Do you want to make a difference? Join the Patient Advisor Council at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation to help PAMF improve the patient experience.
What Is the Patient Advisor Council?
A patient advisor serves as the voice of patients and caregivers.
Volunteers on this council advise PAMF on policies, programs and practices that affect patients and their families. They help PAMF improve quality of care, patient communication, clinical flow, service delivery, access, facilities, billing, healthcare policies and more.
The council was established in 2009 to include the voice of the patient in healthcare delivery. PAMF uses the personal knowledge and experience of patient advisors. Council members represent the full spectrum of PAMF patient population. They come from a variety of backgrounds, occupations, age groups and life experiences.
The term of a patient advisor is 36 months. The patient advisors meet monthly on the second Wednesday of the month from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Palo Alto Center located at 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.
How Is the Patient Advisor Council Structured?
Patient advisors meet monthly to set the overall direction, strategy and goals for the council. They review the activity and projects of the two following subcommittees to ensure their effectiveness.
- Recruitment and Onboarding — The committee selects candidates for membership in the Patient Advisor Council. Members of the team interview qualified applicants and mentor new members selected to join the council.
- Special Projects Team — The Special Projects Team serves the three arms of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation: healthcare, research and education. Patient Advisors work on a wide variety of special projects designed to help PAMF improve operations, research, training and community outreach to improve the patient experience. Members take part in forums such as focus groups, evaluate aspects of PAMF operations, and offer valuable input.
Why Become a Patient Advisor?
- You feel strongly about high quality healthcare
- You are a PAMF patient or a caregiver to a PAMF patient and are 18 years of age or older
- You wish to contribute to the continuous improvement of the patient and caregiver experience at PAMF
- You are a team player and have experience in advocacy
Get Started
Contact the Office of Patient Experience at sbmfcares@sutterhealth.org.