Practicing family-centered care

Tom Schubnell has been lending emotional support to children and families at Children’s Memorial for 30 years. Read more.

Nurses at Children's Memorial Hospital are committed to providing the highest standard of care based on the knowledge that children are constantly changing individuals who should be encouraged to reach their maximum potential growth and development.

At Children's Memorial — where kids come first — we believe that sick children shouldn't be isolated from their families but should be cared for within the family unit. Our family-centered care provides a warm and nurturing environment for children and their families, and it provides outstanding challenges for our nurses. Our family- centered care environment allows nurses to act as teachers, mentors, researchers, problem-solvers, decision-makers and advocates to these families, while at the same time allowing the staff members to explore and expand their own capabilities and strengths.

Children's professional nursing staff incorporates families into the plan of care from the time youngsters are admitted until their discharge. The nurses are sensitive to the special needs of children and their families as they prepare to go home. The children often require extended service or therapies at home for their specific medical needs, and our case management nurses coordinate these services, as well as communicate with appropriate community-based programs in order to ensure continuous care and service.