Patient and Family Engagement Community
Family Advisory Council

Family Voices Matter: Shaping Care Through Collaboration

Established in 2001, the Family Advisory Council at Cincinnati Children’s plays an important role in the hospital’s decision-making process. By incorporating the thoughts, perspectives and opinions of families into our decisions, we are able to enhance our ability to provide family-centered care.

The council meets monthly from September to June to discuss pending decisions, initiatives and other hospital-wide concerns and provides input from the family perspective. Council members have influenced the design of the Liberty Campus and our new Critical Care building. We are also regularly involved with processes and plans to improve the quality, safety and experience of care provided.

Family members of Cincinnati Children's are welcome to apply to join the council. Council members come from a range of backgrounds, from parents with extensive experience at Cincinnati Children's to family members who have recent experience with the hospital. Members serve approximately three-year terms.

Join the Family Advisory Council

If you are interested in joining the Family Advisory Council at Cincinnati Children's, please complete the online application and an engagement specialist will be in touch about possible next steps

For any further questions regarding the council, email patientfamilycommunity@cchmc.org.

Family Advisory Council FAQ's

We believe that the best way to care for children is to make the patient and family part of the healthcare team. Families and patients can help our professionals improve the way we provide care for our patients by participating in an advisory council.

Who can join the Family Advisory Council?

Caregivers of a patient at Cincinnati Children’s within the last 12 months. An onboarding process is required with the council lead prior to joining.

What are the duties of council members?

Council members attend meetings regularly and provide feedback from their own personal experience. Many of our family partners are also able to represent the perspective of others across their communities who have their own unique experiences.

Members of the Family Advisory Council are asked to serve three-year terms.

How frequently do the councils meet?

The Family Advisory Council meets monthly, except during July and August.

When are the meetings?

The Family Advisory Council meets on the 1^st Thursday of each month from 5:30pm-7:30pm via Zoom.

What is the meeting structure for the councils?

We ask our staff to come to meetings with questions for council members, not just presentations. The goal is to facilitate a two-way discussion. Staff members may bring a few slides with essential background information and their questions.

What is your leadership structure?

The Family Advisory Council is led by a member of the Engagement Specialist team (Family Relations) and is joined by staff members from Shared Governance.

What kind of outcomes have the councils had?

In the past year, caregivers from the Family Advisory Council have partnered with leaders in the areas of Access, Patient & Family Experience, Safety, Digital Health, and Space & Planning to help provide perspective and make impactful changes. Some of those changes have included providing valuable feedback on virtual nursing inpatient trials, insight into the new changes for surveying families post-visits and advocating for changes in access to care for patients and families.

One Mother's Experience

Being a member of the Family Advisory Council for several years has enlightened me to the impactful relationship between families and medical professionals. My eldest daughter is a patient at a PPC clinic in the network and had a referral for mental health services from screening questions. Being a part of the council, I was privy to the process and knew what to expect when a social worker joined the visit.

In family advisory council sessions after my family’s personal encounter, I was able to give feedback to medical professionals about how the approach would feel different for a family that didn’t know the process. Rather than the outcome being negative or listening to myths, the process blossomed a relationship with Cincinnati Children’s and my teenage daughter. After receiving care from a psychologist, my daughter now shares her testimony willingly with peers about how services were beneficial to her and she is now a Co-lead of the patient advisory council with Cincinnati Children’s.

- Domonique Davis

Patient and Family Engagement CommunityFamily Advisory Council