them to our growing Patient and Family Advisory Council
Have you or your loved ones received care from Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) in the past three years? Do you have an interest in bringing your lived experience of care to future hospital decision-making? If so, the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) has volunteer opportunities you may want to consider!
Established at NHH in 2016, this Council is now in its ninth year. Through PFAC, patient and caregiver partners are actively engaged in all core patient care areas of the hospital, working as partners with NHH staff, managers, physicians, midwives and community partners on a wide variety of local and regional hospital activities, special projects and program-focused quality and practice committees with one aim: to make the hospital experience as good as it can be.
“We have an extremely committed PFAC team here at NHH, and like the hospital itself—our PFAC is growing,” said Jennifer Gillard, Vice President, Patient Experience, Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships. “A number of PFAC partners are active in three, four, even more working groups. With over 800 volunteer hours contributed by PFAC in 2024 alone, they would like to expand their capacity. At the same time, we’re also keen to continue increasing the diversity of voices bringing lived experience to our discussions and service planning.”
Interest in NHH’s PFAC is invited at any time, for any program area, though PFAC currently aims to increase representation in the following priority opportunities:
- Cancer and Supportive Care
- Surgical Services/Ambulatory Care
- Communication and Community Engagement
Time Commitment
PFAC partners meet as a group for bi-monthly meetings, lasting two hours, six times per year. They also participate—based on their experience, interest, and schedules— on the specific committee and/or project to which they are assigned, requiring additional background reading and meetings ranging between 6-10 times a year. Meeting times vary according to area of service. Most are held in the daytime or early evening and are currently occurring in a mix of in-person and virtual settings. Inperson attendance is encouraged where possible.
How to Express Interest?
Residents of west Northumberland with an interest in volunteering on NHH’s PFAC are invited to review the Terms of Reference and Role Description and complete the Expression of Interest Form. All documents will be found on the Patient and Family Advisory Council page under the Patients tab of the hospital website at nhh.ca. These documents are available in alternate formats on request. Successful candidates will be expected to complete the necessary confidentiality, vaccination, and police checks prior to commencing volunteer activities.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Gillard at jgillard@nhh.ca or 905-377-7757 or reach out to NHH’s PFAC Chair, Bonnie McKee, at bkmckee@tds.net. Join us and share your voice!