Patient Family-Centered Care Awards, Events, and Achievements

The Patient Family-Centered Care (PFCC) and Patient Experience teams honor those who support patient family-centered care at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with awards and events. They also keep track of many achievements.

Awards and Events

The Jim Mobley Partner in Excellence Award

St. Jude staff members who receive this award represent the PFCC core concepts and values. Patients and caregivers nominate staff. Members of the Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC) help to honor the winners at an annual event.

Annual volunteer appreciation event

Each spring, Family, Guest and Volunteer Services hosts an event to thank all hospital volunteers for their time, effort, and passion. Many volunteers are honored for their hours served and their years of commitment.

Achievements

As part of the fiscal year 2024–28 Patient Family-Centered Care Strategic Plan, PFCC at St. Jude has made significant progress in 5 key focus areas: equity and diversity, member engagement, caregiver support, spreading our philosophy, and outreach. The summary of accomplishments includes:

• Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC): 18 caregivers are active members of the PFAC. This council meets 8 times a year to provide valuable insights and feedback.
• Steering councils: We created 8 new steering councils, each with over 10 advisers. These councils focus on critical areas such as caregiver support, the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hematology Clinic, Nursing, patient education, patient experience, quality and patient safety, and quality of life. The council chairs are also part of the PFAC, helping to keep the organization connected and working together.
• Adviser leadership: Caregiver advisers take part in decision-making by holding voting positions on several key committees. These include the Institutional Quality and Patient Safety Council, Home Health Care LLC Board of Directors, Grievance Committee, and Ethics Committee.
• Caregiver mentorship program: A dedicated group of 84 caregivers serves as mentors. They support patients and families at various stages, from diagnosis through bereavement. In 2024, we facilitated 282 unique mentor matches, held nearly 1,700 mentor encounters, and organized 67 group activities to connect advisers with patient families. These activities provide critical emotional and practical support.
• Caregivers SHARE, a St. Jude Podcast:  Seasons 1 and 2 of the Caregivers SHARE podcast are now publicly available. The podcast offers caregivers and experts a way to share their experiences and insights. Season 3 is now in production.
• St. Jude Voice virtual community: 650 patients and caregivers take part in our virtual community, giving valuable feedback through surveys on various topics. These topics include affiliate programming, patient comfort, discharge protocols, and food options. We conducted 40 surveys and activities to gather diverse community perspectives.
• Internal collaboration and impact: More than 100 requests for caregiver adviser input have led to important improvements. Caregiver advisers contributed to activities such as Nursing Care Team Week, Schwartz Rounds, educational seminars, and research evaluations. Their feedback helped enhance HPV vaccination rates, improve patient education materials, develop the shuttle tracker system, and create a bereavement newsletter.

These achievements show our commitment to support caregivers and families while valuing their input into St. Jude care.

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