Our Foundation: A Partnership with Families
We are committed to providing the best care and services to you and your child. The following information describes the philosophy that underlies this commitment, the components of our family-centered services and the rights of our patients and their family members.

	Our Philosophy of Care
	Key Elements of Family Centered Care
	Patients' Bill of Rights

Our Philosophy of Care
The staff of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia respects each family's values, needs, cultures, resources and strengths. We strive to provide the highest quality of care by successfully blending patient care, education and research. The following beliefs serve as the foundation of our care and partnership with families.

1. We are committed to providing care and services that are guided by the needs of families and are perceived as flexible, accessible, responsive and sensitive. Therefore, we will develop systems that enable staff to respond to family preferences and priorities in a timely and creative manner.
2. We recognize that families provide a constant source of support in the child's life. While we, as caring professionals, play an important role, families maintain the central role.
3. We turn to families to define their members, understanding that each family has different values and unique ways of functioning.
4. We value the importance of the family's role in educating staff and future health care providers.
5. We welcome families' participation in the planning and evaluation of new and existing programs and policies of the institution.
6. We believe that care should be provided by an identifiable health care team that includes families as an integral part of developing a plan and caring for their children. The family-professional partnership is based on mutual respect for the understanding that each brings to the situation.
7. We strive to provide coordinated care and linkages between our services and the family's community, including schools, local physicians, services and agencies.
8. Approaches to care will be built on the family's strengths. We value exploration of what they can and cannot do. We will be accepting about strengths and needs, and recognize that the stresses families face can influence their ability to cope. We strive to promote family competence through knowledge and skills. In all cases, we believe that competence is enhanced by sharing complete information.
9. We are committed to creating a healing, supportive environment that respects privacy. We believe that all oral and written communication must respect the family's right to confidentiality.
10. We recognize that care is a human undertaking. When there are differences of opinion, we will try to seek quick and respectful resolution among ourselves and with families.

BACK TO TOP

Key Elements of Family Centered Care

• Recognizing that the family is the constant in the child's life
• Facilitating family/professional collaboration at all levels of service delivery
• Honoring racial, ethnic, cultural, spiritual, and socioeconomic diversity of families
• Recognizing family strengths and respecting different ways of coping
• Encouraging family-to-family support
• Sharing with families, on a continuing and supportive basis, complete and unbiased information
• Understanding and incorporating the developmental needs of infants, children and adolescents into the delivery system
• Implementing policies and programs that provide emotional and financial support
• Designing accessible service systems that are flexible, culturally competent and responsive to family-identified needs

BACK TO TOP

Patients' Bill of Rights
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is committed to the basic rights of the children and families it serves. Those rights apply to the patient and/or parents and/or guardian, as appropriate for the age and level of understanding of the child. These rights include:

1. The right to respectful care given by competent personnel.
2. The right to know the identity of those providing treatment.
3. The right to every consideration of privacy concerning medical care. Case discussions, consultations, examinations, and treatments are confidential and are to be conducted with respect and discretion.
4. The right to confidentiality of medical records except as otherwise provided by law or third-party contractual arrangements.
5. The right to be informed of Hospital rules and regulations applicable to the patient's conduct.
6. The right to expect emergency procedures to be implemented without unnecessary delay.
7. The right to good quality care and high professional standards that are continually maintained and reviewed.
8. The right to full information, in layman's terms, concerning diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, including information about alternative treatments and possible complications. When it is not medically advisable to give such information to the patient, the information shall be given on the patient's behalf to the patient's next-of-kin or other appropriate person
9. The right to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure or treatment, except in emergency situations. Informed consent is defined in Section 103 of the Health Care Services Malpractice Act (40 P.S. 1301.103).
10. The right to be advised when a physician is considering the patient as part of a medical care research program or donor program, and to give informed consent prior to actual participation in such a program. In the event that the patient is unable to give informed consent, a legally responsible party shall exercise these rights on the patient's behalf. The patient or the legally responsible party may, at any time, refuse to continue in such a program to which he or she has previously given informed consent.
11. The right to refuse any drug, treatment or procedure offered by the Hospital, to the extent permitted by law, and the right to be informed by a physician of the medical consequences of such refusal of any drug, treatment or procedure. If such refusal prevents adequate medical care, the relationship with the patient may be terminated upon reasonable notice.
12. The right to assistance in obtaining consultation with another physician at the patient's request and own expense.
13. The right to impartial access to treatment and care without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or source of payment.
14. The right to access to all information contained in the medical record, unless such access is specifically restricted by the attending physician for medical reasons or is prohibited by law.
15. The right to communication with others outside the Hospital and access to an interpreter if necessary.
16. The right to expect good management techniques to be implemented within the Hospital, considering effective use of the time of the patient and avoiding unnecessary personal discomfort of the patient.
17. The right to an explanation for transfer to another facility, including the need for an alternative to such transfer. The institution to which the patient is to be transferred must first have accepted the patient for transfer.
18. The right to know the Hospital charges and to examine and receive a detailed explanation of the bill.
19. The right to full information and counseling on the availability of known financial resources for health care.
20. The right to expect that information concerning continuing health care requirements following discharge and the means for meeting them will be provided.
21. The right of access to an individual or agency authorized to act on the patient's behalf to assert or protect the rights herein set forth.
22. The right to be informed of these rights at the earliest possible moment during the course of hospitalization.

BACK TO TOP

If any part of your child's hospitalization does not meet your expectations, or if you have questions about your child's care, please feel free to speak with the nurse manager on your child's unit. If you need additional help, please call (215) 590-1951 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. This number will put you in touch with a member of our administrative staff, who will be able to meet with you or speak with you by telephone to resolve your concern.