Meet the Family Advisory Council members

Our daughter, Everly, was induced at Christ (60 miles from our home) after we got a prenatal diagnosis that she would need open heart surgery right after birth. We researched the best heart hospitals and decided on Christ. After her first open heart surgery at 3 days old, our family decided that we were going to do all we could to make life for children born with congenital heart defects- and other hospitalized children- and their families better. As well as give back and help all of the incredible medical professionals who have helped us over the past 3.5 years through 3 open heart surgeries and then some.

Being part of the Family Advisory Council is important to me because I’m hopeful I will be able to give input to help make a positive impact on future families’ hospital stays and appointments. I love the idea of families and providers working together to provide the best care possible and I'm hopeful we can even help Advocate Children's grow in other ways/areas that families could use additional support in. I’m also excited to share our success stories because as a teacher and literacy coach for many years, I truly believe success breeds success and it’s important to celebrate all the things that are going right! I’m also hopeful that sharing Everly’s story will help other families because “sometimes strength comes in knowing you aren’t alone.”

I started at Advocate Children’s Hospital in 1998 as a Child Life specialist and am currently the Director of Specialty and Support Services and the Hematology/Oncology Service Line. It was an honor to be part of the development of the Family Advisory Council 7 years ago. The collaboration between staff and families is very exciting as the hospital continues to grow. I’ve been able to witness so many wonderful things developed by this council. I was born and raised in Oak Lawn and currently live there with my husband and 4 children.

I have 2 boys, Bobby, 2 years old, and Kelly, 5 months old. My older son Bobby suffered a skull fracture at birth which caused a brain bleed that was significant enough in size that he needed his first operation 12 hours after he was born.

Two additional surgeries later, my wife and I have spent a lot of time at Advocate Children’s Hospital - Oak Lawn. We’re happy that our son is doing very well. We met many Advocate specialists in the first year and a half of Bobby’s life, and through our son’s journey, we’ve met a lot of great people and administrators in the Advocate system who eventually introduced us to the Family Advisory Council. Our goal is to provide meaningful feedback to health care professionals about our experience with Advocate.

I am a mother of 2 boys. Our first born, Bobby, had complications during delivery. He suffered a skull fracture which created a substantial subdural hematoma on his brain. Following emergency surgery, we came to find that he also suffered a stroke. Over the past 2 years of his life, he has undergone 3 cranial surgeries, a series of helmet therapies, frequent doctor visits, medication management and multiple therapeutic programs. We’re proud to say he is doing extremely well today.

This is a direct result of the quick actions and level of care he received from his incredible medical team at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn. Throughout his journey, we worked with many different departments and specialists. Each experience we’ve had has given us a unique perspective on the quality of care he’s received through Advocate and an immense amount of gratitude for those who have helped and supported us along the way. When we were introduced to the Family Advisory Council, I was eager to participate in an opportunity to help other families who may benefit from our meaningful feedback. I believe this is 1 way we can pay things forward, as we are forever thankful for our team at Advocate.

I started working at Advocate in 1993. I worked on the general pediatric inpatient unit for 6 years. Because of my passion for caring for pediatric hematology and oncology patients and families, I transitioned to the outpatient hematology and oncology clinic. The opportunity to develop strong relationships and provide support for patients and their families during such a difficult time in their lives is an honor. Their strength, resilience and joy are amazing to witness. I wanted to be a part of the Family Advisory Council because family experiences and feedback are invaluable in improving patient care. I am married and have 3 children, Vaughn 21 years, Liam 19 years, and Jackson 16 years.

I am a stay-at-home mom to two wonderful boys; before that I worked as a chemist in Research and Development at Sage Products, now part of Stryker. It was so interesting to see our products in the hospital during delivery and our NICU stay. I love reading, baking, and anything Star Wars! I’m originally from Michigan and also lived in Wisconsin for 11 years before I met my husband. I am so excited to be part of the family advisory council.

