MyNemours Sign-InAt Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children we’re very fortunate to have a vibrant group of kids ages 10 to 18 who commit their time and talents to making the hospital a better place for our patients and families. Each month, the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) comes together to have a say in how the hospital’s run — to work on projects and share opinions, concerns, and ideas for improving our care in all kinds of ways.
Meet Our Members
Meetings: Every fourth Wednesday, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
We YAC members do whatever it takes to make the hospital a “home away from home” for the kids who come here. And we should know, right? Many of us have been patients ourselves, so we’ve been there and we understand how it feels. That’s why we:
- are the voice of hospital patients and advocate for new ideas or changes
- come up with ways to make hospital policies, services, and programs better for patients and families
- talk to the hospital administration about issues that matter to us – like how to stay connected to our friends and family during an extended stay, how we’re treated by adults, and what to put on the snack menu
- help make patients and families feel comfortable in their surroundings and show them what we have to offer
And when we meet, it’s no parents allowed — just us and a few grown-ups from the hospital talking about things. This is our group — and it’s all about us, the kids!
Accomplishments & Initiatives
Since the YAC was started in 2010, we’ve accomplished many things:
- Creating a better place for kids by helping design parts of the hospital’s Expansion project like choosing the color of the building’s exterior, patient room furniture, and the location and size of the patient room TVs.
- Improving patient morale by creating colorful spoke covers (no more pinched fingers!) for the hospital’s 120+ wheelchairs.
- Influencing in-room entertainment by adding new channels to the hospital’s GetWellNetwork and choosing new movies every few months to keep things interesting.
- Enhancing the patient menu to include more kid-friendly meal choices and extending the room service hours.
- Promoting healthy eating by working with Nemours Health and Prevention Services to taste-test and choose healthy snacks for our
vending machines.
And so much more! If you’ve been a patient here or are a patient’s brother, sister, or friend, and you have a heart for helping others, we want to hear from you!
What We're Planning
Right now, we’re planning more great things like:
- continuing to work on the hospital’s expansion project
- creating a patient welcome video
Construction Sheets
YAC has also found ways to include kids and patients on the excitement of the hospital expansion project. With the help of Skanska, we now offer coloring sheets for kids who are in the main construction areas. All you have to do is download, print, and color!
What Our Members Have to Say
See why our members love the YAC
“The YAC is supportive, generous, fun, and hard working. It is young people helping at the hospital and making it better.”
— Eliza, age 12
“My favorite project was the wheelchair covers. It was cool to go into the hospital and actually see kids sitting in wheelchairs with the covers we designed on them.”
— Emma, age 11
“I like helping think of ideas for the hospital expansion. I feel like I’m making a difference because many of my suggestions have been used.”
— Jackson, age 10
“I was an original [YAC] member until I got sick and found out what it was like to be a patient firsthand. I’d like to tell new patients that it’s hard to be in the hospital, but there are many people, including the YAC, who are doing everything they can to make it easier.”
— Jillian, age 13
Contact Us
Abby Frelich, Coordinator
(302) 651-4014
youthadvisory@nemours.org
Youth Advisory Council
Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19802