Relationship-Based Care
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PDF versionWith RBC, nursing is just one part of the healthcare delivery picture. It takes an entire organization to care for you. Nursing plays a significant role in your care and recovery, but each and every employee has a piece in creating a positive experience for you.
Relationship-Based Care (RBC) was adopted by FSLH following the consolidation of Faxton Hospital and St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital in the fall of 2005. FSLH partnered with Creative Health Care Management to build and sustain this model of patient care which has helped FSLH become a healthcare organization that provides a positive, caring and healing experience for you and your family. It has been instrumental in guiding our employees and creating exceptional teamwork.
What are the principles of RBC?
- Responsibility for relationship and decision making - a registered nurse manages your care from admission to discharge
- Continuity of care through work allocation and patient assignment
- Communication
- Management
- Process improvements
- Providing a caring and healing environment of care
Every department is represented at the table and has a voice in making decisions about how care and service are provided in their own area. Employees in our 76 units and departments continually look at processes and procedures and ask, “How can we do this even better and make sure that the patient and their family are always our central focus?”
How do employees have a voice?
Each of FSLH’s 76 departments has a Unit Practice Council (UPC). The UPC is a small group, usually 8-10 people, who meet regularly to discuss issues/challenges that have arisen and work on solutions to improve them. Unit Practice Councils are comprised of individuals who are selected by their peers and accept the responsibility, authority and accountability to represent the staff on the unit. UPC members focus on implementation of the RBC principles, always putting you and your family at the center of all they do.
Once a month, all 76 UPCs send a representative to a meeting where the details of creating the best possible patient experiences are discussed and coordinated among all the members.
Working together, UPCs have helped to streamline patient transport, address dietary issues and expedite linen delivery, to name a few. They have also improved employee satisfaction, which we believe is integral to delivering quality healthcare – happy employees lead to happy patients.
Are other healthcare organizations doing this?
Organizations that preceded Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare with implementation of the Relationship-Based Care model only involved nursing. FSLH was the first in the nation to roll out RBC system-wide.
In July 2009, Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare was on the national stage as our organization took part in the National Relationship-Based Care Symposium held at the Turning Stone Resort. The symposium, hosted by Creative Health Care Management, showcased our employees and the great strides FSLH has made on our RBC journey. Leaders in diverse roles at all levels of healthcare organizations from across the United States attended and several toured FSLH to speak with staff and further examine our success.
Since the symposium, healthcare organizations across the country have contacted FSLH to learn how we were able to engage the entire organization, every employee in every department. As part of the Keith A. Fenstemacher Center for Continuous Learning, we have begun a formal two-day program for organizations to attend to learn first-hand about our road to success.
Our journey isn’t over; we are still working to further improve the patient and family experience. It isn’t always easy, but it’s what we are passionate about. The commitment of our leadership and the hard work and dedication of our more than 3,000 employees have made this exciting transformation possible. As we continue our journey, we are reminded about the two things that make Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare special – It’s the people. It’s the care.
