Hospitals tap patients and families to help plan facilities

Amy Buesing spent much of her career as a hospital pharmacist, but she found herself as a frequent inpatient guest at Memorial Medical in Las Cruces, N.M., when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and, later, osteoarthritis that advanced rapidly. A double mastectomy and double knee replacement later, Buesing is co-chair of a new national patient experience advisory board alongside Dr. Rusty Holman, chief medical officer for LifePoint Health. LifePoint has launched a patient and family advisory initiative to pull fresh, possibly critical, voices into the planning of its hospitals — both in its hospitals in communities across the country and its headquarters in Brentwood.