The Elements of Patient Centered Care

♪MUSIC♪ BEITER: Most people who work in health

care

are here in health

care

because they want to do good for

patient

s. And I think telling

patient

s' stories really reminds staff why they're really here. HEADLINE: There is no better care than the VA. When I got here I felt loved, there was no pressure on me and the nurses were there 24 hours a day making sure I was looked after at all times. HANCOCK: These counselors and these staff members really care, and if you sit down and explain what's really bothering you, they'll listen to you and give you help. They have the solutions to your problems.

COSTA: I've been at the VA for 30 and a half years, so I've dedicated my entire career to the VA. I was a medical student here, a medical resident here, I love the VA, I love my patients, I treat them like my family. ROBERSTON: Having staff remember that they can make a difference with a smile, with a warm welcome, with a warm farewell, standing up for a patient, going the extra mile to stand up for them, remembering that little things like noise and food and perhaps offer to call the chaplain for them. All employees find that they can focus on the patient in very simple ways.

GINSBURG: When this suite was designed, the first thing we had in mind was to try to create an environment that respected patient privacy. Our patients love coming here, as you can see it is a luxuriously decorated room. They love the patient privacy and they love the warm environment; They love warm and relaxing murals. And they love the kind of very personalized attention they receive. There is no sense that they are just a number; They receive truly personalized attention in a very comfortable environment, a very private environment. GILL: Focusing on patient-

centered

care really allows you to be humanistic.

And realizing that this is another human being that you're caring for and relating to, so not only are you helping to demystify this health care system for these patients, these veterans; ultimately you're also healing because you relate to them as a human being, and you get satisfaction from what you're doing because you're dealing with the whole individual: you're dealing with the caregivers and helping them become empowered, and then you'll have your staff around. around you to provide that support. SPENCER: If it weren't for the acupuncture program that the VA offers, I would be on medications, my quality of life would be greatly diminished, and the side effects of the medications would already be affecting me.

DORT: Personally, I am a breast cancer patient; I am a two year survivor since April. For me it is very personal and I am very proud of what we can offer women here. ANGEL: Every individual in this country who put on the uniform and endured the stress of being a soldier serving their country deserves everything we can give them to restore their wholeness and well-being again. HANKINSON: For staff who are just beginning their VA journey, they can use the proactive components model for proactive, personalized health. If we were to look at that wheel and start with practices like the importance of sleep, the importance of wellness, the importance of spirituality, environment, healing environments, interactions between staff and patients.

CROWELL: While we want you to be well physically, we want to be able to help you in the other aspects of your life: emotionally and spiritually. So if we can find an easy tool, like giving you a cell phone, and help you with that, it seems like a no-brainer to me. BURT: I haven't been in communication with them for at least five years, phone-wise, and when I got the phone, the first person I called was my two daughters and I told them I had a phone and I can get through now. , you know, and make up for lost time.

HANKINSON: The way our patient-

centered

care steering committee is designed is that it revolves around the components of patient-centered care. The key thing about the steering committee is that interdisciplinary staff. We have staff that represent unions, we have staff that represent the front line, we have leadership teams, we have veterans. We capture all perspectives on this committee and focus on these proactive components that are very important to veterans. WICKREMASINGHE: The care we provide here is transformative. We seek to really listen to our patients, listen to their needs, listen to their concerns and then empower frontline staff. Take those ideas, take what you hear from patients and do something with that information.

BEITER: Realizing how we make a difference in someone's life, and not just a small difference, but a big difference. ♪ MUSIC ♪