I love the mission of the council and being able to support families and positive change in the Children’s Hospital. Having a child in the NICU was one of the most difficult things our family has gone through. Being able to make that experience better for others is such a blessing. I've always been someone who likes to help others, and if something can be changed or improved I like to find ways to make it happen!

I have been a Child Life specialist at Advocate Children's Hospital for 6 years. Throughout my time here, I have worked in a few different areas of the hospital, but I’ve been working in the outpatient hematology and oncology clinic for the last 3 years, and I know I have truly found my home. I am passionate about helping children understand their diagnoses and treatments while providing an environment for them to play, socialize and normalize their experience.

Supporting patients and families throughout their experiences here at Advocate Children's Hospital is something I value. I am always trying to think of ways to make their experiences even the tiniest bit better. I am excited to be able to continue that mission through the work of the Family Advisory Council by partnering with so many different parents and staff members.

My only child, Layla, is 9 years old and has cerebral palsy, a cardiac health condition, and a seizure disorder. It was because of my daughter’s health problems that my family was first introduced to Advocate Children’s Hospital. I am nothing but grateful to the hospital’s wonderful staff for all that they have done and continue to do for my daughter.

I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the Family Advisory Council because it allows me to give feedback so that our good experience hopefully continues to repeat itself. I am looking forward to being a part of something that ultimately strives to improve the hospital experience for its patients and families.

I am the proud mother of 3 sons, Colin, Gavin and Owen. Owen spent 5 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before passing away in 2015. Although our life changing stay in the hospital was brief, the relationships and impact staff made on our family have been everlasting. We’ve had the pleasure of continuing our relationships by founding Owen’s Library, a 501c3 Public Charity. Owen’s Library donates new books to patients at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn.

Every book is donated in honor of Owen and provides comfort and togetherness to families during their hospital stay. During our hospital experience, staff created an environment of respect, hope and love. It’s my goal as a member of the Family Advisory Council to ensure families receive the same impeccable level of care our family received.

I have been a certified Child Life specialist at Advocate Children’s Hospital since December 2000, serving all areas of the pediatric hospital. Since 2015, I’ve had the privilege of managing about 40 team members under the umbrella of the Child Life, Creative Arts Therapies and Education Department for both Oak Lawn and Park Ridge campuses for Advocate Children’s Hospital.

As administrator for our Family Advisory Council, I am excited to watch this joint campus council flourish to its highest potential for making positive changes to our patient experience. I truly admire the mission and values on which Advocate has built its foundation and I’m proud to work here. I feel very fortunate to be a part of the Family Advisory Council and have the chance to work with such dedicated and caring family and team members. Family-centered care is at the very core of our beliefs and constructive feedback is key to improving service and patient satisfaction.

I have been a nurse at Advocate for over 30 years. Throughout my career, I’ve cared for adults and children. Currently, I’m manager of 2 and 4 Hope at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn. I’m very proud to be a member of the Family Advisory Council. Each meeting I attend, I leave with a new insight of what our families are going through and more importantly, what they need while their child is hospitalized. My goal is to take what our families share at the meetings and make the needed improvements to ensure the stressful path parents take when their child is in the hospital becomes less complicated. On a personal note, I’m married and have 4 children.

I am very honored to be a part of the Advocate Family Advisory Council. I am the father to two terrific boys and have Advocate to thank for so much. Our oldest son spent 13 days in the Oak Lawn NICU and had multiple surgeries the first 2 years of his life. We love that Advocate has a program to help gain insight from both staff and families and are very excited to help make a difference for families that are going through very difficult times.

I would love the opportunity to help give families more support while they are going through tough times. It takes an army to raise a family and I would love the chance to help other parents. My husband Adam and I enjoy all sports. We have traveled to see Chicago teams play in other states. We can’t wait until our boys are old enough to share our love of sports with them.

