Family Advisory Board, Partnering with Patient Families

The Family Advisory Board (FAB) at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio was designed to create an ideal quality-of-care experience for patients, their families, and their care partners. Care partners are usually parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster parents, etc., who represent the patient.

Each FAB member, or family adviser, is a past or current care partner for a patient at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. They are dedicated to helping other care partners become the best advocates for their children. Family advisers visit with care partners in each unit of the hospital, weekly, to offer encouragement and a listening ear. Patient families find great comfort in visiting with someone who has been “in their shoes” and can relate to their situation on a personal level.

“Our desire is to touch every aspect of the Hospital,” said DD Belair, co-chair, Family Advisory Board. “We create educational materials, host events, communicate basic policies, and more, in order to provide patient families with all the necessary tools and information they need.”

When it comes to providing the highest quality of care, it’s important that patient care partners are able to build trusted relationships with the Hospital staff members they interact with. Physicians, Hospital leadership, Child Life representatives, chaplains, and several patient families are represented on the Family Advisory Board. The group collaborates once a month to discuss new ways to improve patient family experiences at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

If you or someone you know is interested in serving on the Family Advisory Board, please send an email inquiry to chofsa.fab@christushealth.org.