Continuing Care QI Committee

Continuing Care services persons who need ongoing care, either on a long-term or short-term basis. Continue Care Services include a range of home and community care and long-term care services. Continuing Care team members provide assessments and case management and determine the type and level of care needed and authorize services.  Our team works with individual(s) to identify supports and services they may require to remain at home, and helps arrange access to the supports they may be eligible for within the program.

The Continuing Care Quality Improvement Committee meets quarterly to discuss active initiatives and quality improvement projects ongoing within the department. The role of the PFA would be to provide feedback and personal experience that would incorporate the patient voice to improve the project(s)/initiative(s) .

Activities/Tasks: 

Examples of activities and tasks may include: 

• To partner with staff to ensure patient and family centered care is at the core of all decision making 
• Serve as the voice of patient/family, representing not only themselves as an individual but all of those who may be connected to our health care system 

Skills Required: 

Qualities: 

• A passion for enhancing the health care experience for patients and families. 
• Good communication skills. 
• Non-judgmental.  
• Respects other people's opinions and perspectives.   
• Able to share thoughts and opinions in a group setting.  
• Interact well with a diverse group of people. 
• Open to see beyond their own personal experience and speak to the broader needs of patients and families who are a part of our health care system. 
• Read, write and speak English.

Qualifications: 

• Patient Family Advisors must be a patient, family member or caregiver of a patient, who has received care within Nova Scotia Health over the past two years. 

Training:

The Patient Family Advisor will go through a general orientation provided by Volunteer Services. A team specific orientation process will be provided by the Team Lead or Manager. Other training opportunities may exist through the health authority. The Patient Family Advisor may wish to participate in these additional training opportunities as desired.  

Compensation: The Patient Family Advisor role is a volunteer position. To enable Patient Family Advisors to participate in making decisions and setting priorities, the Nova Scotia Health will cover the cost of travel/mileage, parking and/or bus tickets. Travel/mileage will be submitted to the Quality and Safety team for approval and payment. Patient Family Advisors are equal and valued members of the team whose perspectives are given equal weight. 

Please Note:

These are volunteer positions. Current Nova Scotia Health employees, Foundation members, Community Health Board members and elected officials are not eligible to apply.

Nova Scotia Health is committed to being a workforce that is free of discrimination, values diversity and is representative, at all job levels, of the people we serve. Our priority groups are Aboriginal People, African Nova Scotians, Persons with Disabilities and Recent Immigrants. Members of these groups are welcome to apply and self-identify if they wish to be considered under our Employment Equity policy.