Our journey with Advocate began in April 2020. Our daughter, Gianna was born in February at Edward Hospital in Naperville. Shortly after birth, it was discovered she had many birth defects, including a heart condition which led us to Advocate Christ Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn. Gianna spent almost 7 months between the PCICU and PICU, having undergone several surgeries, including open heart surgery. She also transferred twice to Lutheran General Hospital for 2 surgeries. We developed incredible relationships with the doctors, nurses, social workers, lactation consultants, music therapy, Rehab team and Child Life specialists.

We spent all of our time in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant we could have no visitors and only one parent was allowed with Gianna at a time. We were so grateful for all the support we had at the hospital which helped us through the difficult time. We also stayed at the Ronald McDonald house for all those months which was such a huge help. Gianna finally came home at almost 9 months old and was welcomed home by her big brother Michael who is 3. We are so grateful to be home together as a family of four. I am very excited to be joining the Family Advisory Council to provide a parent perspective of my experiences, which I hope will help other families in similar situations.

I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have 3 awesome kids. Luke (5) Maddie, our heart warrior (4) and Hank (21mo). I have been a registered nurse for the last 12 years. My primary experience has been in the Emergency Room. My pediatric experience is limited, most of my knowledge of pediatrics is from being a mom! My husband and I were raised on the southside and are excited to raise our family in this great tight knit community. When we were told our 4-month-old daughter would need open heart surgery, our world was completely rocked.

While we were at, what we thought was a onetime cardiologist appointment to evaluate a "benign heart murmur" , turned into a direct admission to Advocate Children's Hospital for open heart surgery. As scary of a situation that it was, we were met with the best people. The entire experience was as smooth and as positive as it gets being in this position. During our stay my husband and I promised to do what we could to give back. Being part of this council is just one small part we can do to help ensure other families have the most positive experience during such a scary time.

I am a born-and-raised Beverly native which also happens to be where I now raise my family. Brig and I have 3 beautiful children and we do our best to set a good example for them. I wanted to join to FAC because Hope (Advocate) provided an incredibly comforting atmosphere for me and Brig during the worst moments of our lives. Fortunately, our baby girl is now doing wonderful, but we want to support parents in the future who go through similar experiences with their children. We want to help promote and support the culture that the hospital and the FAC provides for parents in need.

I joined the Advocate Healthcare family in 2007 as a Pediatric Hospitalist, after completing medical school at the University of Chicago and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. I have worked clinically at many sites across our Advocate system including Good Samaritan, Good Shepherd, and Advocate Children’s Hospital, Park Ridge and the Oak Lawn campuses.

My administrative responsibilities included being Medical Director of the ACH-PR campus general pediatrics inpatient unit, as well as the Associate Program Director of the Residency Program at PR campus. Since 2014, I have been the Division Director of the Pediatric Hospitalist program, and recently in 2020 I became Vice President of Quality and Safety for Advocate Children’s Hospital. I am very passionate about providing the highest quality and safest care to our patients. Being a physician is truly a calling and a privilege!

I am the proud father of 3 rambunctious little ones. In my spare time I enjoy doing anything to see our kids learn and grow. From fishing to Lego building to bike riding – spending time with them during these precious years brings me a lot of joy. Our youngest daughter London was born with congenital heart disease and had her first open heart surgery at 3 months old. Through her journey, we were able to learn more about the community and the hospital.

We joined Family Advisory Council to be a voice of a family who has, and will, spend a significant amount of time at the hospital. We are encouraged by all the advancements happening in the health care industry. We want to communicate our enthusiasm to the hospital so that we can better the experience for all children who visit. I’m honored to be a part of this dynamic group of selfless individuals that encourage me to be a better person.

CEO of If Walls Could Talk Murals, fine Art and painting classes. I have been a muralist for over 18 years, studied at Colombia collage and Graduated from Illinois Institute of Art. I am also the President of LifeSmart Senior Services where we help seniors navigate through Medicare.

