Monday, July 5, 2010

Voting for a new relationship

After hearing the news about the tentative agreement reached last week between MN nurses and hospitals, I must admit that I breathed a sigh of relief. The vision of striking nurses in our metro area isn’t something I wanted to think about. Not only for the nurses who are involved, but for the patients and their family’s who would no doubt be affected by it. I am definitely supportive of what MN nurses have been fighting for, not just now but for many years prior to this. It lends towards everyone’s concerns about the quality and safety of patient care as well as patient/nurse ratio. Since Be the Change desires to develop a new and improved relationship and partnership with hospitals, clinics and nurses, I believe this is the perfect time to do just that and in doing so, many of those concerns would be lessened.

In my opinion, the future of patient care must include an increased involvement of the patient perspective especially in corporate decisions being made. Be the Change wants to pave that new way where the opinions and ideas of patients and their families are just as valued as any highly paid consulting firm. I have often told the doctors and nurses of the clinics and hospitals we have been involved with, that their most qualified consultants are the patients and families sitting in their waiting rooms. They are the ones who experience daily, the patient quality, safety and ratio’s that we hear so much of on the news.

Time and time again we are being told of one horror story after another about safety issues and less than quality care. We hear stories about diagnosis information not being communicated timely and/or accurately. One frustrating story after the next about patients in the hospital who are left with out any care regardless of the many times they press the call button. These along with hundreds of others are examples of what Be the Change wants to impact with the hope of changing future stories. The patient perspective can be a powerful companion to the way nurses, doctors, clinic staff and hospital staff move forward in complete solidarity with a renewed passion for exceptional patient care. The possibilities are endless when we consider using patient’s experiences and weaving them into the commitment of the medical community we place our trust in during our most vulnerable situations. The results of this type of patient-family impact will be enormous. It will automatically increase the human experience, improve the medical experience and here’s the bonus; it can be done financially responsibly.

Be the Change believes the time for a real change is here and now and the MN nurses vote tomorrow on the tentative agreement is just the beginning. Through the efforts of Be the Change, we can develop a new relationship between patients and providers where the patient-family perspective is not just coffee conversation between family and friends. Instead it will become a respected and valued partnership complete with board room support and influence, giving absolutely everyone from patient to CEO the opportunity to Be the Change.

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