Building Bridges Across the Nation by Linking Pediatric Patient & Family Advisory Groups

The Canadian Family Advisory Network (CFAN) was formed in 2002 to link the various volunteer family advisory bodies—now 11—that are attached to paediatric health centres, both hospitals and rehabilitation centres, across Canada. Since then, a handful of groups that advise paediatric programs at general and regional hospitals, at two hospices, and within a regional health authority have joined the Network.

CFAN encourages and facilitates the participation of families in making excellent, family-centered healthcare for children and youth a reality throughout Canada by: 1) providing a means for the otherwise quite isolated groups to share information and advice about recruitment, retention, reporting relationships, family participation in patient safety initiatives and the education of professionals and trainees, etc.; 2) ensuring that the voices of families are heard in discussions and debates in national, provincial, and regional fora about the health of children and youth and about the healthcare services that are, or should be, available to them and their families, and; 3) serving as a resource to any organization that wishes to collaborate with families in projects aimed at improving the health of children and youth.

» History & Annual Reports
» Newsletters
» Events & Announcements
» 2007 Annual Workshop
» 2006 Annual Workshop
» 2005 Annual Workshop
» CFAN Contact List

History & Annual Reports

» The Canadian Family Advisory Network (CFAN): Its Origin and Development to 2006
» CFAN Annual Report 2006-2007

Newsletters

» CFAN 2008 Newsletter
» CFAN 2007 Newsletter
» CFAN 2006 Newsletter
» CFAN 2005 Newsletter

Events & Announcements

» Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient and Family-Centered Care:
Intensive Training Seminar. October 27-30, 2008, The Westin Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

2007 Annual Workshop

Thirty two people attended all or part of this year’s full-day CFAN workshop. Participants represented advisory bodies at IWK (Halifax), Montreal Children’s, The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Roger’s Place (a children’s hospice in Ottawa), Sick Kids (Toronto), McMaster Children’s (Hamilton), The Children’s Hospital of London Health Sciences Centre, and Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton). There were also parents and a staff member from Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton which is forming an advisory body, a staff member from Rouge Valley Health System (Toronto) which is trying to form an advisory body, members of the Canadian Sickle Cell Society, a member of the Child and Youth Homecare Network, and a senior staff member of The Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres (CAPHC), the sponsoring organization that made the workshop possible.

» View 2007 Workshop Summary
» Presentation Summary:  Parents using stories to advocate

2006 Annual Workshop

Twenty-five people participated in CFAN’s full-day workshop on October 14th in Vancouver. The participants represented ten family advisory bodies, two institutions (a hospital and a children’s hospice) in the process of forming advisory bodies, and the Board of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres (CAPHC). The full list of participants, with their affiliations and their email addresses, is at the bottom of this summary.

» View 2006 Workshop Summary

Unlocking Success– Recruitment and Retention of the Multi-Generational Family Advisory Committee
Presentation by Susan Greig, Canadian Family Advisory Network Conference
October 14, 2006

» View Presentation

2005 Annual Workshop

The Canadian Family Advisory Network (CFAN) held its largest and most successful
workshop on Sunday, October 16th in St. John’s Newfoundland. Representatives from
nine hospital-linked advisory bodies, from a community hospital that doesn’t yet have an
advisory body, from two community-based support groups in Newfoundland, and a
handful of staff members from different hospitals—twenty-four people in all—
participated in the workshop, which ended up spilling over into Tuesday’s lunch during
the CAPHC conference for the conclusion of the CFAN business meeting. What follows
is a summary of the proceedings with several attachments providing more details, contact
information for the participants, and the participants’ evaluations of the workshop. .

» View 2005 Workshop Summary

Contact List

» CFAN Contact List