The Bone and Joint Health Series has reached over a thousand people and features experts who specialize in hip and knee joint replacement, back surgery, osteoporosis, arthritis pain management, physical therapy, diet and exercise. One participant in the series said that it is “informative and helps relax some of your fears.” A patient who benefited from this continued education hand-wrote a note describing her excellent experience. She had two total knee replacements after ten years of struggling with pain. Only four weeks after surgery, she was able to go to Disney World with her grandchildren. She wrote that the care she received “made the whole passage so easy and comfortable.”

The Patient and Family Centered Care Workshop Series is geared toward all caregivers from support staff, nurses, doctors and in fact, any person that has the potential to impact a patient’s care experience. The AMD3 Foundation has supported hundreds of attendees with awards to cover the cost of their participation. Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit and Nursing Contact Hours are provided to eligible participants. Past program topics include: “Lessons to be Learned from Other Service Industries: Disney and Games,” “Designing the 21st Century Hospital and the Delivery of Care: People, Processes and Facilities,” “Designing Patient and Family Centered Programs, Offices and Hospitals,” “Putting Patients First: Patient and Family Centered Collaborative Care Changing the Culture at Your Institution” and “Patient Focused Care.”

Since 2007, the AMD3 Foundation has also brought together health care professionals, business leaders, leading researchers, educators and community members at the annual Innovator’s Conference presented as part of the Patient and Family Centered Care Series to explore new ideas, new technologies, new processes and new ways of thinking. In 2007, “The Next Generation of Medical and Surgical Techniques, Technologies and Processes to Improve Health Care Delivery” featured Robert K. Crone, MD, President and CEO of Harvard Medical International and Dean for International Programs at the Harvard Medical School. Other keynotes included John W. Manzetti, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse; Richard L. Reece, MD, editor-in-chief of Physician Practice Options; and David S. Smith, attorney at Pepper Hamilton LLP. This year’s conference “Care & Work ARE Theatre: Delivering Exceptional Experiences” features B. Joseph Pine II, co-author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business A Stage and Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, and Don Marinelli, Executive Producer of Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. Marinelli was a speaker previously at a PFCC workshop, and attendees remarked that he “made us look at the impossible which could be do-able!”