If you’re interested in promoting and supporting equal, communicative partnerships between health care providers and their patients and families, volunteering with Delta Hospital’s “Patient Partner Program” could be the perfect fit.
Currently supported by five volunteers, the program is centred on improving the patient and family experience in hospital and community health settings.
Delta Hospital is encouraging folks who are passionate about patient-centred care and the community to reach out and get involved in their Patient Partner Program.
“The patient experience matters, and [healthcare leadership] need that kind of feedback in order to develop programs and care that is actually patient-focused. Patient needs come first, and that’s what we’re there for, to remind them and share experiences,” says Linda Perkins, a Patient Partner who volunteers at both Delta and Peace Arch hospitals.
Like Perkins, Patient Partners can volunteer at Delta Hospital, Peace Arch Hospital or both.
In the beginning, volunteers will be trained and mentored to ease them into the role. Volunteers can choose their own schedule, but the program does require that they commit for a year.
In addition to working among fellow team members, the role involves working directly with patients, their families and healthcare professionals.
The work varies depending on need, but everything is centred around providing a patient perspective and a voice on how healthcare is planned, delivered and practiced.
For example, Perkins and fellow Patient Partner Tom Holland worked to improve wayfinding in hospitals by looking critically at the signage in and around the building.
“Some of the signs said things like ‘medical imaging.’ Well, nobody shows up at the hospital for a ‘medical image’ – they show up for an ultrasound or a CT. So, that input essentially informs how the hospital [directs] and moves a patient through the organization, from parking to reception to the department,” says Holland.
Pre-pandemic, the program was supported by 12 volunteers, but COVID significantly reduced their team to three.
They’ve just recently recruited two new volunteers to bring them up to a total of five.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Patient Partner Program at Delta Hospital, contact volunteer services at 604-946-1121, entering the six-digit local 787344.
