Family Advisory Council

Quick Links

Overview

Our patient- and family-centered approach to caring for children is paramount at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. When you’re in our facility, you’ll hear the administrators, doctors and staff refer to this philosophy of care. We take this commitment very seriously and enlist the help of a group of parents known as the Family Advisory Council to make sure we continually make decisions with patients and their families as the focus.

The Council includes parents and hospital staff who:

Partner with the healthcare teams to promote the core concepts of Patient- and Family-Centered Care
Collaborate with the healthcare teams to improve the quality of care
Offer input in planning programs and policies
Contribute to the education families, students, staff and medical providers

Membership

Families with children who experience Monroe Carell or our clinics are often experts when it comes to health care matters.

Joining the Family Advisory Council is one way to work with us to improve the quality of care and services for all children and their families. The Council provides families with opportunities to make a significant impact. Council Members play an important role in making recommendations and contributing to improvement initiatives. More information is available in our charter document (linked below).

We welcome families from diverse backgrounds who represent a wide range of health care challenges, diagnoses and cultures among those we serve. The Council currently meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. central time via Zoom.

If you are interested in learning more about the Family Advisory Council at Monroe Carell, complete the interest form at the link below. We will contact you about joining an information session.

Council Accomplishments

Community and national involvement

Our members are active in many efforts outside the Family Advisory Council. Their involvement goes beyond the walls of Children's Hospital. Many members play important roles on the local, state, and national levels.

Host for 2020 International Patient- and Family-Centered Care (IFPCC) Conference with three presentations by our family advisors
Participation in Beryl Institute 2020 Conference with podium presentation by one of our family advisors
Tennessee Voices collaboration to implement the Parent 2 Parent Advocacy Training Program
Training of Meharry Medical Students through our Family Faculty Program
Participation in the Vanderbilt undergraduate medical student curriculum development

Internal collaboration

Bringing a family perspective to internal projects and committees allows us to make patient and family-centered care a priority. Family Advisory Council members can be involved in many different opportunities inside the hospital. Here are some examples:

Monroe Carell and new employee training participation
Pediatric to Adult Transition Steering Committee
Staff Nurse Council
Patient Education Oversight Committee
Patient Engagement Steering Committee
My Health at Vanderbilt Advisory Committee
Food Committee
Bereavement Committee
Professional Advisory Group for the Clinical Pastoral Education Program
Medication Use Safety Improvement Committee
Nursing Awards Committee
Nursing Quality Committee
Patient Experience Coordinating Committee
Hospital Acquired Condition Safety Committees

Communications

Our council assists the VUMC Marketing & Engagement Department in creating more patient and user-friendly resources. Members provide marketing ideas, and give feedback about format, content and ease of use. They are consistently featured in hospital publications, websites and social media.

Children's Hospital's Facebook page
Hospital patient stories