PROGRAMS
Family Matters
YOU TALK, WE LISTEN—AND THEN WE ACT. THAT’S THE GOAL BEHIND RADY CHILDREN’S EFFORTS TO INVOLVE PATIENT FAMILIES IN DECISION-MAKING AND CARE-IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVES. From
“It’s a wonderful group of families who actively work with Rady Children’s to bring the family voice onto campus and incorporate those ideas into patient care and policy,” ăƚŨĺØĤŅŰcØŹĠƛ!ĠŬĤŰŹŎƫăŬŰŎŅ̐ õŎ̪ õĠØĤŬŎėŹĠăD!̖ “Having experienced Rady Children’s as both a parent
advisory groups for families and teens to comprehensive patient-satisfaction surveys, Rady Children’s is fully committed to hearing the voices of patients and families. “Involving patients and families in the process of improving our environment and care delivery model has helped move our organization from good to great,” explains Lindsey Ryan, PhD, RŅŹăŬĤł!ĠĤăėqƀŬŰĤŅę{ƬõăŬØŹØûƛ Children’s. One way for family members to get involved is through the Family Advisory Council (FAC), created in 2010 as a way for patients’ families to collaborate with ĠŎŰŨĤŹØĺŰŹØƫ̖ “We want to make sure families have a voice. Through the FAC, they can use this voice on a larger scale,” Ryan says. “This group is so passionate about making
and grandparent has encouraged me to work hard for families to receive the same amazing care and outcomes our family has received, and it’s inspiring to know that Hospital administration and õĺĤŅĤõØĺŰŹØƫƕØŅŹŹŎĠăØŬŎƀŬƔŎĤõă̖̲ In addition to the overall FAC, there are ØĺŰŎĤŅŰŹĤŹƀŹă̪ ŰŨăõĤƱõØûƔĤŰŎŬƛõŎƀŅõĤĺŰ ėŎŬėØłĤĺĤăŰƕĤŹĠŰŨăõĤƱõõŎŅõăŬŅŰ̐ including cardiac, neonatology and gender identity, as well as iCAN, a group of 50 teens in grades 7-12 who advocate ėŎŬŹĠăĤŬŨăăŬŰØŅûŎƫăŬŹĠăŨăûĤØŹŬĤõ patient perspective within the Hospital and the community. By combining the work of the councils with feedback from the Hospital’s patient satisfaction surveys, Rady Children’s truly puts families’ thoughts into action.
WE ARE MORE INCLUSIVE AND
HAVE BEEN MORE THOUGHTFUL AS A RESULT OF HAVING OUR PATIENTS AND FAMILIES INVOLVED IN MANY INITIATIVES.
“We are more inclusive and have been more thoughtful as a result of having our patients and families involved in many initiatives,” Ryan concludes. “It’s been an amazing collaboration.”
sure patients and families have the resources they need, ØŅûĤŹ̵ ŰØŰŹŎƀŅûĤŅęŹĠăăƫŎŬŹŹĠăƛęŎŹŎ̐ ŹŎłØķăŰƀŬă their needs are met.” The group meets once a month, either in person or via Zoom, to discuss ways to ensure the hospital is providing ŹĠăòăŰŹõØŬăŨŎŰŰĤòĺă̖ §ĠăĤŬăƫŎŬŹŰĠØƔăŬăŰƀĺŹăûĤŅ numerous improvements over the years, including the implementation of family-centered rounds, family presence when anesthesia is administered to help reduce anxiety and patient education at the bedside. The FAC is always looking for new families to join.
FOR INFORMATION ON JOINING THE FAC, VISIT RCHSD.ORG/ABOUT-US/WHO-WE-ARE/ FAMILY-ADVISORY-COUNCIL.
WINTER 2024 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE 9
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