“Working at 3sHealth was the best thing I’ve ever done, so it’s hard to leave,” said Colleen Bryant, who became a PFP approximately 10 years ago. “But it’s time to step back and just watch you guys grow.”

Colleen got involved in the health system before she came to 3sHealth. After retiring from her “nine to five” career, she was approached by a local MLA and asked if she would like to serve on the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region’s board. 

“At the time I didn’t even know what boards do, so I didn’t think I’d be very useful. But she told me she wanted me because I had common sense, and it was in short supply. So I said yes.” 

After six years on the board, she retired once again in 2015. However, that retirement did not last long. She moved to 3sHealth as a PFP, bringing her experience and perspective to roles on several committees, including: 

• The Partnership Oversight Committee (POC);
• The Strategic Planning Committee; 
• The Enterprise Risk Management Committee; and
• The Patient Family Partner Council, of which she served as founding Co-chair from 2019 to 2022. 

“When I started, I got sent to those senior oversight committees because of my board background, and because they knew I wasn’t afraid to speak up to a bunch of CEOs and such,” she explained.

A strong voice for patients

Her fearlessness came in handy in those early days when 3sHealth was just beginning to implement PFPs onto committees. 

“As the leaders got more comfortable with having us doing that work, 3sHealth decided to go all-in and have patients on all their committees and projects,” she recalled, noting that she spent time with every team to help them understand the PFP role. Eventually, that would lead to the adoption of patient- and family-centred service as 3sHealth’s guiding principle. 

“It was a baby step. It didn’t need to be a big shift. Areas like payroll and benefits knew how important their work was, they just didn’t realize that they had a huge effect on patient satisfaction. Because you’re making the staff feel safe and cared for, and that translates to better care. They just hadn’t made that connection.”

In her decade as a PFP with 3sHealth, Colleen consulted extensively on projects of all sizes and scopes, including everything from job interview processes to the creation of 3sHealth’s “Lives Impacted” metric, the creation of a new website, Disability Adjudicator Training, the Administrative Information Management System, and many more.

Leaving a mark

Colleen’s contributions have been praised by all who were fortunate enough to work with her.

“Colleen has been a strong and steady leader in advancing patient- and family-centred care at 3sHealth,” said Mark Anderson, 3sHealth CEO. “On one occasion, I watched Colleen find just the right time to speak up about the importance of making transcribed reports available on MySaskHealthRecord and moving away from paternalistic medicine. It was a profound moment, and one that demonstrated both the importance of PFP’s in our work and how effective a leader Colleen had become.”

“Many times on our Path to Health project, Colleen has brought the voice of our plan members to life,” said Employee Benefits Vice-president Alana Shearer-Kleefeld. “Her thoughtful approach grounded us in how difficult a journey of recovery can be for a person to navigate through. But more than that, she has encouraged us, congratulated us, and made us feel that our work is valued. She is always an eager participant who brings wit, humor, and heart to every event.”

“As a founding Co-chair of 3sHealth PFPC Council, Colleen set the standard. Her dedication to the patient voice is remarkable,” said PFPC Council Co-chair Judy McConnell.

Reflecting on her experience as a PFP, Colleen offered some simple advice to future PFPs.

“Listen carefully before you speak,” she said. “Learn, so that you know what’s going on. Ask questions. People are always happy to tell you about their jobs and the effect they have. So talk to people, find out what they’re proud of, and then you can find your way.”

To learn more about the Patient Family Partner program, please click here to visit the PFP information page.