On June 11, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital received an honourable mention for the 2018 Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care Partnership Award recognizing an innovative training program we developed for leaders in education and health care sectors, and children and community services across the province.
Ontario’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) approached Holland Bloorview to create a training program to help participants strengthen relationships and communication with the children, youth and families they serve, as a part of the province’s special needs strategy. Amir Karmali, manager of client and family-centred care and partnerships, and Kathryn Parker, senior director of academic affairs and simulation lead, led the development and delivery of a two-day training program featuring case studies, live simulations, children and family stories, a team challenge and other engaging activities.
This training program encourages organizations to assess their current practices in patient and family centred care (PFCC), and to explore new and different ways to embed the core PFCC principles when working with children and youth with disabilities and their families.
“This team captured our audience with their contagious passion and enthusiasm, real-life stories, incredible use of video footage from clients as well as team activities to illustrate the importance of the child, youth and family-centred care philosophical approach to working with families,” says Denis Filiatrault, executive director at One Kids Place Children’s Treatment Centre. Filiatrault attended the first two-day training and was so impressed he requested the program be brought back to his organization.
Client and family centred care is deeply ingrained in Holland Bloorview's hospital culture and we are committed to taking a family-centred approach in all we do. Over a four-month planning process, health care leads, community partners, children and families were full partners in the co-design and development of the training program. Children and families were deeply involved in the facilitation and delivery of the training by sharing their personal insights, perspectives and experiences of care with participants.
“Our training program supports the development of crucial skills, like relationship building and creating meaningful partnerships, to help advance the quality and experience of care for children and their families,” says Karmali. “We are very grateful for the opportunity to share our knowledge and provide guidance to leaders across many sectors, and we truly appreciate this recognition.”
The impact of the two day training delivered by Holland Bloorview was illustrated through the overwhelmingly positive feedback. 96 per cent of participants felt they gained insight and strategies that will help them and their organization, and as a result, the Holland Bloorview team is in the process of developing similar training for other types of healthcare institutions. Thus far, Holland Bloorview has delivered this training to 20 agencies and 180 leaders across the province.
The team would like to acknowledge the support of the many family leaders, staff from across the hospital, individuals from community organizations, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the Holland Bloorview Children’s Advisory Committee, whose time and contributions helped make this training program a success.
About IPFCC Partnership Award:
This award recognizes the teams, health care professionals and families who, through their contributions, are truly changing the health sector. This award also recognizes industry leaders for their excellence in developing innovative programs that improve care and outcomes through patient and family engagement. For more information, please visit the 2018 IPFCC Partnership Award page.
To learn more about this training program, please contact Amir Karmali, manager of client and family centred care and partnerships: akarmali@hollandbloorview.ca
