Skip to main content

NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital

Family Advisory Council

Join Today

Our 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:

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

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.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are embedded in all initiatives of the Family Advisory Council. In collaboration with hospital staff, the Family Advisory Council focuses on building an inclusive environment by:

  • Creating a FAC that reflects the hospital’s patients and families
  • Partnering with the hospital to bring the family perspective to its diversity, equity, and inclusion training, education, and support programs
  • Empowering our members to affect meaningful change by giving them seats at the table

FAC 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