We invite you to explore the exciting opportunities that await you in March's Pinwheel Pages!

Get ready to mark your calendars for our upcoming Leadership Series webinar titled “Partnering with Families for Safety: An Evolving Journey," scheduled for Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 1 PM ET. This is a fantastic opportunity to engage with fellow professionals and enhance your understanding of patient safety through family collaboration.

Additionally, we encourage you not to miss out on our Informal Conversation, “Shared Access to Adult Patient Portals: A Vital Tool for Care Partners,” taking place on April 22, 2025, at 12:00 PM ET.

Kind regards,

The IPFCC Team

The Art of the Possible: An IPFCC Leadership Series 

Partnering with Families for Safety: An Evolving Journey

March 27, 2025 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Join us for our next Leadership Series webinar on Thursday, March 27, 2025, 1pm ET. Liz Crocker, IPFCC Board Member and co-author of Privileged Presence, will be interviewing Anne Lyren, MD, MSc, Clinical Director for Solutions for Patient Safety National Children’s Network. The title of their conversation will be, “Partnering with Families for Safety: An Evolving Journey.”

Fee for this live and recorded webinar is $60 USD with a 50% discount for all employees and PFAs from Pinwheel Sponsors’ Hospitals and Health Systems.

Also, if you missed the January 30th Leadership Series “Straight Talk - What Matters Most” Liz Crocker interview of Sherry Perkins, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Luminus Health Chief of Hospital Integration, you can purchase the recording and resource handout here.

Upcoming PFCC.Connect Informal Conversation

April 22, 2025 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET

Join IPFCC for our next Informal Conversation, Shared Access to Adult Patient Portals: A Vital Tool for Care Partners. Many adult patients have care partners who assist them in managing their care. One valuable tool for these care partners is shared access to the patient's online patient portal. Many care partners do not know that this is an option. Learn more about what shared access is; how it can be beneficial to patients and their care partners, as well as to clinicians and staff; what we learned from a shared access demonstration project with three health systems; and how patient and family advisors can advocate for increased knowledge about and utilization of shared access at their health systems.

Thank you to our PFCC.Connect sponsors!

Authentic Community Engagement Webinar

Join us on March 25th from 1-2 pm for an engaging webinar, A New Roadmap for Effective Community Engagement in Healthcare, where the INSPIRE team will share key insights from their phase 1 report on authentic community engagement (CE) in U.S. healthcare. This session will provide actionable strategies for professionals leading community engagement and people with lived experience (PWLE). It is an interactive session where you can join the discussion and ask questions. Register for the webinar here.

Establishing and Strengthening Medicaid Advisory Committees and Beneficiary Advisory Committees

In February 2025, the Center for Health Care Strategies published resources to help states develop or strengthen Medicaid Advisory Committees (MACs) and Beneficiary Advisory Committees (BACs). In 2024, CMS issued a rule requiring states to have (MACs) and (BACs). By using these resources, it will ensure that the perspectives of those receiving Medicaid services are meaningfully integrated into the policy and program decision-making planning and process. Access the resources here.

Wellstar MCG Health's 18th Annual PFCC Conference and Awards

Annual Patient- and Family Centered Care (PFCC) awards honoring individuals and teams that embody patient- and family-centered care principles and model these practices for those around them were presented during Wellstar MCG Health's 18th Annual PFCC Conference on March 4th. 

The theme for the conference was BEYOND THE FEAR TO FEAR.LESS – BE THE LIGHT. Fear of healthcare is a significant barrier that can affect patient outcomes, adherence to treatment, and overall experience of care. Patients may fear healthcare due to past traumatic experiences, lack of understanding about procedures, concerns about safety, or anxiety about the unknown. Healthcare clinicians and team members may experience fear of losing passion for their work, systemic pressures and workplace challenges, emotional exhaustion, losing empathy, becoming detached, or making a mistake. Acknowledging these fears can help create a more supportive, resilient, and patient- and family-centered healthcare environment. By prioritizing communication, safety, and emotional support, healthcare teams can transform fear into trust, empowering patients and families to engage actively in their care journey.

Applications Open to Join the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Board of Directors

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Transitional Nominating Committee (TNC) are now accepting applications for new members to join the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Board of Directors. The formation of the new Board is a key part of the Modernization Initiative designed to modernize the nation’s organ transplant system to improve transparency, performance, governance, and efficiency for the more than 100,000 people on the organ transplant waitlist. 

Individuals with lived experience are invited to apply to join the Board of Directors. The application process is open until April 4th. Access information here.

2025 IPFCC PINWHEEL SPONSORSHIP – Renew, Upgrade, or Join Now! 

Your support as a Pinwheel Sponsor assists IPFCC in continuing our work to transform health care by developing and sustaining meaningful partnerships with patients and families in all settings. Pinwheel Sponsor organizations gain national and international visibility for your commitment to patient- and family-centered care. Sponsors may join Bev Johnson for the next Pinwheel Leadership Forum in April and collaborate with other Pinwheel leaders, discuss specific PFCC issues on a one-hour connection call with our staff, and also receive discounts on IPFCC events and resources. 

We invite you to renew, upgrade, or join today by completing the online Pinwheel Sponsor Application. If you need more information, please contact Sherry Hajec at shajec@ipfcc.org.

Thank You to Our 2025 Pinwheel Sponsor Renewals!

Akron Children’s Hospital

Children’s Specialized Hospital

IWK Health Centre

Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

University of Miami Health System

Wellstar MCG