Contact: Rosanne Fohn, (210) 567-3026, fohn@uthscsa.edu
Onsite contact: Joan Feller, (210) 838-2868
WHAT: Engaging patients and community stakeholders in research and patient care is the focus of the UT Health Science Center San Antonio’s annual Summer Institute hosted by the School of Nursing’s Center for Advancing Clinical Excellence. A grant from the Washington, D.C.,-based Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) ― a first for the conference ― has provided funding for patients and stakeholders from Bexar County and South Texas to attend and add to the discussion.
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 6
WHERE: Grand Hyatt River Walk Hotel, 600 E. Market St. All events in Lone Star Ballroom B/C.
WHO:
1 to 1:30 p.m.
Interviews with three UT Health Science Center panelists and three South Texas patient advisory committee members who will be involved in the following activities:
1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Panel discussion on “Community-Based Patient Engagement Methodologies to Improve Patient Outcomes” will feature the UT Health Science Center’s Deborah Parra-Medina, Ph.D., and Barbara J. Turner, M.D., both professors of medicine; and Paula Winkler, director of the South Texas Area Health Education Center, also associated with the UT Health Science Center.
3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Following the panel discussion, representatives from patient advisory boards from three South Texas communities (Comal, Frio and Karnes County) will discuss barriers, facilitators and examples of ways patients can become more involved in patient-centered research and in advocating for better clinical care for themselves and their loved ones.
WHY: “In 2001, the Institute of Medicine issued a report calling for significant improvement in the quality of care in U.S. hospitals. Although some progress has been made, engaging patients into the care process is significantly lacking and needs to be improved to provide maximum benefit for patients. As researchers and healthcare professionals, we need to listen to the patient to make sure outcomes of our work is targeting what’s important to our stakeholders,” said Darpan Patel, Ph.D., interim chair of the School of Nursing’s Center for Advancing Clinical Excellence, which is sponsoring and hosting the Summer Institute. “We’re trying to build capacity within ourselves to do just that through this conference.”
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 13 percent of academic institutions receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 31,000 graduates. The $787.7 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.