At Le Bonheur Children's some of our best advisors never went to medical school.

As hospital leaders looked for ways to make the new Le Bonheur Children's the best place for kids, we asked patients and their families what they thought. The families' answers have resulted in the redesign of patient rooms and new programs for patients' siblings.

The Family Partners Council and the Teen Advisory Council have provided an organized approach to gathering feedback from some of the people most vested in the hospital.

About the Family Partners Council
The 15-person Family Partners Council represents different backgrounds and varied patient experiences. Members include the parents of a 3-year-old brain tumor patient, the custodial aunt of a teen-aged transplant patient and the father of a young sickle cell patient. Other members are dealing with the complex health care regimens that follow a diagnosis of spina bifida, congenital heart defects and cerebral palsy.

"When you have child in the hospital it affects the whole family, not just child," said Joanne Cunningham, mother of 8-year-old Jacob, who has cerebral palsy.

Joanne is leading the Family Partners Council, which has guided the hospital's improvement processes, provided advice on how to improve clinical care and helped define patient- and family-centered care culture. The group even reviewed mock patient rooms for the new hospital. Their suggestions, like moving a wall in the patient room, have made the spaces more patient and family friendly.

 "The administration's buy in to the council is phenomenal. They attend every meeting and are genuinely interested in what families have to say," Joanne said.

"As medical professionals, we understand that parents are by far the most knowledgeable care givers for their children," explained Janet Phillips, liaison between the Council and hospital administration.  "The world of healthcare is extremely specialized. Parents are the one constant in a child's life when he or she is navigating a complex web of services and providers."

About the Teen Advisory Council
Just like parents are lending their thoughts and ideas to Le Bonheur Children's, so is a special group of teens. The 17-member Teen Advisory Council has helped Le Bonheur understand what kids feel and think about while spending time at the hospital. The group started meeting in 2006 and now gathers monthly to talk about things like how teens navigate lebonheur.org and activities for patients' siblings. Their latest task, assigned by hospital leadership, is to evaluate the food in the cafeteria.

The majority of the group is made up of patients and siblings of patients. The group also includes a handful of teens who have no experience with the hospital.

Taylore Griffin is excited to be a part of a group that is making Le Bonheur a better place. As the sister of a patient with a chronic condition, she's been coming to the hospital for years. The group is making plans for how to make holidays special for patients. "We want to be involved with the children. We want to see their faces when we give them a surprise," Taylore said.

The group has an added benefit for Taylore. "It's easier to talk about what's going with my brother Jacob because they understand," she said.

"These kids are so fired up about what they're doing. Not only do these teens want Le Bonheur to be better for the patients, but they want to be actively involved in making it a better place," said Thomas Hobson, Child Life manager.

Family Involvement in Planning for the New Le Bonheur
With the help of professionals at Johnson Controls, Inc. family members of Le Bonheur patients have participated in "Ideation" exercises designed to gain their insight for the New Le Bonheur.

Insight into what works best for families is crucial in the facility planning process.  From access to parking, to way finding to the layout of the patient rooms, families provide valuable information that will be incorporated into the achitects' drawings.

To see what families have said to us so far, Click Here.

If you have an idea or suggestion to help us plan for the New Le Bonheur, please click here to e-mail Janet Phillips, Le Bonheur Executive Council.