Ethics Committee

Faith Regional Health Services is committed to promoting an environment of open and effective communication by providing you and your family members, as well as Faith Regional personnel and medical staff with the opportunity to meet with our Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee provides a forum within our organization for advocacy, education, and the promotion of organizational change related to ethical healthcare issues. The Ethics Committee serves only in an advisory capacity, the recommendations they make are non-binding in nature and are intended only to assist individuals with obtaining a resolution to their questions or concerns.

Committee Values

Building upon the mission, vision, and values of Faith Regional Health Services, the Ethics Committee advocates for systems and structures that promote an atmosphere of care and healing characterized by:

• The belief that all life is a gift from God.
• Respect for the dignity of life in each human person from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
• Care that embraces the entire human person. . . body, mind, and spirit.
• Commitment to patient and family involvement and empowerment in all decision-making.
• Concern for careful and judicious use of available resources.
• Open, timely, and effective communication among patients, families, and the healthcare team.
• Effective mechanisms for anticipating and resolving confusion or conflict.
• A recognition that dying with dignity is as much a goal of care as healing and health promotion.

Committee Objectives

Faith Regional Health Services Ethics Committee serves as a resource for patients, family members, staff, medical staff, and the community through the following types of activities:

Committee Structure

The Ethics Committee will be composed of members with a broad range of expertise. The Ethics Committee will include, at a minimum, representation from the following areas of Faith Regional Health Services:

• Nursing Services
• Social Work/Case Management
• Spiritual Care
• Active Medical Staff
• Hospital Administration

Ethics Committee Consultations

The Ethics Committee is available on an "as needed" basis to assist with ethical issues on behalf of you as the patient, your family, or a health team member. In these situations, the committee provides a forum through which:

• The rights of you the patient, your family, and health team members are clarified.
• Ethical issues or concerns are discussed, clarified, and/or mediated.
• Ethical issues are considered in the context of costs and/or reimbursement constraints.
• Support is offered to involved decision-makers.

You can access the Ethics Committee by contacting a nursing supervisor, the committee chairperson (Executive Director of Mission Services), or any staff member in the Spiritual Care, Social Work/Case Management, Palliative Care, or Administration departments. The committee chairperson will meet with you to review your request for a consultation.

If a consultation is warranted, the chairperson will bring together the whole Ethics Committee and the primary parties involved to participate in the form. If a consultation is determined not to be warranted, the concern may be channeled to another department such as billing and finance, patient grievances, or specific departments for review of processes or procedures. 

Following an Ethics Committee Consultation, you will receive a written summary of the consultation. The written review will include, at a minimum, a summary of the issue presented, those in attendance, recommendations, and/or opinions of Ethics Committee members related to the issue(s) presented. The committee may determine that some concerns or issues would be best addressed by other hospital committees or departments. In these situations, the case or concern will be referred appropriately.

Confidentiality

As with all of your patient information, all documents or discussions related to Ethics Committee meetings and consultations are treated with strict confidentiality following the Faith Regional Health Services Confidentiality of Patient Information policies and all other Faith Regional Health Services policies related to privacy and confidentiality.