The Effect of Patient and Family-Centred Care (PFCC) Delivery Model on Paediatrics at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has adapted a model of Patient and Family-Centre Care (PFCC) that has profoundly changed the way the organization makes all important clinical and non-clinical policy decisions. Central to the PFCC model of care are the Patient and Family Advisors (PFAs) who sit on every decision-making committee, providing invaluable insights into how efficiently the academic health sciences centre operates today and how to make improvements for tomorrow. The TBRHSC was recognized in 2011 by Accreditation Canada, which named two of its PFCC-related initiatives as Leading Practices. The TBRHSC has been identified internationally as a leader in the PFCC model of care. This chapter looks at the TBRHSC’s PFCC model, using paediatrics to illustrate how PFCC and PFAs in particular have improved patient and family care.