For the people, by the people: How Sentara involves patients and families in healthcare decision making

Being a patient is never easy—even Sentara Leigh Hospital President Joanne Inman admits that a trip to the doctor’s office can leave her feeling intimidated.

“People feel the authority gradient and may hesitate to ask questions or voice concerns. I experience it myself. Even as someone very familiar with healthcare, when I go to my doctor’s office, I don’t always fully advocate for myself,” said Inman, president of Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. 

“As hospital leaders we are responsible for creating an environment in which people feel safe to speak up and empowering them to use their voice.” 

When Inman and hospital leaders across Sentara make decisions that impact patient care, they rely on their hospital’s patient and family advisory council — a volunteer group of former patients and family members — to serve as the voice of the community.

In the early 2000s, the healthcare community began to recognize the importance of patient- and family-centered care. This prompted Sentara to establish patient family advisory councils, which emphasize the inclusion of patients and their families in healthcare decision-making processes. 

“When they're thinking about doing X, Y, Z in the hospital, they'll come to us and say, ‘What do you think?’” said Gary Nelson, retired Army colonel and chair of the patient family advisory council at Sentara Leigh Hospital. “We're not just tagging along. They acknowledge us and seek our feedback.”

More than 150 patient family advisors across Sentara ensure hospital signage and brochures are in easy-to-understand language, provide feedback on facility designs and hospital initiatives, inform hospital leadership of community concerns or questions, and relay answers and up-to-date information to the community.  

“Patient family advisors bridge any gaps that exist between the patient, family, and hospital. They help us communicate in a way our patients will understand,” said Ashley Kelly-Barnes, manager of customer operations at Sentara Leigh Hospital. “When patients understand their discharge instructions and know how to manage their care, they’re less likely to come back to the hospital.” 

Rosetta Guns, Doug Richendollar (back), and Gary Nelson proudly represent their communities as members of Sentara Leigh Hospital’s patient family advisory council. 

Inman views patient family advisors as an extension of her leadership team. As a less intimidating presence, they are more likely to gain honest feedback, which is why they round on patients to ask what’s going well and what can be improved.

“When we say we’re volunteers, I think the barriers come down because they don't see us as employees of the hospital,” said Rosetta Guns, retired school social worker and patient family advisor at Sentara Leigh Hospital. “One patient just really poured her heart out. There were things that probably should have come out sooner, but luckily, she told me, and we shared it with her doctor and nurse.”

In addition to rounding, Sentara Leigh Hospital also has a simulation training room equipped with a patient bed, IV pole, whiteboard, and bathroom. Everyone from executive leadership, nursing, food services, and housekeeping use this room to improve their patient experience skills. 

Team members have five minutes to go through a scenario. A patient family advisor plays the role of the ‘patient’ and may challenge them by saying, “I haven’t seen my nurse all day,”, “No one’s answering my call bell,”, “Why is my procedure being delayed?”. The team members must then figure out what resources they need, make sure they build a relationship with that patient, and walk out feeling confident they provided a good patient experience.

For patient family advisors like Doug Richendollar, the most rewarding part of volunteering is seeing his contributions make a difference. 

“I would say the biggest thing we've earned is credibility,” said Richendollar, a retired Virginia Beach sheriff’s deputy. “They’ve seen how we improve satisfaction because patients feel like they’re being listened to.”  

In November 2024, Sentara Leigh Hospital became the first hospital in Hampton Roads, and the second Sentara hospital, to receive Magnet with Distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. This national honor recognizes a hospital’s superior quality of nursing, teamwork, and the ability to provide world-class patient care.

Left to right: Joanne Inman, president of Sentara Leigh Hospital; patient family advisors Gary Nelson, Rosetta Guns, and Doug Richendollar; and Chief Nursing Officer, Karen Kemp celebrate receiving Magnet Recognition with Distinction.

“We put a patient family advisor on every nursing council in the hospital as well as our Magnet council and they definitely had a positive impact on our Magnet journey,” said Tess Bilyeu, Magnet program director at Sentara Leigh Hospital. “They give us unbiased feedback from the community to ensure our care is centered around what the patient wants.” 

In 2025, Inman’s goal is to extend the role of patient family advisors by having them become more integrated with the hospital's community outreach plans.

She also wants to support the council's membership journey as it strives to reflect the diverse range of thoughts, backgrounds, and lived experiences of the community. 

“For me the patient family advisory council is part of our journey to becoming our best,” said Inman. “It's giving us insight into how our patients and our community experience us which helps us improve the care we give.”

If you’d like to partner with Sentara to improve the health of your community, consider volunteering as a member of a patient family advisory council. For more information call 1-800-SENTARA (1-800-736-8272).