This Toolkit is intended to help hospitals advance and strengthen patient and family advisory councils (PFACs) to better reflect and support the hospital and communities they serve.

The Reflecting Our Community Toolkit can help hospitals improve the representativeness of PFACs, create a more welcoming environment for patient and family advisors (PFAs), and engage PFAs in improving health equity.

The Toolkit is divided into five sections that contain guidance, examples, and tools.

• Prepare for Action: Gain leadership support, gather a team to support the work, assess PFAC representativeness in the organization, and develop a PFAC action plan.
• Recruit to Improve Representation: Recruit a representative group of PFAs that reflects the patients and families served by the hospital.
• Create a Welcoming Environment: Establish an environment that addresses barriers to participation and supports all PFAs.
• Engage PFAs as Partners in Health Equity: Create structures for partnering with PFAs and identify opportunities for engaging a representative group of PFAs in projects and initiatives.
• Reflect to Sustain Progress: Track and communicate progress and accomplishments, make adjustments, and plan for future PFAC projects and initiatives.