Community Medical Center and other RWJBarnabas Health facilities have instituted the Patient and Family Advisory Council. Integrating Patient and Family Advisory Councils within the hospital setting is an national evidence-based approach to learn from patients and their families and increases the quality of care delivered. Leading quality and regulatory bodies as well as the consumer have embraced this concept.

 

The mission of the Patient and Family Advisory Council is to collaborate with hospital leadership and staff to empower families to provide input for organizational policies and practices. The Council supports the organization's mission and promotes patient- and family-centered care by putting them at the center of all activities.

 

CMC's council currently consists of three community members along with staff from Patient Relations, Case Management, Food Services, Patient Access and Volunteers.

They are involved in the following projects:

New community members are continually needed and information sessions are held the third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in Auditorium.

1. Encephalopathy: Need to link to underlying medical reason for encephalopathy. If patient has Dementia, the alteration of mental status should be documented "above baseline" for patient's dementia
2. Sepsis: Need to link cause and document SIRS criteria
3. Acute Respiratory Failure: Document specific criteria related to ARF    
4. Malnutrition: specify Mild, Moderate or Severe with specific physical findings    
5. Underweight or Obesity = BMI < 19.9 or > 40
6. Congestive Heart Failure: Document acuity (chronic/acute) and type (systolic, diastolic, combined)
7. Acute Blood Loss Anemia: Anemia from blood loss requiring transfusion/monitoring
8. Functional Quadriplegia: Complete immobility due to physical or mental disability or frailty
9. Chronic Respiratory Failure: Use of Home O2 with COPD, Lung Ca or other respiratory diagnosis
10. Hypertensive Crisis or Emergency: Symptomatic HTN treated with IV meds

Anil Nanda, MD, MPH, has been appointed as the Senior Vice President, Neurosurgical Services for RWJBarnabas Health and Chief of the Neurosurgical Service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, effective July 1. In addition to his system leadership position at RWJBarnabas Health, Dr. Nanda will also serve as the joint chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.