Focusing on the act of caring, not just the task of caring, is how Jennifer Ridgway approaches each and every patient and caregiver interaction in her role as Director of Patient Experience and Engagement at Sinai Health.
“We know that gathering feedback and perspectives from patients and families is essential to improving patient experience and outcomes,” she says. “So our goal is to foster a compassionate, respectful and supportive environment where they feel heard, informed and engaged in their health-care journey.”
Jennifer started her career 22 years ago as a recreational therapist at Riverdale Hospital, now Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital. Today, she is leading the way in Sinai Health’s commitment to delivering high-quality, patient- and family-centred care.
The ability to combine her clinical and leadership skills came naturally in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she helped support communication between patients and their families.
“The COVID-19 pandemic really reinforced for me how important the patient experience was,” she says. “When hospitals had to stop allowing visitors, patients were very alone. They were receiving medical care but couldn’t see or talk to their loved ones, who play such an important role in patient care.”
To help bridge the distance, Jennifer launched the Caring Connections program — an initiative that equipped patients and caregivers with iPads so they could communicate remotely via Zoom.
Jennifer has also introduced numerous Patient Family Advisory Councils (PFAC) at Hennick Bridgepoint and Mount Sinai Hospitals. There are now 15 PFACs spanning a range of programs and initiatives that provide opportunities for patients and families to share their experiences in an effort to improve care for others. She has devised ways — also using iPads — for patients with diverse language needs to speak to, and see, out-of-hospital translators who can help them communicate with their health-care providers. And she helped shape a new Family Presence policy, which removed restricted visiting hours at Hennick Bridgepoint, allowing patients to see their caregivers any time, day or night.
“Great leaders inspire through action,” says Nely Amaral, Vice-President Quality, Patient Experience at Sinai Health. “Jennifer’s dedication to patient and family engagement has transformed our approach to care. Through her leadership in our PFACs, she ensures every voice is heard, every experience matters and every improvement drives meaningful change.”
“I am proud of the culture change that we’re creating,” says Jennifer. “We’re focusing on all of the ways that the patient experience can be improved and making a difference in the lives of patients and their families by placing them at the centre of everything we do.”