I’ve had the privilege of being one of the pediatric nurse practitioners for the Palliative and Supportive Care team on the Park Ridge campus since 2017. Prior to working for Advocate Children's Hospital, I worked in the northern suburbs as a bedside nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There, I developed a passion for supporting families parenting children with serious illnesses.

I went on to graduate school to obtain my Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Rush University and began working with the amazing team here at Advocate. One of the best parts of my job is advocating for patients and families to ensure their voices are being heard and respected. My hope for the Family Advisory Council is to honor my former patients by working to make experiences for future patients and their families just a little bit easier. In my time outside of the hospital, I enjoy traveling, running and spending time with my daughters.

I started at Christ Hospital in October of 1984 as a respiratory student and have worked at Advocate Children’s Hospital in various roles as a shift supervisor, ECMO specialist and clinical orientation specialist. Currently, I’m a clinical education specialist for Pediatric Respiratory Care. When my children were in high school, I went back to school and received my bachelor’s in Healthcare Leadership.

I continued for my Master of Science in adult training and development. I now help prepare parents to care for their children with tracheostomy tubes and home ventilators. As a member of the Pediatric Complex Care (PCC) team, I assist patients and their families both inpatient and outpatient. The PCC helps coordinate care of the most fragile children in our community and help give support to their super hero parents. I am excited to give back to the hospital that has been my home for most of my life and excited to collaborate with the awesome families we have had the pleasure to serve.

I have been an employee of Advocate Children’s Hospital for the past 24 years. Most of my career experience has been in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). I currently hold an Assistant Clinical Manager position in the PICU. My PICU career has been very challenging and rewarding at the same time. It’s a blessing that I get the opportunity to assist patients and their families with their struggles and victories. I look forward to serving on the Family Advisory Council.

Families’ experiences in the hospital vary; however, all share the similarity that they always remember how they felt as we as caregivers treated them and their loved ones. I want to pass their message of compassionate care to all health care providers. I love a good sense of humor. Laughter is necessary in life. I also enjoy music and love to go to concerts, movies, and spending time with family and friends. And I love fast cars!

I grew up on the Southwest side of Chicago and now live in Tinley Park. I’ve been married to my husband Ken for 12 years, and we have an 11-year-old daughter Maddie and 7-year-old son Kenny. During the pregnancy with Kenny he was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect. We have spent over 4+ months inpatient with Kenny at Advocate and sat beside with him through 3 open heart surgeries, plus numerous ER and outpatient visits.

Kenny will need lifelong care at Advocate Children’s. While we wouldn’t wish this on anyone, we got to see firsthand the most incredible acts of compassion, dedication and love from everyone who took care of Kenny. His medical team is like our family. I am honored to be part of the Family Advisory Council team that will continuously work to ensure superior, safe, and quality care for all children that come through the doors.

I’ve been involved with Advocate Children’s Hospital in some capacity for the past 7 and a half years, first as an art therapy intern, then as an artist-in-residence, and finally in 2015 as the first art therapist on the Park Ridge campus. This is my 2nd term on the Family Advisory Council. I continued for another term because I love the opportunity to learn from our families and be involved in processes to improve our hospital and our care. I have a new(ish) baby that I love to spend time with. I also enjoy biking and painting whenever I find a little bit of time for myself.

I’m a registered respiratory therapist with multiple years of experience working in neonatal and pediatric critical care at Advocate Children’s Hospital - Park Ridge. I’ve been an active member of the cystic fibrosis (CF) team for many years and recently joined the Neuromuscular Disease Clinic at Advocate Children’s Hospital - Park Ridge. I’m a long-standing member of the Family Advisory Board and narrative medicine team. I have provided countless lectures on airway clearance to families of CF patients and other medical professionals. Last year at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, I presented my abstract on the importance of nebulizer cleaning in cystic fibrosis. I have a strong passion for educating patients and families not only on keeping lungs healthy, but also using creative writing to facilitate healing.

