At Nemours Children's, “family-centered care” means putting your child and family first in everything we do. To help us make meaningful improvements for all of the children we see and their families, we rely on our family advisory councils to help create new services, streamline our processes, and even weigh in on who we hire and how to build a better place to care for children.
About Our Family Advisory Council
At the heart of family-centered care is the belief that when kids, families, and health care providers work together, our children get the best care possible.
Our FAC is made up of a diverse group of families and Nemours Associates (employees) who have intimate experience with many of the inpatient and outpatient services available at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. It’s our goal to develop and foster partnerships among children, families, and providers by:
Advising
- assist in planning, evaluating, and implementing policies, programs,
and services - offer trusted advice and resources for children, families, and Associates
Empowering
- provide information and education to kids and families
- assist in staff education and professional development
- encourage family involvement in hospital committees, task forces, and
work groups
Advocating
- promote the diverse needs of families caring for children with chronic or complex medical conditions
- engage the community as active, positive hospital ambassadors
What We Do
Since 2005, FAC has been actively involved in developing and enhancing our family-centered care. We play key roles advocating for, advising, and educating our staff and families on a variety of important issues. Some of our group’s most prominent projects have included:
- Providing input for family-friendly features for our hospital Expansion — to help create a comfortable “home away from home” for our patients and families
- Managing the Family Resource Center addition — giving families a place to rest, do research about their child’s condition, conduct business, cook, shower and sleep
- Helping to bring the onsite Outpatient Pharmacy to life — offering families and staff convenient access to prescription and over-the-counter medications
- Developing a family badging program — making it easier for families to visit their children during an extended hospital stay
- Beginning a safety program — using wrist bracelets with medications and procedure tag alerts
- Interviewing physician leadership and other senior staff positions that directly impact family-centered care
- Helping to develop the new Palliative Care team.
Get Involved
Action is sometimes the best medicine for coping with your child’s diagnosis. If you want to meet like-minded, active men and women who are at different milestones in the same journey, please join us.
To get involved with the FAC, you can become a member and/or serve on one of our committees:
- Membership Committee: Maintains membership, council and committee rosters
- Family as Faculty Committee: Recruits and trains families to help teach medical students, resident physicians, interns, and staff about caring for a child in the hospital — from the family’s perspective
- Marketing Committee: Promotes council/activities to children and families, as well as the staff and the community
How Can I Join?
Joining the FAC includes an application and an informal interview process. Please download our brochure, fill out the attached application, and either drop it off at the Volunteer Office located in the main lobby or mail it in, and we’ll contact you as soon as possible.
FAC members meet monthly on every fourth Tuesday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. But you don’t have to be a member to serve on a committee or participate in a project. Contact us and we’ll be happy to find a perfect place for you.
Contact Us
Chairs
Jennifer Sciolla, Senior Director of Child and Family Services
Olga Zapata, Parent Chair
Lulu Calbazana, Parent Vice Chair
Family Advisory Council
Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware
1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
familyadvisory@nemours.org
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