Niagara Health’s Walker Family Cancer Centre recognized for innovative research to improve patient experience
(from left): Joanne Ferraccioli, Project Coordinator, Patient Experience at the Walker Family Cancer Centre, Patient Kym Gosselin and Sandy McBay, a member of the cancer centre’s Patient Family Advisory Council.
Niagara Health is one of only 15 healthcare organizations in North America to be recently named a recipient of The Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Grant and Scholar Program.
The Patient Experience Grant Program supports healthcare organizations as they test ideas and efforts impacting the experiences of patients and families. The Beryl Institute, the global community of practice dedicated to improving the patient experience through collaboration and shared knowledge, is supporting the work of Niagara Health’s Walker Family Cancer Centre patient experience team. The team is focused on improving the overall patient experience by collecting first-person narratives from patients and their healthcare providers.
Last fall, Cancer Care Ontario launched Your Voice Matters, an electronic survey that measures patient experience. The Walker Family Cancer Centre is exploring the idea that we can move towards a cultural change in provider/patient relationships by complementing Your Voice Matters with first-person narrative collection.
“We are looking for commonalities in the reports of the survey that are generated from Cancer Care Ontario and the themes that emerge from the narratives,” says Joanne Ferraccioli, Patient Experience Project Coordinator at the Walker Family Cancer Centre. “We believe our research will illustrate the added value of behavior-based qualitative experiential data to the survey-based questionnaire that is collected once per month for patients at the cancer centre.”
Brenda Luscombe, Director of Clinical Services, Oncology and Ambulatory Services at Niagara Health, adds: “We believe this project has great potential to guide patient experience. It is truly groundbreaking information that will be gathered as we move towards collaborative models of care. Focusing on access, quality, service improvement and, most importantly, supporting a positive healthcare experience that exceeds the expectations of our patients and their families are paramount. We look to partners such as The Beryl Institute to provide us guiding principles and the knowledge and tools we need based on their commitment to the patient experience.”
In partnership with the Patient Experience Institute, the annual grant and scholar programs reinforce the commitment to help frame and expand the field of patient experience, develop leaders on the front lines and throughout the experience movement.
“Congratulations to all grant and program recipients who are committed to providing information and research to support the expanded focus and measured impact of patient experience in healthcare,” said Stacy Palmer, Senior Vice President of The Beryl Institute. “The opportunity to learn from one another provides the greatest of potential outcomes for all.”
All recipients will complete research in their areas of focus and develop research reports to be published through The Beryl Institute. The Niagara Health team will also be presenting its research at The Beryl Institute’s annual conference next March.
To view the full list of The Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Grant Program recipients, visit: http://www.theberylinstitute.org/?page=GrantRecipients.
About The Beryl Institute
The Beryl Institute is the global community of practice dedicated to improving the patient experience through collaboration and shared knowledge. The institute defines patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.
About Patient Experience Institute
Patient Experience Institute (PXI) is an independent, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization committed to the improvement of patient experience through evidence-based research and professional development efforts including certification and continuing education.
Media Contact:
Steven Gallagher, Niagara Health Communications Specialist
905-378-4647, ext. 43879 I 289-696-6767
steven.gallagher@niagarahealth.on.ca
