Channel: Cincinnati Children's

Category: Nonprofits & Activism

Tags: cincinnati children's hospitalcritical care medicinecincinnati children's.emergency medicinecardiac carebmttransplanturgent carepediatric medicinetrauma centernicupicu

Description: Michelle Hopkins: Our world is built around kids, their experience, their well-being, their families, so we invited patients to join us to build the very best critical care facility. Summi Ahuja, Family Advisory Board Member: I was asked to be involved in the design team and the coolest thing about that was that I was working with every level of staff member involved in the project. Michelle Hopkins: It starts with one patient, but we impact entire families. Amanda Fusinato, Family Advisory Board Member: Being in the hospital for weeks and months at a time can be very isolating and you can feel very alone, but the staff at Cincinnati Children's does a great job of keeping you comforted and making you feel at home. Summi Ahuja, Family Advisory Board Member: It becomes a place that you don't just spend a day or two, it becomes a place where you live and eat, and it becomes a huge part of your mental health also. Michelle Hopkins: We started with larger rooms for more comfortable visits and more visitors. And we asked patient families-what else? Amanda Fusinato, Family Advisory Board Member: What I love about the new NICU is the space that it provides for you to have family come and visit, they are all private rooms, and they all have windows to the outside. It was not until Jack was about three months old, that we transferred from a pod room into a private room. And it wasn't until then that I realized that Jack had never seen the sunshine. Michelle Hopkins: Every family comes here on a journey with their kids, and with us. Amanda Fusinato, Family Advisory Board Member: We have no doubt in our minds that Jack would not be here if it were not for the expertise of some of the staff members here and the things that they were able to do to save his life. When he came to Cincinnati Children's, he didn't have very good odds of making it through a surgery and because we had expert surgeons, he was able to pull through and live a healthy life. Michelle Hopkins: Learning from those we serve, providing a better experience for everyone in our care, Pursuing Our Potential Together, so all kids can pursue theirs.