A goal in patient and family engagement is to create a culture of shared responsibility for improvement within the facility. Healthcare that results in the best outcomes revolves around teamwork. The Network aims to help create an environment where patients are a part of the healthcare team. Facilities can adopt this method to continue to increase patient engagement.

To increase patient engagement, facilities can:

• Implement an internal policy and procedure and/or develop a policy and procedure in regards to inviting patients, family members, or caregivers to be included in their plan of care
• Identify an individual to serve as a patient ambassador

Improving patient and family engagement practices at the facility level can help with:

• Establishing patient council support groups and/or new patient adjustment groups
• Incorporating patient, family, and caregiver participation into Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) meetings and the governing body of the facility
• Developing policy ad procedures related to patient, family, and caregiver participation in the patient's care