Family Centered Care

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is a revolutionary place. The people are dedicated to the healing of children and the involvement of family. Family Advisory Council (FAC) is a group of activists composed of parents, senior management, and employees of CCHMC. Their goal is to make CCHMC the best hospital for children. I was selected to be part of this group and attended my second meeting last evening.

I was seated with a group of strangers. The man next to me told me he had undergone 3 kidney transplants as a child at CCHMC. The woman seated to my right is a single mother of three children who went back to school and now has a business degree. The table also sat a female chaplain, the Chairman of the board, and another parent advocate. Warmth oozed out of every person; before the meeting started we were no longer strangers.

Every meeting, the council asks a member to share why they are part of FAC. The mother who shared moved me to tears. She had lost children, was abandoned by her husband and triumphed over it. She is heroic.

The remainder of the meeting I was in somewhat of a trance. There are so many days when I think things are horrible, wrong and unfair. Days when I am in tears because my rear looks too big in my pants or my arms jiggle. I was completely humbled and ashamed of my insecurities.

Currently health care is a huge topic of controversy. As a nurse, mother and tax payer, I have fluctuating feelings. A father, who recently lost his son to cancer, said something profound; “I never knew health care could be like this.” Many have discontinued the art of conversation, relationship and listening. Every child has a story, every parent who walks through our doors is scared, and everyone deserves a fair shot.

I am honored to be employed by a hospital that cares. I am humbled to be involved with parents who are experts on their children and take the initiative to educate health care workers so we can provide the best care for their child. Excellent care of children is my calling and my passion. I am blessed to work somewhere I can exercise it.