Parent Support Program

The Parent Support Program at our Kansas City Adele Hall Campus offers comfort, support, encouragement, and guidance to caregivers. When a baby or child is sick and in the hospital, it can be stressful for parents, caregivers, siblings, and other family members. Our team is staffed by compassionate Parent Support Program Coordinators, many of whom have firsthand experience caring for a hospitalized/medically complex child. This program offers connection to helpful resources and emotional support to families as they navigate their child's care and adapt to life within the hospital during inpatient stays.

Partnering With Families

Parent Support Program Coordinators use their multidisciplinary background to help support caregivers navigate their hospital stay and follow-up care when attending outpatient clinic visits. They can offer support based on each caregiver's unique situation and experience. They partner with families to:

• Support and validate parent/caregiver's emotional and physical needs.

• Assist in coping with new diagnoses, unexpected response to treatment, or adverse events.

• Encourage caregivers to engage in self-care activities.

• Support siblings and other family members.

Caregiving can be physically and emotionally exhausting. It is normal to have many different feelings when your child is ill. Being kind to yourself lays the foundation for self-care. We encourage you to get support from friends, family, parent groups, or Children's Mercy parent programs when these feelings become challenging and difficult to manage.

Parent Support Program Coordinators

You can find the Parent Support Program Coordinators in the Kreamer Resource Center for Families, located on the main floor of the hospital, in the Sutherland Tower, just across from the Gift Shop.

The Kreamer Resource Center also offers on-site resources to assist families during their inpatient stays, as well as for parents attending outpatient clinic visits. The Program hosts activities to help parents and caregivers, such as art activities, caregiver massage, caregiver bingo, and scheduled visit times within the center for a relaxing visit with one of Children's Mercy's facility dogs.