Family Support Network is model of success

Parents and family members of children with special needs experience a unique sets of challenges each day. The Family Support Network of Western North Carolina at Mission Children’s Hospital provides resources to help meet those challenges, and with recent recognition from the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care (IPFCC), they’ll serve as an example for similar programs.

The IPFCC has announced that the Family Support Network will be featured on a new Peer Mentor Programs section of their website, which will highlight successful parent-to-parent and peer mentoring programs. “The goal of this new IPFCC web resource,” writes Beverley H. Johnson, President and CEO of IPFCC, “is to recognize and share models of success in partnering with patients and families in designing, implementing, and sustaining hospital-, clinic-, and community-based peer support programs. The partnership created and sustained between Family Support Network of Western North Carolina and Mission Children’s Hospital is truly exceptional.”

“It’s an honor to receive this wonderful accolade,” said Roxann Colwell, Manager of the Family Support Network of WNC.  “We are proud of the support we provide to our patients and families throughout western North Carolina, and it’s so rewarding to know we can be a resource for other programs and organizations nationally.”

IPFCC’s Peer Mentor Programs website section is planned for launch in March 2016. For more information on services offered by the Family Support Network, visit missionchildrens.org/family-support-network.php or call (828) 213-0033.