Roswell Park Patient and Family Advisory Council

Families and patients have an important role in guiding our work at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Beyond staff and professionals working together to care for our patients’ healthcare needs, there is a broader partnership that includes patients and families helping us make decisions about hospital programs and policies. The Patient and Family Advisory Council is an important resource to guide hospital priorities and planning.

The council was formed in 2014 to offer a formal way for patient and family members to contribute to the Roswell Park mission. The council advises the administration and medical leadership about patient and family needs, in addition to hospital priorities.

The council has a maximum of 25 members consisting of patients with all different cancer types and their family members. Kara Eaton, Executive Director of Patient and Family Experience, and Richard Satterwhite, Patient Engagement Specialist, are co-facilitators. Members of the senior executive team, faculty and staff also attend meetings.

Members serve a maximum of two years on the council, which meets from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on the first Thursday of each month in the hospital. Members may attend on a quarterly basis as an emeritus member after completing a two-year term.

If you are interested in applying, complete the application form and return it to:

Roswell Park
Attention: Richard Satterwhite
Patient and Family Experience.

The applications will be reviewed, and if you are one of the final candidates, you will be contacted for an interview.

Apply now

Applicants must be

  • Confident in their views, but able to see many different points of view.
  • Reflective and insightful.
  • Able to communicate and cooperate with people whose backgrounds, experiences and styles may be very different from their own.
  • Positive about the hospital and enthusiastic about its mission of excellence in patient care, education and research.
  • Able to fulfill the time commitment.

Council members receive a brief orientation in a number of areas, including training in the mission and value of the hospital, the principles of family-centered care and the philosophy of care at the hospital. The Department of Patient and Family Experience provides the training, support and administrative oversight of this program. Family council members are reimbursed for parking and transportation.