Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Family Partner Program

The Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Family Partner Program gives Spectrum Health’s youngest patients and their families a voice in how we deliver care.

• Ensure positive, nurturing care for every child and family
• Make care experiences as comfortable and worry-free as possible

• Developed a photo guide to help parents identify care providers and their roles
• Established “No Interruption Zones” in intensive care units so caregivers can conduct care without intrusions
• Helped develop key questions for parents to use when communicating with physicians about parental presence during their child’s elective surgery
• Helped improve communication with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care team and parents during the “Golden Hour” — the time from delivery to being placed in the NICU
• Provided feedback on
  • Ways to help parents understand the training and processes that go in to being one of the safest children’s hospitals
  • Wording for the whiteboard pain-level chart in patient rooms
  • The direct admit process to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
  • Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital’s design and some of the services and amenities provided
• Provided insight on the importance of including the family in bedside dialogue, making sure all questions are answered and encouraging communication
• Provided patient and family perspective on the specialty outpatient facilities, welcome center and self-registration process
• Reviewed safety and security measures
• Shared parent and family perspectives with student nurses and pediatric resident physicians
• Served as "mystery shoppers" to observe the effectiveness of teamwork at various sites throughout Spectrum Health