I joined Advocate Children’s Hospital in 2016 as part of the charitable foundation team. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with families, physicians, nurses, Child Life and other team members to support the programs and services we offer patients. My motivation stems from my passion to ensure children have access to the care they need when they need it. I live in Naperville with my husband and 2 children, currently ages 2 and 3. My involvement with the Family Advisory Council was inspired by our own medical journey with my son, who was diagnosed with a vision impairment shortly after birth. I’m eager to work with other team members and parents to enhance the patient and family experience at Advocate Children’s Hospital.

I’m honored to be a part of the Family Advisory Council. The hospital does so much for my family and others and this is a way for me to pay that forward. The council provides a great opportunity to help support the staff of the hospital as they work hard to provide the best possible experience in the most difficult of circumstances for patients and their families. As the mother of a patient, it is wonderful to be part of this hospital that really does listen to those they serve.

I live in the Beverly area where my husband and I have raised our two children. I’ve been an Advocate Children’s Hospital team member for 7 years and during this time, I’ve worked with such amazing people. There are many different aspects of my job I love. What stands out most is being able to help others in any way I can.

I have the privilege of serving as a member of the MVP committee, where I hear amazing and inspiring stories of the good being done by people from all different disciplines of the hospital. One of my passions is the work I do with Patient Engagement, improving the patient and family experience is so important to me. I have also had the honor of being the 2018/20 staff co-chair of the FAC and contributing to help mirror patient and family needs and hospital priorities from a family prospective.

About 35 years ago, I began as a NICU nurse at Advocate Children’s Hospital - Oak Lawn. As a new nurse at the bedside, I loved every minute of teaching and caring for infants and helping their families to feel like their baby belonged to them. Since then, our unit has grown, our babies are more premature and require more care and technology, and our families stay in our NICU longer, becoming a vital part of our NICU family. Currently as the Neonatal Outcomes Nurse, I work with Vermont Oxford Network (VON), our staff, Child Life, Music Therapy, OT, PT, Speech and our VON Family Adviser to improve parent participation in their infant’s care. I love my journey here at Advocate. I’m honored to be a member of the Family Advisory Council helping families and infants in every aspect of their care to remain a family unit.

I am a single mom to an amazing 11 yr. old who also has a very rare liver disorder. Since Matthew’s first hospitalization back when he was 18 months old I have felt that I should give back to other families in their time of need. My family and I collect pop tops for our local Ronald McDonald House as well as the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland. My son and I love to be outdoors, and we enjoy exploring new places. We also love Disney and Wisconsin Dells. I look forward to being part of this year’s Family Advisory Council.

I am excited to be part of the family advisory council because I feel this will be a great opportunity to give back to a hospital that has helped not only my son, but me as well. The people there are just amazing, and I hope to help make their lives a little easier. As parents when our child is sick our first concern is the care of our sick baby. We tend to forget about our health and our needs, I hope to be able to help the parents who forget to eat or forget to grab everyday necessities when they run home for a quick break. I hope to be a shoulder and ear for someone, so they know they are not alone. The hospital can be a lonely place not just for the kids but for the parents as well.

I’m a pediatric physical therapist with 18 years of experience. I’ve worked at Advocate Children’s Hospital - Park Ridge for the past 8 years. It’s an honor to work for an organization committed to quality of care and best practice. Working in the pediatric therapy department, I provide services for inpatients and outpatients. I’m excited to collaborate with the special and unique members of the Family Advisory Council in making a positive impact to improve family-centered care.

I’ve been working for Advocate Health in the charitable foundation since 2012. My entire career thus far has been within the field of health care fundraising. I’m passionate about giving back and helping others who are less fortunate. I’m privileged to serve in such a caring profession and blessed to have the opportunity to meet grateful families. I was drawn to this line of work because of values instilled in me by my parents, as well as gratitude for family experiences within the world of health care. I’m very much looking forward to serving my 3rd term as part of the Family Advisory Council. I enjoy traveling the world, baking new-to-me recipes and going on adventures with my golden retriever.