In a ribbon cutting ceremony, Akron Children’s opened its new Family Resource Center, which will be a hub where families can connect with staff from Akron Children’s and community organizations for resources and information.
When Akron Children’s Family Resource Center opened decades ago, it was a library where families could get information about their child’s illness or condition from trusted medical sources. When our new Family Resource Center opens in April, it will be a “one-stop shop” where families can get all the support services they need in one convenient location.
“In creating this new Family Resource Center, we considered how we can best help and support families in a different way,” said Heather Wuensch, director of community benefit, advocacy & outreach. “This includes connecting families to the right resources, such as our own internal resources and community partners, while also providing follow-up to ensure their needs are met.”
Population health is one of the hospital services that will be located in the Family Resource Center.
“Our population health team empowers families with the knowledge and resources needed to improve their family’s overall well-being,” said Heather. “They help families coordinate complex medical and social needs, connect them to valuable resources and provide health education.”
Patient relations also will have a convenient and private place for families to discuss any issues or concerns regarding their child’s care. Language and special access services will assist families who are visually or hearing impaired, or need interpreters while they are at the hospital, and staff from injury prevention will support referrals for educational materials about child passenger safety and safe sleep.
Heather Wuensch (left), director of community benefit, advocacy & outreach, Erica Dovin (center) regional advocacy community outreach and education coordinator, and Bernett Williams (right), chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, celebrate the opening of the Family Resource Center and Unity Center.
Heather noted that Bernett Williams, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer and vice president of community initiatives, championed the new Family Resource Center model. This included engaging with community partners that will have a presence in the center to make it easier for families to get the services they need. These community partners include Summit County Department of Job and Family Services (JFS), Summit County Public Health Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and United Way of Summit and Medina counties. JFS staff will be available to help eligible families apply for or renew government and community programs, such as TANF, SNAP or childcare assistance.
United Way of Summit and Medina counties will provide eligible families with free financial counseling, assisting them with creating budgets and paying down debt to improve their credit scores. In addition, United Way will connect families to Imagination Library, which offers free books to children from birth to age 5.
Summit County Public Health will open a WIC clinic in May, providing resources to support eligible individuals who are pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding, and infants and children up to 5 years old.
After the ribbon cutting ceremony, attendees toured the new space.
A welcoming and comfortable setting
The new Family Resource Center is located on the third floor of Akron Children’s Hospital, between the atrium lobby and cafeteria. It is adjacent to our new Unity Center, which also opens in April.
“The Family Resource Center is welcoming and inviting with a family room that features comfortable furniture and a relaxing, quiet environment where families can take a break or escape the hospital setting,” Heather said. “Free beverages and snacks will also be available.”
Another new resource for families is a business center with three computers and a printer, which parents can reserve to use for work purposes.
“Maybe a parent is on deadline to complete a report for their employer, but suddenly their child is hospitalized. They can access the business center to complete their report,” said Heather.
There are also two computers and printers for families who simply need to check email, make appointments or update a CaringBridge website.
Just as in our former Family Resource Center, there is a parent library where families can receive health information to help them become active members of their child’s health care team.
Heather said, “Our vision is fairly unique to create one place with convenient access to all the support services a family may need. This is a really exciting opportunity to better serve our patient families, and provide them with a place to gather resources or more information, or simply relax.”
The Family Resource Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
