After a long hiatus, the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) returns to work.

The PFAC is designed to improve the quality of hospital care and patient experience. Composed of patients and their families, the committee meets regularly to discuss ways to improve patients’ hospital visits.

Theresa Kirby, GRH Clinical Quality Outcomes Specialist, and Randa Swindlehurst, Patient Experience Coordinator, have been working on getting the committee back together after COVID put it on pause.

The PFAC is an essential part of the hospital’s organization since it comprises community members talking about their own experiences—and those of their families. The suggestions made by the PFAC are taken seriously, and Kirby and Swindlehurst work to make them a reality.

“We want patients to be stewards of their health and to feel empowered to be part of their healthcare team,” Kirby said. “They can be their own advocates.”

The committee needs more members, however. They hope more people will be willing to work to invest in the local healthcare system.

There are no special qualifications for advisors other than the hospital’s desire for members to have received care in the last five years.

Nine committee members are signed up and meeting regularly, but Kirby and Swindlehurst are looking for at least ten to 13.

“Having a diverse group of people at the table is important,” Kirby said.

Swindlehurst said the counsel brings things to light from their perspective. The members point things out to the GRH staff that would be overlooked otherwise.

Kirby said healthcare workers “speak another language” regarding healthcare verbiage. The ‘doctor speak’ is not something a patient will understand. The committee could bring that up in a meeting, and GRH staff would find a way to make the language more understandable.

“We’re dedicated to working as a team,” Kirby said. “We don’t have all the answers. That’s why the PFAC is important.”

The committee meets once a month for about an hour. The PFAC will bring ideas and suggestions from the community to discuss improving the GRH experience.

“This is a way to connect with our community,” Swindlehurst said.

One of the PFAC members is Ron Wheeler. He joined because he felt his perspective wasn’t represented on the committee.

Pull Quote

“People probably don’t know how often the hospital donates money to the community,” Wheeler said.

“I had my daughter at the hospital during COVID,” Wheeler said, saying those times were hard for parents in a hospital. “For me, this is about understanding how the hospital works. Then taking that information and being able to be an advocate for (GRH).”

Wheeler said he’s already heavily involved in the community. He said he can voice what he’s hearing from the community about the hospital but also wants people to know what the hospital is doing for the community.

“People probably don’t know how often the hospital donates money to the community,” Wheeler said.

“They (GRH) don’t necessarily pat themselves on the back either.”

Wheeler said they recently donated $500 to the wrestling program at Eastern Oregon University.

“For a small club, that donation is huge,” he said. “It’s things like that, and they deserve to be recognized.”

It’s not about the compliments, however. Swindlehurst and Kirby said there have been members on the PFAC with disabilities who have been significant assets to the hospital for pointing out how the hospital

can improve to make it easier for people to get around. That’s why the diverse backgrounds are so important.

“It’s not just a platform to complain, ” Kirby said, “Come with solutions in mind.”

They need people with a solution-oriented mind to join, Swindlehurst said.

For those interested, please call the hospital at 541-963-1818 and ask for “patient experience.” Or email at PFAC@grh.org