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The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has been a pioneer in the movement to fully involve patients and families as key partners in the healing process. The hospital recognizes that when a child is sick, the entire family is affected.

A leader in establishing a national model of family-centered care, Children's Hospital has made family-centered care a priority across our network. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia supports and sustains this commitment by integrating core concepts of collaboration, flexibility, support and information for families into our programs and policies. The hospital's approach is nationally recognized for integrating families as valued partners in the care of their child.

Over the past decade, Children's Hospital has continued to expand its efforts to make the hospital experience more positive for children and their families:

1994
Established a Family Faculty, with teaching forums that include new employee and nursing orientation, as well as students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

1995
Created the Family Consultant Program. Today, Children's Hospital has four paid professional family leaders on staff (whose children are patients here) who meet with families, create programs and bring a patient and family voice to communications and patient care.

1996
Established the Family Advisory Council, which works to inform senior administrators and clinical leaders at the strategic planning level while also working with key Hospital committees when planning and creating new programs. Completed projects include family-friendly Web design, family beepers and communications materials, including "A Families' Guide to Billing" and a patient/family orientation video. For further information about Family Services and Family Leadership at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia visit the following site:
http://www.chop.edu/pat_care_fam_serv/family_serv.shtml

1997 Opened The Connelly Resource Center for Families in the main building, providing space for information, support and other resources. Today, Children's Hospital also has five family resource centers in ambulatory care locations throughout our network.

1999
Formed the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) by recruiting teenage patients who meet monthly to provide input to improve the Hospital socially and physically for patients and families. Projects include leading Grand Rounds, creating a training video for the healthcare team, conducting patient food surveys, developing teen night activities and other efforts

2000-2003
A family-centered approach to care continues to influence patient care practices. Children's Hospital provides a family presence at physician-led patient rounds and in the Emergency Department during resuscitation; family sleep space has been incorporated into the new unit design of critical beds in the CICU and PICU; and family members are represented on key Hospital committees including bioethics, clinical research and patient safety.

2004 Children's Hospital will open a new Outpatient Welcome Center for patients and families in Fall 2004. Family members continue to be included as equal participants in numerous committees, task forces and unit-based workgroups to help plan, evaluate and improve care and services to children and their families.