Dateline DFCI
To the Editor
I was delighted to see the article and pictures of some of the wonderful people making the vision of patient- and family-centered care a reality at Dana-Farber (Paths of Progress, Fall/Winter 2002).
The piece is beautifully written and captures the essential elements of how this collaboration looks and feels at an institution. I have shared the story with hospital executives in Canada and a national nursing leadership conference in Florida. I also provided copies to a worldwide improvement leadership team for the Department of the Navy — since the surgeon general for the Navy has declared family-centered maternity care a major priority for all naval hospitals around the world.
I often think back to that first conversation I had with [DFCI Chief Operations Officer] Jim Conway about collaborating with patients and families at Dana-Farber. It was the summer of 1996, and I was standing at a fruit stand off the highway in Virginia with bugs and 18-wheelers whizzing by. Neither of us knew where this journey might lead. The Institute's staff, faculty, patients, and families should be very proud of what they have accomplished and how much they have inspired others to hear and appreciate patient-family voices in health-care institutions.
Beverley H. Johnson
President/CEO, Institute for Family-Centered Care
Bethesda, MD
www.familycenteredcare.org
Paths of Progress welcomes letters to the editor. They should be sent to Editor, Paths of Progress, Communications Department, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 375 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02215, or e-mailed to debra_ruder@dfci.harvard.edu. Please include your name, phone number, and postal or e-mail address. Note that letters may be edited for clarity and space purposes.
