Unique Families Program
What is a unique family?
As you can imagine, a unique family can be very different from a traditional family. These days there are myriad ways a family can be created and there is wide diversity in family structure. Therefore it is increasingly imperative that healthcare systems consider new processes to care for the unique family population.
There must be a better way.
Currently, there are inconsistent approaches to care for the unique family, communication and language barriers due to lack of workforce knowledge, and confusion from the workforce on their role. Community blogs, Facebook posts and new parent focus groups have confirmed that unique family care approaches often lack empathy, understanding, and do not meet care satisfaction or expectations of the unique family.
Further, healthcare system biases, insensitive care and language, and societal stereotyping toward those of differing beliefs, culture, age, sexual orientation, and nontraditional family structures are creating unequal access and a lower quality of care for unique families. We hear the call to enhance the quality and value of unique family health care, and we lead the charge in developing a standardized care model for unique families utilizing obstetric care.
To address the need and fill the gap.
Family to Family Support Network® created the Unique Families Program® in 2015. Our mission is to transform the healthcare culture and services to be unique family-sensitive system-wide and nationwide. Our model utilizes an integrated, patient-centered approach that empowers healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive, consistent, neutral and compassionate care to unique families accessing obstetric care throughout pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery.
Unique families served include:
- adoption and surrogacy arrangements
- incarcerated patients
- socially complex families
- refugees and immigrants
- those struggling with critical issues and needs such as substance use disorder, sexual assault, and domestic violence
Training & Education
Comprehensive hospital and community training to provide compassionate care to every patient served.
The Unique Families Program® utilizes an established and tested curriculum to train hospital professionals in providing neutral, compassionate care to those facing unplanned pregnancy. The training is designed to increase hospital staff awareness of their own personal perceptions and biases regarding unique families and their complex situations, so they are able to serve patients in an objective, non-biased manner. It is also designed to improve hospital staff sensitivity, understanding, and skills necessary to handle the intricate emotional and logistical needs of unique families throughout pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery.
Following the training, hospital professionals feel confident, educated, and empowered to serve their patients while being sensitive to the logistical and emotional complexity of unplanned pregnancy.
Infrastructure Development & Support
Simple infrastructure to meet complex needs.
Hospitals receive infrastructure development support and expert consulting to fully implement the “Unique Families” Program. Family to Family Support Network® provides operational guidance to the hospital as they review and update their current policies, guidelines, and workflows to incorporate the care model.
Community Resource Connection
Proactive resources addressing patient needs, resulting in improved patient outcomes.
In addition to training and education, the Unique Families Program® connects hospital professionals with community organizations to create a network of resources for families to tap into before, during and after delivery. Through the program, hospitals will develop a comprehensive referral and community partner list to better patient care in unique situations and enable a pro-active approach to implementing resources to address identified patient needs.
