title: A hospital-based patient and family education center: if you build it, will they come?
abstract: Librarians located in a 560-bed, inner city academic medical center with 25,000 + admissions per year planned and opened a Patient and Family Education Center (PFEC) in the lobby of a new patient care pavilion. A review of use in the first 19 months revealed that expected needs were being met while a variety of unexpected needs were identified. Ongoing use continues to be monitored by a detailed log of patron visits maintained by library staff. This article describes the evolution of the Patient and Family Education Center, outreach to the hospital community, and plans for the future.
authors.affiliation: Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, USA. calabretta-nancy@cooperhealth.edu
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calabretta
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavanaugh
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.forename: Betty Jean
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Swartz
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000720:Ancillary Services, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005190:Family; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009515:New Jersey; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D016730:Program Development