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Jessie
Gruman, Patient Engagement Expert, blogs
about her latest Hospitalization for Cancer
Surgery
WASHINGTON, DC —
Dr. Jessie Gruman, President of the
Center for Advancing Health, a
non-profit patient advocacy organization,
and author of
AfterShock: What to Do When the Doctor Gives
You - or Someone You Love - a Devastating
Diagnosis blogs about her
recent hospitalization for stomach cancer
surgery and the early days of post-surgical
recovery.
She is a veteran of three previous
cancer-related diagnoses and a serious heart
condition.
As founding president of the Center for
Advancing Health, Dr. Gruman has written and
spoken extensively about the increasing
responsibilities that patients must take on
if they are to fully benefit from their
health care. “We have collected considerable
data about the tasks that patients and their
families now must take on to ensure that
they receive
good, safe care. My recent diagnosis
provided me an opportunity – albeit an
unwelcome one – to experience those
responsibilities as a patient in the
hospital today,” she said.
Gruman’s
five part blog series on the
Prepared Patient Forum, written
following her September 27th
surgery, describes her observations about
her experience:
November 1 Contemplating Safety While
Lying Down – what is my responsibility for
preventing medical errors when I’m in the
hospital?
November 2 Patient Engagement on the Med-Surg
Floor -- the importance of modest acts
November 3 Hospital Discharge Without a
Net -- who cares whether I know how to care
for myself once I get home?
November 4 Sharing the Burden – thoughts
on using e-tools to let people know about my
progress
November 5 Friends, Fatigue and the Slow
Slog Back - reflecting on the engagement of
others and recovery
“Major surgery places a person squarely in
the role of patient: you become completely
passive, dependent on the care of
professionals. Being well-informed can make
such a hospital stay even more
uncomfortable: you know what some of the
dangers are and hope they won’t affect you.
Fortunately, this was the case for me. But
what most impressed me was how much
responsibility I still had for my own care,
even though I was so ill.”
About the Center for Advancing
Health (CFAH)
Since 1992, CFAH has conducted research,
communicated findings and advocated for
policies that support everyone's ability to
make good choices about health and health
care. CFAH is an independent non-profit
organization that is supported by a number
of foundations (principally the Annenberg
Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation)
and individuals. For additional information
visit:
www.cfah.org.
