Building Impactful Relationships and Collaboration with Non-Traditional Team Members as Partners

Caroline Costello, FACHE, Director, Friends and Family Program, Patient and Family Insights and Guest Services Ambassadors, University of Chicago Medicine
LaTonya Macklin, RN, BSN, Program Manager, Experience Improvement and Innovation, University of Chicago Medicine

Committed staff members at all levels can promote the delivery of patient-centered outcomes and create connections with patients and families that transcend each episode of care. At the University of Chicago Medicine, team members newer to presence on care units and representing a variety of areas capture patient feedback and address needs in real time. By creating open conversation with a non-clinical agenda and making the environment safe for sharing, this special team offers support to patients, to families and to their health care colleagues as they build partnerships through targeted patient visits, huddle and meeting attendance and friendly check-ins. These non-traditional partners are considered vital in improving the overall patient experience, as this creates a completely holistic approach, demonstrating to patients, families and staff that at UCM, we are all here together to serve.