We Care

Every child and family deserves emotionally safe, trauma-informed care.

What does that mean?

We know that children and families have faced events in their past or have current stressors.

Stressful events can affect everything – how we feel, how we cope, how we approach and respond to medical care and how we heal.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study shows when a child has an adverse childhood experience, they are at greater risk for chronic health conditions and risky behaviors.

Being “trauma-informed” means we recognize traumatic or stressful events can have lasting effects on health and well-being. We want you to feel safe.

Examples of traumatic experiences are:

Past medical experiences.
Violence in the community, war or terrorism.
Racism, discrimination or oppression
Sudden separation from a loved one or death of a loved one.
Physical or emotional neglect.
Living with a family member with mental health or substance use disorders.
Physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
Struggle with basic needs (food, housing, clothing, transportation).

Our Trauma-Informed Vision of Care

Our vision is that Children’s Mercy will be an emotionally safe, trauma-informed health care system.

Our goals are to:

Make your visit safe.
Make your visit feel safe.
Interact with you and your child with compassion to your life experiences.

What is Emotionally Safe Care?

Emotionally Safe Care promotes healing, trust and resilience for patients and their families during medical experiences.

Some ways we strive to create Emotionally Safe Care:

Identify the unique needs and strengths of your child and family.
Respect and protect your child and family’s emotional well-being.
Include your families’ needs and experiences in shaping the environment.
Help your child feel comfortable and offer a variety of comfort measures.
Help your child understand the hospital and their care.
Include, listen to, and value patient and family input.

Learn more

Testimonials

The Children's Mercy personnel all did absolutely everything in their power to make me feel that my child was at no risk for any type of harm…The way they cradled him and rocked him felt as if I was doing it myself. There's no other medical establishment that has made me feel so safe to leave my child with them.

- Parent of 7-month-old boy seen in Radiology

More Testimonials

“The child life [specialist] … came in and showed my son pictures… and let him ask questions about the OR and let him touch the different things like the blood pressure cuff and heart monitors and let him smell the options for his sleepy gas.”

- Parent of 6-year-old boy who had outpatient surgery

“The nurse…asked me what they could do to make my son feel more comfortable (he has a sensory processing disorder) we talked about things like bright lights, loud sounds, etc and letting him know what you're going to do before you touch him. She immediately then asked him if she could put his bracelet on and asked which arm he wanted it on…You never rush him or force him or ignore his wants and needs. He feels safe with you.”

- Parent of child who had surgery

What are some examples of how knowing your experiences will affect the care we give you?

Experience	Our Response
A child had needle pokes previously and views their experience as traumatic.	We will offer the Comfort Promise. We will learn from their past experiences and assist in building a coping plan for future needle procedures.
A breastfeeding mother prefers to cover their body.	We will find a private room for her to use.
A parent has a previous experience with a baby choking.	We will take extra care to discuss feeding.
A family grew up with food insecurity, not having food that was healthy, safe, and affordable.	We will explain food options and payments. We will help the family get healthy meals during their stay. We can connect you to organizations that help families get healthy food.
A mother and son live in a neighborhood with gun violence.	We will use the terms vaccine or poke instead of the word ‘shot.’
A child has never been to the hospital before.	We will give the child opportunities for play, music, and art. We will prepare the child for upcoming experiences in words they can understand.
A parent had another child cared for in the intensive care unit.	We will learn about their past experiences and be sensitive to their preferred communication and unique needs.
A parent comes in with a child who has not slept in their own bed since a motor vehicle crash six months ago.	We will refer to Trauma-focused treatment services

How can you help?

Share past experiences and things you want us to know about you, your child, and your family.
- You know your child and your family’s needs. You are a valuable part of the health care team.
Tell us how you take care of yourself and ways we can help with this.
Let us know the best ways to share information with you and what helps you learn best.

Help us improve care

Expect us to provide emotionally safe, trauma-informed care. We know we don’t always get it right. We want to know how we can do better.

Talk directly with your care team.
Ask to speak with a leader.
Contact the Patient Advocate department at (816) 234-3119

Additional resources

Patient and Family Seal of Collaboration

This material was developed in partnership with patients, families and Children's Mercy team members to improve the experience of healthcare and has earned the Patient and Family Seal of Collaboration. Learn more about the program and share your ideas with us.