"We felt it was important that family members can have a hand in making sure their loved ones are cared for," said Shawn Fleming, the assistant nursing director for the hospital's Skilled Nursing Facility.

"It's one way to help promote communication between the patients, their families and nurses."

The concept helps patients and their families become advocates in their personal health-care needs.

"By educating families about Rapid Response, we are encouraging people to become vocal," said Michael Hildebran, director of marketing and public relations at CVPH.

"People often give up their voice when they give themselves over to our charge. We're giving them our tacit approval to get involved."

The program, which goes into effect Dec. 16, will be used exclusively for medical conditions. If a patient or family member has questions or concerns about overall care, those should still be dealt with through the nurse or floor manager.

But the family member is often well suited to recognize a change in a patient's condition and can take those first steps in initiating the hospital's professional rapid response.

"We're committed to providing our patients the best possible care," Wood said.

"Part of the health-care team is the family, and this will enable them to speak up."

jmeyers@pressrepublican.com