The Parent Advisory Council was formed in October 2004 as part of T. C.
Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger's family-centered care initiative and
consists of 24 parents who all have had extensive experience at Children's
Hospital. The Council consists of parents, the Child Life Director, a registered
nurse, physician, as well as a UT College of Medicine pediatric intern and
resident.
In addition to being advocates/mentors to fellow families, the Council meets
monthly to discuss ways to make policies and procedures more patient and family
friendly—everything from emergency room and inpatient admission policies,
helping physicians with establishing clinical protocols that involve patients
and their family members, to rewritinig and establishing more flexible visiting
hours for the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units.
The Council also monitors the parent support phone line and they each make
parent rounds on the inpatient floors so parents can voice concerns or
questions. Area parents can never predict when they may need the services that
only Children's Hospital can provide and it should be reassuring to parents that
there is a group of parents that are waiting with open arms to help them through
the tough times.
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