Patient and Family Advisory Councils

Gerber Memorial


Because Every Step Matters

The Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial leadership leveraged the Patient Family and Advisory Council’s “fresh eyes”. They spent the year visiting multiple care settings providing the patient lens on opportunities to improve the patient experiences.   Having the PFAC experience the environment of care proved to be valuable and sincerely appreciated by the leadership and front-line staff as many of the recommendations were implemented.

  • As the Gerber Radiology Department designed a new patient waiting room location, the PFAC helped design the patient flow process. Helping identify ways to create a warm and welcoming experience for patients, the new patient pathway has the care team increasing their interactions by having the same team member escorting patients from registration, to the procedure room then through discharge. This minor change resulted with the Radiology department having a noticeable increase in patient experience scores.
  • For the past year, the Spectrum Health Newaygo Family Practice has been struggling with the low patient experience scores. The dedicated care team within this bustling practice is aware of multiple contributing factors and appreciated the patient’s viewpoint as the PFAC rounded. The council observed staff who were utilizing their resources and provided recommendations for adjustments to the patient flow which are now being piloted with great success.

When I think about our PFAC meetings, I can honestly say that it’s the one meeting I attend every month where I do far more listening than talking. The more I listen, the more I learn about our hospital, how it really works, and most importantly, how to best improve our services. That’s the power of PFAC. I greatly appreciate the perspective they bring to the hospital and it’s this perspective that helps us get to better solutions faster.

Randy Kelley, President

Thanks to all of our Council Members:

Gerber Patient and Family Advisory Council Members

  • Mary Rottier, Chair
  • Ryan Coffey Hoag, Vice Chair
  • Gabrielle Blackwell
  • Ron Campbell
  • Chris Lehman
  • Jeffery Murchison
  • Dave Robertson
  • Helen Taube
  • Joyce Winchel

Spectrum Health Gerber Leadership

  • Randy Kelley, President
  • Meleah Mariani, Chief Nursing Officer
  • Shelly Johnson, Chief Operating Officer
  • Barb Wainright, Manager
  • Kristen Farmer, Director
  • Lisa Jahr, Executive Assistant

Being involved with the Gerber PFAC has been an enlightening experience. I never realized how much the hospital embraces and advocates for its patients. I have been impressed with how quickly leadership has implemented our ideas and how receptive they have been to our feedback.

Mary Rottier, Chair

Member Highlight - Helen Taube

Can you please share your experiences with Spectrum Health?

As a community advocate, I want to learn more about my community resources and how it can impact my work with mental health.

What drove you to be a part of the PFAC?

I enjoy being a part of PFAC because it allows me to ensure patients have a voice in local healthcare. This saves the long drive to Grand Rapids and creates a coordination of care we wouldn’t otherwise have.

What PFAC accomplishments are you the most proud of?

I am proud of how our local leaders are receptive to new ideas and seek our input. We offer recommendations to improve the patient experience and leaders not only listen, but the changes are often implemented. It is not often that a business encourages sharing “bad” experiences so that they can learn from that and make it better for the next person.