- comprised of 23 members
- 12 clinical/hospital staff members representing:
- large health systems
- medium-sized hospitals
- small rural hospitals
- roles include CNO, director of patient experience, patient safety, social worker, clinical quality
- 1 Physician
- 12 clinical/hospital staff members representing:
-
- 10 patient/family members:
- 2 full-time employed patient advocates
- 5 serve on their local hospital’s PFAC
- 3 nonhospital-employed patient advocates
- 10 patient/family members:

Patient Family Advisory Council
Formed in 2017, the MHA statewide PFAC is comprised of patients, family members, patient advocates, hospital staff and providers in Missouri.
One of only a handful of state-level councils in the nation, MHA’s PFAC is focused on increasing the role of patients and family members to improve health care delivery, health outcomes and reignite joy in work through improved patient-provider relationships.
Recognized as a CMS priority focus area in 2018, MHA’s statewide PFAC serves to provide leadership and support to advocate for the sustainable integration of patient and family engagement across the care continuum in Missouri to achieve the Quadruple Aim.
The Challenge
MHA’s Statewide PFAC challenges every hospital in the state of Missouri to identify at least one nonemployee patient or family member serving on at least one committee within the organization by July 2020.

Missouri Hospital Progress
MHA surveys all Missouri hospitals based on CMS’ five PFE metrics to assess the level of patient and family engagement within hospitals. Missouri hospitals’ progress is updated quarterly.
The last date of data collection was February 2020.
Key Outcome Objectives
- We will ensure the council remains comprised of patients, family members, hospital staff and community leaders from across the state.
- We will serve to inform broader health care initiatives and policy from a patient and family perspective.
- We will aim to promote a statewide culture of health, integrating the patient and family perspective.
- We will provide a consumer voice that is critical to achieving the Triple Aim of better health, better care and lower costs.
- We will provide resources, support and expertise to meet these objectives.
Council Action Items
The council’s goal is to complete the following actions in the first three years of formation.
- Action 1: Identify metrics to evaluate statewide progress and to base supportive programming, resources and tools that raise awareness of the patient and family perspective.
- Action 2: Inform, at a state level, common themes and issues that detract from the health care experience; provide insight and feedback for interventions.
- Action 3: Collaborate with MHA on development of strategies and resources and support dissemination of these across the state
- Action 4: Serve as mentors and liaisons to members developing internal PFACs
- Action 5: Assist in understanding and deployment of health literacy and disparity reduction initiatives
Membership
To join the MHA PFAC, fill out the membership application. If you have questions, contact Alison Williams at awilliams@mhanet.com.
- Amy Camp, Patient, Caregiver Advocate
- Amy McLean, NICU Family Support Manager, Mercy Hospital St. Louis
- Celia McGraw, Manager of Care Redesign, Mercy Health
- David Durbin, Patient Advocate/Attorney at Law
- DeeJo Miller, Patient and Family Engagement Program Manager/Patient Advocate, Children’s Mercy Kansas City
- Denise L. Williams, Director – Patient Safety/Patient Advocate, Mercy Health
- Dr. Li Ern Chen, Physician
- Eran Dawson, Patient Experience Coordinator/Patient Advocate, Citizens Memorial Hospital
- Elizabeth (Liz) Kruvand; Coordinator, Family Partner Program/Patient Advocate; St. Louis Children’s Hospital
- Jolie Smith, Patient Advocate
- Kayln Lambert, System Director of Patient Experience, CoxHealth
- Lauren De La Torre, Patient Advocate, Children’s Mercy Kansas City
- Laurie Hines; Patient, Caregiver Advocate (2020 Co-Chair)
- Martha Johnson; Manager, Patient and Provider Experience; Boone Hospital Center
- Mary Carroll Burton; Group Manager, Clinical Quality, CCE; BJC HealthCare
- Maureen McGuire, Patient Advocate
- Myleah Shrimpton, Community Advocate
- Patti Bradley, Sr. Director of Patient Experience, North Kansas City Hospital
- Shaunda Hawkins, Patient Advocate, Liberty Hospital
- Sheryl Chadwick, Patient and Family Engagement Program Manager/Patient Advocate, Children’s Mercy Kansas City
- Stacie Hollis, Patient, Caregiver Advocate
- Tina Jones; Director, Quality, Risk and Patient Experience (2020 Co-Chair); Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare
- Treniece Murphy, Patient Advocate, Children’s Mercy Kansas City
Part 1: Li Ern Chen, M.D., MSCS
Part 2: Tina Jones, MHA, CPXP
Director of Quality, Risk and Patient Experience | Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare
Part 3: Laurie Hines
Director at Missouri Kidney Program, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
Part 4: Martha Johnson
Manager of Patient Experience, Volunteer Services and Gift Shop, Boone Hospital Center
Parts 5 & 6: Denise Williams, R.N., BSN, CPPS, CPHQ
Director of Patient Safety, Mercy Health
- TED Talk: Leilani Schweitzer: How Can Hospitals Be More Transparent About Medical Errors?
- Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Caregiver Experience Improves Provider and Patient Outcomes
- JAMA – Resident Report: A Piece of My Mind
- National Healthcare Decisions Day flyer
- NPR Article: “For 2 Nurses, Working In The ICU Is ‘A Gift of a Job'”
Contact an expert

Alison Williams
PFE Roadmap
MHA’s PFE roadmap supports engagement and achievement of 12 PFE metrics endorsed by CMS’ Partnership for Patients and adapted from the Michigan Keystone Center’s Patient and Family Engagement resource.
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