Patient and Family Engagement
Sault Area Hospital is committed to partnering with patients, families, and caregivers to ensure that the care we are providing meets the needs of our community.
To accomplish this, SAH provides numerous opportunities for authentic engagement and co-design to members of the community who volunteer as a Patient and Family Advisor.
Patient and Family Advisors contribute to fostering patient and family-centred. Advisors work in collaboration with the SAH team to share their unique experiences, tell their stories and use their informed perspectives to help shape decisions and influence change, ultimately improving the overall patient and family experience.
Join the Team
A patient and family advisor is someone who:
- Has had a recent experience (generally within 2 years) of being a patient or the family member of a patient at Sault Area Hospital.
- Has the desire to represent the voice of future patients and family members to have improved experiences obtaining health services.
- Brings forward ideas on how to improve health care from “quick wins” to partnering on major hospital projects.
- Contributes ideas and suggestions that will enhance patient and public involvement in health service planning and decision-making so that the patient community has a voice in the delivery of health care services.
- Participates as a regular and active member of the committee and/or working group to which they have been invited.
- Provides input into patient care and organizational processes, and advocate for patient and family needs from a broad perspective.
- Shows commitment to improving care for all patients and family members at Sault Area Hospital by ensuring that the patient is the focal point of all discussions.
- Promotes improved collaboration and relationships between patients, families and staff.
- Advisors are encouraged to review the content within these web pages and the Advisor Handbook to familiarize themselves with the role and expectations of participation
- To apply, please complete the Patient and Family Advisory Program Application.
- Once we receive your application, you will be contacted for an informal interview. To help you prepare, please click here – Interview Questions.
- Volunteer onboarding requires:
- Group orientation session
- Health Surveillance Form including a 2-Step TB skin test and immunization assessment
- Criminal Records Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening
- Signing a confidentiality agreement
- Additional training sessions may be required
Patient and Family Advisors have the unique opportunity to help hospitals become more patient—and family-centred. As an advisor, you will have the opportunity to share your stories, perspectives, and experiences to advise on issues and decisions. By partnering with the hospital team, you will have the unique opportunity to shape decisions and influence change, ultimately improving the overall patient and family experience.
For almost all decisions being made – “Nothing about me without me”
Additional Benefits Include:
- Volunteer Recognition Events
- Monthly parking pass
- Opportunity to give back to the community and improve your local health system by:
- Promoting system re-designs/process improvements
- Providing direct input about patient needs (No more need to guess or make assumptions)
- Enhancing Patient Safety
- Contributing to Quality Improvement
- Improving the Patient Experience
Ad-Hoc Engagement
- All patient and family advisors receive ad-hoc requests for engagement via email. Forms of ad-hoc engagement include:
- Leadership interviews
- Project team member
- Process improvements
- Focus groups
- Document reviews
- Hospital committee memberships (e.g. Joint Health and Safety, Accessibility, Wellness Committee, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, etc.)
- … and many more!
- On average, the hospital receives 10 ad-hoc requests for engagement with patient and family advisors per month.
- Advisors have the chance to review the requests and sign up to participate in engagement activities that meet their personal interests and availability.
- Ad-hoc engagement allows SAH to embed the patient, family, and caregiver voice into the processes where the decisions are made.
At Sault Area Hospital, we currently have 5 different Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFAC) in the following areas:
- Hospital Wide – SAH PFAC
- Algoma District Cancer Program PFAC
- Algoma Regional Renal Program PFAC
- Mental Health and Addictions PFAC
- Emergency Department PFAC
More information about Advisory Council Membership:
- At this time, there are no plans to expand to new programs
- PFAC meetings occur on a monthly basis, typically for 1-2 hours.
- Patient and Family Advisors who sit on PFACs share their ideas to improve care within a specific program/department. They work alongside program leadership to contribute the patient perspective to existing work or propose new work in an effort to improve the patient experience.
- The term to sit on a council is 2 years with a 3rd year optional
Please view our quarterly reports to learn more about how Patient and Family Advisors are engaged at SAH: