Advocating for Health Successes: Filling Gaps with Patient-Family Engagement

Children and their families need a healthcare system that serves them wholeheartedly. Having their unique needs prioritized creates an important opportunity for lifelong health and wellbeing. However, the current health system in our country and globally has massive gaps to fill, especially as it pertains to children of color. The medical community is focusing on preventative measures and connections between children, families, communities and the systems they interact with regularly. While large efforts are being made across the child healthcare field, there is strong agreement that child health transformation, with a focus on family -centered pediatric care, needs to be accelerated.  At the forefront of this work is Hala Durrah, MTA, a patient-family engagement consultant and advocate. Joining us virtually from San Marcos California, she discusses her role on the advisory group of national experts in the pediatric field of accelerating child health transformation initiative. She also has professional experience as a national speaker who has served on a number of national committees. Beyond her professional accomplishments, this topic resonates with her much more personally. Her current work in patient-family-centered care stems from her experiences as a mother of a child who has undergone two liver transplants and a bone marrow transplant. "What I realized when I first knew my daughter was sick, was that this was going to be a journey that required me to be as fully knowledgeable and as fully engaged as possible to advocate for her," Durrah says.  Some highlights from this episode include:  How providers and practices can partake in this work  The importance of acknowledging patient-family engagement to best care for kids  What gaps exist and how this method helps to fill them  This episode is underwritten by Aegon Transamerica Foundation, a proud supporter of Charting Pediatrics and Children's Hospital Colorado. The Aegon Transamerica Foundation helps build a better world by committing to the improvement of wellness throughout their communities. Their partnership with Children's Colorado addresses the youth mental health crisis to help create a better mental health future for children. Thank you to Aegon Transamerica Foundation for investing in Children's Colorado.   For more information on Children's Colorado, visit: childrenscolorado.org