Nobody can tell the stories of children’s hospitals better than young patients and their families.

On June 17 and 18, 2009, patients and families from children’s hospitals across the country will travel to Washington, DC, to advocate on behalf of their hospitals as part of the fifth annual N.A.C.H. Family Advocacy Day. Follow the journeys of these champions who will share their stories to illustrate why all children need children's hospitals.

A different participating patient will be featured each week leading up to Family Advocacy Day.

Kelsie woke up last March with a serious headache and suffered an arteriovenous malformation rupture (AVM). Emerging from a coma a month later, she began inpatient rehabilitation for her brain injury. In rehab, she made significant improvements but Kelsie’s mother began to worry about how she would continue making progress when her private insurance would allow only 60 therapy visits for rehabilitation in a year. With the help of a case manager, Kelsie was able to obtain a one-year Medicaid waiver due to the severity of her new disabilities. Upon release from inpatient care, Kelsie began receiving physical, occupational and speech therapy at Children’s Hospital of Richmond. Kelsie’s mother and doctors are amazed at her progress; many children don’t survive this type of injury to the brain. Kelsie is still working on her pronunciation, processing, short-term memory and improving her limited motor skills. She recently started using her passion for music and a musical keyboard in therapy sessions to help her reach her full potential.

Send Kelsie a message of support.

View all of the 2009 Champions.

There’s a lot of serious business to be done while families and hospitals are in Washington, however, there’s also time for fun and networking.

The event will kick off with a sightseeing tour of the city, followed by lunch at the hotel and an interactive, family-friendly briefing to prepare participants for their legislative visits the following day. Later that evening, the hotel ballroom will be transformed for a patriotic celebration, including ice cream and toy shops, face painters and caricaturists, and a performance by a live band for the kids.

On June 18, hospitals and families will head to Capitol Hill to meet with legislators and their staff and will enjoy lunch in one of the Senate office buildings.

The following hospital are registered and bringing a family to Family Advocacy Day:

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, Palo Alto, CA
Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC
The HSC Pediatric Center, Washington, DC
Miami Children's Hospital, FL
All Children’s Hospital, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL
St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa, FL
Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
Kosair Children's Hospital Norton Healthcare, Inc. Louisville, KY
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA
Children's Hospital Boston, MA
Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, Inc., Baltimore, MD
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI
Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Gillette Children’s Specialty Hospital, St. Paul, MN
Children’s Specialized Hospital, Mountainside, NJ
NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NY
Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, OH
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Cleveland, OH
Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, OH
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA
The Children's Hospital Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, Inc., Memphis, TN
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Children's Medical Center Dallas, Dallas, TX
Texas Children’s Hospital Houston, TX
Children’s Hospital, Richmond, VA
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

The following children's hospitals are sending staff to Family Advocacy Day:

Children’s Hospital of Alabama
Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA
Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Kansas City, MO
St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Blythedale Children's Hospital, Valhalla, NY
Dell Children’s Medical Center, Austin, TX
CHRISTUS Santa Rose, San Antonio, TX

Information for Hospitals and Families

Information for the Media

“Bringing one of our families to Washington for Family Advocacy Day has been very beneficial – not only to educate our legislators on the importance of Medicaid and children's hospitals to the health of our children – but also as a way for our families to give back to the hospital and become an active advocate.”

--Christopher G. Dawes
President and CEO
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford
Palo Alto, CA