Spring 2011

Our Patient & Family Think Tank

Christa Grim is helping review visiting hours.

There used to be a time when 8 o’clock in the evening at a hospital arrived with an announcement that “visiting hours are now over.” With few exceptions, friends and loved ones were encouraged—strongly—to go home and let the patient rest.

In the last decade, as research has shown that the well-being of patients is enhanced when they are surrounded by loved ones, a more flexible trend is emerging. That trend—patient and family-centered care—includes what the patients and their families have to say about everything from visiting hours to signage to loved ones being present during procedures.

Nurse Katie Boston, senior director of nursing who oversees AAMC’s busy operating rooms, is one of the leaders in the hospital’s expanded effort to include patients and family in decision-making. “We have numerous stories about our staff going ‘above and beyond’ for patients and their families,” she said. “But we have come to learn that there are so many needs of families and patients that are unmet.”

These needs can range from reviewing their medication list to having patients directly involved in their care plans.

Keep reading to see two examples of advocates in action.

A Mother’s Voice

Providing Comfort, Compassion

Isabel’s Gift provides canvas comfort bags to NICU families, filled with tissues, bottled water, a notebook and pen, lip balm, hand cream, gum, and a NICU parent advice guide.

Christa Grim is on a committee reviewing the hospital’s visiting hours on each unit. “I’m happy to be part of the process that would make things easier for the patients and their families,” she said.

As a two-time breast cancer patient and the mother of an AAMC “NICU baby,” Christa knows about the comfort care patients and families need. In 2002, when her daughter Isabel was born with a heart condition and spent five days in the neonatal intensive care unit, she was grateful for the loving support of family and friends.

“But there were families with no one to help,” she recalled. “I wanted to help them.” She created Isabel’s Gift, an organization that provides comfort bags to NICU families. When she was treated twice for breast cancer, Christa’s AAMC connections deepened. One nurse thought Christa would be a perfect patient advisor. Christa gladly accepted an invitation to join the Patient Advisory Team.

Learn more about Isabel’s Gift at www.isabelsgift.org.

A Different Perspective

An Inclusive Approach to Signage

Patient Advocate Kathy Whittaker with Richard Ay, who is helping review signage.

Richard Ay of Severna Park is no stranger to Anne Arundel Medical Center. Over the past three decades he has had 11 surgeries to correct his spinal column. Today, he spends the majority of his time in a wheelchair, giving him a different vantage point as he navigates the grounds.

With many patients in the same position as Richard, AAMC recognized the value he could bring to the Wayfinding Workgroup. He has worked with others to provide feedback on the signage throughout the hospital, which helps direct patients where they need to go.

Richard explained the importance of having signs at eye level. “We visited the existing locations and I pointed out what signs I could and couldn’t see and determined the signs that were most easily identifiable,” he said.

Richard also told the team that patients need clarity beyond emergency situations. In his case, he comes to the hospital regularly for tests, appointments and rehab. “We look at the signage from a new visitor’s standpoint and from a patient’s.”

Have an Idea? Become an Advisor!

Have you been a patient or visitor at Anne Arundel Medical Center? You may have recommendations on how we can improve our facilities, signs, visiting hours and more. How can you help us improve? It’s easy. Become an AAMC advisor by calling us at 443-481-1688 or email to advisor@aahs.org.

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