Parent Engagement

The true essence of family-centered care is understanding that parents are the experts on their child. The Lynda P. Bollman Pediatric Program attempts to embody this understanding by having our Parent Advisory Committee involved in programming. Our Parent Advisory Committee meets bi-weekly to review trends in hospice and palliative care at state and national levels, identify ways to support patients and families throughout their journeys, prepare training and parent support groups that provide families with space for emotional support and peer focused education.

The Pediatric Parent Advisory Committee is comprised of seven parents that have been affected by childhood cancer or medical complexities across a life span. They are knowledgeable in the experience of having a child obtain a terminal or life-limiting diagnosis, extensive and overwhelming hospitalizations, parenting siblings and maintaining personal responsibilities such as having to leave work, managing medical bills, changes to social network, lack of sleep, and more, while tending to a medical complex child, and the emotional distress associated with the entire experience.

The members of the Pediatric Parent Advisory Committee are Carissa Belasich, Iyonna Wright, Rachel Singleton, Krystal Myers, Raquel Cahill, Kaycee Jakubowski and Ellie Clark.

We are excited to have their immense knowledge and strong voices within the program.