Parents as Policy Partners


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Parents as Policy Partners Overview
Family Advisory Council
Hispanic Family Advisory Council (HFAC)
Service Line Advisory Councils
Contact Us

Parents as Policy Partners Overview

Parents as Policy Partners is one Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital's (LPCH) family–centered care programs. The program provides opportunities for parents to work in partnership with health care providers in the development of hospital policy, review of hospital space and architecture and operational improvements. Parents as Policy Partners promotes family-centered care through the work of the hospital-wide Family Advisory Council (FAC) as well as service line advisory councils. Hospital personnel either meet with the entire council or council members sit on individual committees.

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Family Advisory Council (FAC)

The members of the Family Advisory Council are parents whose children have been cared for at LPCH. They come from diverse backgrounds and bring valuable personal experience and unique professional expertise to further the FAC's commitment to creating a family-centered environment. Every aspect of the FAC’s work focuses on supporting families in ways that respect a family's unique needs and embraces the central role family plays in a child's life.

The Family Advisory Council has worked in partnership with health care providers on a number of programs and projects.

Hospital Space/Architecture
- Renovation of Parent Lounges
- Expansion of Outpatient Clinics
- Wayfinding/Signage Project
Hospital Operations
- Nitelight Project
  A pilot project providing sleep space for two parents bedside during a child’s hospitalization
- Hospital Admitting Process
- Visitation Policies
Family Information
- Cardiovascular Family Education Materials
- Gastrostomy Tube—Family Handbook
- “When You Come to Clinic” Family Guide
- Pediatric Intensive Care Family Guide
Patient Safety
- Handwashing Campaign
- “Pack ‘Em and Track ‘Em” Project to develop strategies to help parents track medications for clinic visits
- Staff training on communicating information to families related to medications

Hispanic Family Advisory Council (HFAC)

The Family-Centered Care Program recently launched the Hispanic Family Advisory Council (HFAC). Six parents with a Hispanic cultural heritage meet monthly to identify ways LPCH can provide more culturally sensitive services at LPCH. LPCH staff can use the HFAC as a focus group to hear their perspectives on the special needs and considerations of Spanish-speaking families receiving care at LPCH. Possible other projects include:

Procedures on sensitive use of underage family members as interpreters for parents
English classes for family members on medical terminology
Increasing the number of Spanish speaking Parent Mentors

Service Line Advisory Councils

The FAC also works closely with and supports the development of service line advisory councils. These councils address issues and program development specific to individual clinical service lines. Currently, there are two other service line advisory councils at LPCH:

Cystic Fibrosis
Neonatology — Newborns and Parents Committee (NAP)

Contact Us

If you would like more information on the Parents as Policy Partners program, please contact:

Karen Wayman, PhD
Director, Family-Centered Care
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Stanford University School of Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
750 Welch Road, Suite 116
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(650) 498-6410
kwayman@lpch.org

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is located in Palo Alto, adjacent to Stanford University Hospital, approximately 20 miles north of San Jose, CA and 40 miles south of San Francisco.

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, California 94304
(650) 497-8000