Noah Lord was a vibrant, fun, silly, 4-and-a-half-year-old, whose outgoing and inquisitive nature drove him to explore the world around him. His constant questioning of the details had his parents endlessly scrambling for answers that would satisfy his insatiable curiosity. Discussions of dinosaurs, Star Wars, death, life, playgrounds, work, Toy Story and so many other topics were a constant in Noah’s household. He spent many days cooking with his mom and planned with great enthusiasm to be a “chef cooking man” when he grew up. Sadly, those dreams were never realized. Noah died from a series of medical errors following a tonsillectomy, errors that could have been prevented. Noah’s constant quest for answers inspired his mom, Tanya, to seek answers related to his premature death. After a job transfer for Noah’s dad, Glen, brought them to New Hampshire, Tanya began her search in earnest. She found that the circumstances surrounding Noah’s death provided many opportunities for health care improvement, including the importance of engaging patients and families at the bedside, as well as within the organizational structure.

The Noah Lord Patient & Family Engagement Award was created by Noah’s mother, Tanya Lord, PhD, MPH, Director of Patient & Family Engagement at the Foundation for Healthy Communities, to recognize the innovative work being done in New Hampshire hospitals to better engage patients and families in improving health care.

The Patient and Family Engagement Award recognizes the work done in partnership with Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFAC) and/or Patient Family Advisors (PFA) to improve patient safety, quality improvement and/or the patient experience within a New Hampshire health care system. As a leading strategy in engaging patients and families at the bedside and / or within the organizational culture, it is intended that this award will help facilitate the sharing of success stories across the state.

Every year, the Foundation for Healthy Communities recognizes the recipient of the Noah Lord Patient & Family Engagement Award at their Annual Meeting held in October.