One Table, One Voice: A New Chapter for Patient and Family Engagement at HDGH
Sep 16, 2026 | Leadership, Faces of HDGH
For more than a decade, patient and family voices have helped shape care at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Through our Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs), individuals with lived experience have provided invaluable insight, helping us enhance programs, services, and the overall patient and client experience. As we continue to grow and evolve, so too does our approach to patient engagement.
This year marks an exciting new chapter as HDGH's Corporate Patient and Family Advisory Council and Mental Health and Addictions Patient and Family Advisory Council officially come together as one unified PFAC. The merger builds on a shared commitment to ensuring patient and family voices remain at the centre of decision-making while creating new opportunities for collaboration, learning, and impact.
Already, members are seeing the value of this new structure.
One advisor reflected on the impact of the blended council, sharing:
"The blended PFAC heightened my perspectives of the overall healthcare experience and I witnessed the collaborative impact of efficiency from both a committee perspective and from the lens of frontline workers. I look forward to contributing to continuous improvement in the patient and care partner experience."
Another member expressed optimism about the opportunities the merger creates:
"I have been happy to serve on PFAC MH&A in the past and have been pleased with how the merger has been handled. I am looking forward to our now blended PFAC and hope to learn from the other members to help ensure the patient experience at HDGH maintains its excellence.”
These reflections capture the true strength of PFAC: people from different backgrounds and experiences coming together with a shared goal of improving care. As members learn from one another, they bring new perspectives to conversations about quality, patient experience, and organizational priorities.
This collaboration starts with the newly appointed co-chairs of this merged PFAC: Barb Masotti, an original member of the former corporate PFAC, and Anne Ryan, a former member of the Mental Health and Addictions PFAC. Both co-chairs are members of our Windsor-Essex community who bring a unique perspective to the PFAC table, both having served on their respective committees for a number of years after lived experience as loved ones of patients and as passionate advocates for change within the healthcare sector. Nominated and voted by their fellow PFAC members, we are grateful to have Barb and Anne leading this work.
As this unified council looks ahead to the months and years to come, members are excited about the opportunity to broaden their understanding of care across HDGH, build new connections, and help amplify the voices of patients, clients, families, and care partners.
The impact of patient and family voices extends beyond our adult programs at HDGH. At our Regional Children’s Centre (RCC) the Family Engagement Council invites parent and caregiver perspectives to play an active role in the programs and services provided to some of our community’s youngest clients, while the Kids in Partnership (KiP) groups let the children receiving care share their thoughts and ideas.
All forms of patient and family engagement at HDGH has the ultimate goal of building something stronger together. They are an essential reminder that every story matters, every perspective has value, and every voice has the power to inspire positive change.
As this new chapter begins, the future of patient and family engagement at HDGH is filled with possibility. United by lived experience and a shared commitment to better care, our PFAC members will continue to help shape a healthier, more compassionate future for our community.
Applications for members of our community to join PFAC are always welcome. For information on applying to join our Corporate PFAC, supporting adult programs at HDGH, please visit
HDGH.org/PFAC.