Mazy Simons

English 2010
2/4/2018

Benefits of Family-Proximity During Child Hospitalization

With today’s astounding technology acquired in the medical field, multiple in-patient and

out-patient care units, there are fewer cases of children being hospitalized. However, children

who are hospitalized tend to be diagnosed with critical illnesses, or injuries. Thus, the technology

and physicians who address the child’s illness are not available in local clinics. For the child to

receive the required care, they must be transported to a hospital with the proper equipment for

treatment. As children are so vulnerable during their early years, they require more comfort and

support for a promising recovery. A growing body of research has shown that children acquire

improved recovery when their family is present throughout treatment and procedures. Not only

does the child benefit from family proximity, but hospitals and staff members also improve their

procedures and patient satisfactory with patient- and family-centered care. Staff members can

teach parents how to become skilled in at-home procedures for their children. Thus, there should

be more funding for organizations that promote patient-and family center care.

In 1974, Dr. Audrey Evans, with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, realized the

importance of families staying close to their loved ones receiving treatment. Dr. Evans and Fred

Hill, player for the Philadelphia Eagles, boosted McDonald’s restaurant to act (Rubin and Frank

202). McDonald’s then founded the Ronald McDonald House of Charities (RMHC)

organization. RMHC has grasped the high-importance of keeping families close during child

hospitalization. This organization provides homes to families of hospitalized children and make

it possible for parents to be near when their children need them most. RMHC conducted studies
which found parent believe that proximity to their child results in better recovery. With these

feasible opportunities, enabling better communication between patient, family and hospital staff

members. Due to family proximity, the child receives higher-quality of care, and maintain a

higher mental and emotional support throughout their recovery.

RMHC’s mission is, “Thinking globally, acting locally to provide resources for children

and their families”, and their vision, “A world where all children have access to medical care,

and their families are supported and actively involved in their children's care” (RMHC). RMHC

verves above and beyond by providing families with rooms, food, and transportation. This

organization is truly invested in providing all necessary means for families to be close during

treatment by providing transportation, rooms, food, and family rooms that are in hospitals.

Children experience higher mental and emotional stability when their family is near and

involved with their treatment. Dr. Jerrold Eicher and Beverly Johnson, with the American

Academy of Pediatrics, claims that quality-improved studies have found that children’s

proximity to their parents coped better with anxiety, emotional distress, surgical procedures, and

experienced less pain than other isolated patients. With lack of family proximity, ill children

experience longer hospital stays, more pain medication, and less effective recovery. Thus, the

child’s foreseen recovery is founded on the hospital’s policy for patient-and family centered care.

Dr. Jerrold Eicher and Beverly Johnson also found that providers reported that patients with

family-involved care, experience less troubled surgical procedures, and made providing care to

the patients much easier than isolated patients. All parties experience higher satisfaction, when a

patient has family proximity during all treatments.

Some illnesses and injuries can leave the child with life-long disabilities, resulting in

change within the parents’ caregiving duties, skills, and procedures. These acquired skills can be
passed down from the hospital staff members to the parents to improve knowledge and

proficiency when the family performs the procedures at home. In Brazil, an interview of ten

parents with children with special care needs concluded that hospital staff members provide

guidance, answers, and safety when it comes to learning at-home procedures (Araújo Barbosa, et

al.). Consequently, families who are involved with their child’s treatment and communicate well

with the hospital staff members obtain quality care for their children.

Like Dr. Audrey Evans, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) strives to improve

patient and family satisfaction. CHOP set to create patient-and family-center care behaviors for

all staff members to practice. Karen Merrigan states, “In 2002 CHOP, practiced the KIDS CARE

model. KIDS Care was a designed to teach and reinforce respectful behaviors.” (90) This model

was reviewed by the Share Governance Council, who concluded that not all staff members were

informed of the model, and some did not practice the behaviors. To improve their patient and

family satisfactory, the Share Governance Council updated the KIDS CARE model (listed on the

next page) with the use of patient and family input. Due to the help from patients and families,

CHOP resulted in higher employee, patient and family satisfactory rating (Merrigan). Without

the guidance of patients and the patients’ family members, CHOP would not have been able to

improve their behaviors to gain higher satisfaction.

 Patient-and family-center care can benefit all parties, during a child’s recovery. Children

who have their families near them experience higher satisfaction and quality care. They

experience higher mental and emotional support than isolated patients. With family-supported

children, providers feel less stress by having more cooperative patients, which results in more

successful surgeries and other tasks throughout the child’s stay

. Parents can communicate effectively and learn how to perform their child’s needed procedures

at home. Due to patient’s family proximity, hospitals can adjust their procedures and policies to

help gain higher patient and family satisfactory.

 As hospital bills are already a financial burden—hotels, food, and transportation are also

high-costs that parents are concerned with when their children are hospitalized. RMHC has

conducted much of their own research to gain knowledge and understanding of the true

importance of family proximity, and have offered help to those in need, and help relieve many

burdens. RMHC is an organization that has helped many families during their times of need to

be near their children. With more funding, this organization could do so many more respectable

things to improve hospitals’ policies, quality of care, patient and family satisfactory, and

patients’ recovery.
 Works Cited

Barbosa, Araújo, et al. "Support Network and Social Support for Children with Special Health Care -Need."

Revista Da Rede De Enfermagem Do Nordeste, 17.1 (2016): 60-66. EBSCOhost. Web. 4

February 2018.

Eicher, Jerrold M. and Beverly H. Johnson “Patient-and Family- Centered Care and the Pediatrician’s

Role.” AAP News & Journals 129. (2012): Web. 4 February 2018.

Merrigan, Karen. "Family Matters. KIDS CARE: A Behavioral Model to Strengthen Patient and Family

Partnerships." Pediatric Nursing 42.2 (2016): 89-94. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 February 2018.

RMHC. RMHC, Web. 4 February 2018. <www.rmhc.org>

Rubin, Nicole and Linda Franck. "The Role of Ronald McDonald House Charities® in Keeping Families

Close." Pediatric Nursing 43. 4 (2017), pp. 202-205. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 February 2018

Table 1. KIDS CARE. Chart. "Family Matters. KIDS CARE: A Behavioral Model to Strengthen Patient and

Family Partnerships." Pediatric Nursing 42.2 (2016): 89-94. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 February 2018.