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NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital

Family Advisory Council (FAC)

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Dedicated to family-centered care

The Family Advisory Council (FAC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, established in 2004, is a diverse group of parents, caregivers, and hospital staff devoted to making the hospital a better place for children and their families. Our work is rooted in a family-centered approach to care, the belief that the family is a child’s primary source of strength and support, and that a family’s perspective is invaluable to clinical decision-making. 

As parent and caregiver volunteers, we collaborate with hospital leadership and administration to examine and improve current practices. We directly impact the policies, programs, and facility design that affect how care and services are delivered to children and their families or caregivers.

Family advisors

Family advisors are members of the NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Family Advisory Council. Drawing from our own experiences as parents and caregivers in the hospital setting, we can offer unique insight into how the delivery of patient- and family-centered care can be improved. We do this by: 

  • Serving on various hospital committees alongside hospital staff to ensure the family perspective is heard and considered 
  • Working to make a child’s stay at the hospital as comfortable and pleasant as possible through the improvement of patient and family services 
  • Promoting communication and encouraging collaboration between families and hospital staff through co-education and the development of safety initiatives 
  • Providing families with the information, guidance, and resources they need to care for their children in and out of the hospital 
  • Partnering with the hospital to bring the family perspective to its diversity, equity, and inclusion training, education, and support programs 

Family advisor responsibilities include: 

  • Family advisors attend monthly council meetings from September through June. 
  • As a family advisor, you might also participate in hospital committees outside of the Family Advisory Council. Council leadership can help connect you with the initiatives and working groups that best align with your personal experience and areas of interest. Additional time commitment varies by committee. 
  • All family advisors must complete background checks and a medical clearance. Ongoing training is required. Family advisors are required to follow the Patient and Family Advisor Code of Conduct and the NewYork-Presbyterian Respect Credo.
Our areas of work

The Family Advisory Council is constantly finding new and innovative ways to involve patients, families, and caregivers in hospital care. Our work continues to evolve, and our council has grown from five parent volunteers to now over 25 volunteers and hospital staff. Hospital staff participation spans NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and departmental leadership teams, physicians, nurses, social workers, and child life specialists. The areas we serve are as varied and diverse as the experiences of our Council members. Such areas currently include: 

Family Faculty: The Family Faculty is a group of Family Advisory Council members who partner with hospital staff to co-educate medical students, fellows, residents, and nurses through the use of interactive case studies that are based on parents’ real-life experiences. The Family Faculty program offers the unique opportunity for staff to practice role playing with parents in a no-risk setting and receive feedback from a parent perspective. 

The Family Faculty’s goals are: 

  • To promote patient- and family-centered care by creating an environment of mutual respect, understanding and collaboration between parents and the care team 
  • To provide a parent’s perspective on how to effectively interact and communicate with families

Advisory Committees: Family Advisory Council members are active participants on multiple hospital committees, task forces, and research projects. We work alongside physicians, nurses, administrators, and other hospital staff to provide a family perspective and to promote patient- and family-centered care. The Advisory Committees cover diverse subjects, including Patient Experience, Operations, and Quality & Safety.

Family Advisory Council highlights

As parents and hospital volunteers, we are proud of how our contributions have served the hospital community. Some of our accomplishments include: 

  • Founding of the Family Resource Center 
  • Participation in the Family Faculty Program 
  • Contributions to strategic development of Hospital Growth Plan 
  • Founding members of NICU, cardiology and infusion task forces 
  • Ongoing partnership with Patient Experience Team 
  • Telling Our Stories: Advisor Training on Effective Storytelling

How to get involved

As parents and caregivers, we are uniquely suited to serve the NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital community. Our perspective is highly valuable to the hospital’s mission of delivering family-centered care. 

If you are a parent or family member, you are eligible to join the Family Advisory Council if your child is receiving or has received care at the hospital. If you are a staff member or faculty member, you are eligible to join the Family Advisory Council if: 

  • You want to better understand the parents' perspective on the delivery of care 
  • You want to request a parent join a particular project
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