Children’s Minnesota values input from our patient families. Getting involved in the Families as Partners program is a great way for families to share their insight to make the Children’s Minnesota care experience better.
Families as Partners offers a wide range of opportunities for involvement for families, including sharing their Children’s Minnesota story and educating and partnering with staff to improve care. If your child is currently a patient at a Children’s Minnesota clinic or hospital, or has previously been a patient, we encourage you to get involved in the Families as Partners program.
Apply today
We are currently seeking applications for families to join Families as Partners. Learn more and apply today!
Bailee joined Families as Partners after NICU experience
Read Bailee’s story below to learn about her family’s experience at Children’s Minnesota and how she’s involved with the Families as Partners program.
What is your connection to Children’s Minnesota?
My daughter was born at 24 weeks and spent 154 days at the Minneapolis hospital between the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and infant care center (ICC) before coming home. She has chronic lung disease and has had repeated hospital stays since she was born.
What do you do with Families as Partners?
I have served on the Family Advisory Council for almost two years. I get to be part of an amazing organization that meets with the staff members who create the rules and regulations of the hospital. Because we get to meet with these important members, we give them personal feedback on specific topics that really can reform the hospital systems already in place. This is critical to creating an atmosphere that truly puts families first.
Would you recommend it as a way for other families to get involved?
Absolutely! If you are anything like me, there are a lot of bittersweet memories about your child’s hospital stay. For me, all of the bad memories outweighed the good. Even though there were far more good memories than bad. This hospital saved my daughter and helped me celebrate all of the milestones early in her life, may they be big or small. But it kept being overshadowed by a lot of the scary circumstances we were faced, and all of her struggles being born premature. Families as Partners (FAP) has allowed me to give back to the families that walk through the doors of this hospital and make strides in bettering the systems in place. It is a whole new place for me when I walk through the doors now. It feels so good to make a difference and that is exactly what FAP is all about.
Do you have a favorite experience with Families as Partners?
Any time I get to share my daughter’s story, it is healing for the soul. It is such a joy to get to share the miracle she is and partner along other parents with mighty warriors and hear their stories as well.
