Welcome to the Child and Youth Advisory Council (CYAC)
Contact:
Patient Engagement Office:
Email: LHSCPatientEngagement@lhsc.on.ca
Join our council and make a difference at Children’s Hospital! If you’re 12-18 years old, and have a connection with Children’s Hospital, we want your ideas! Get involved and help make changes at Children’s Hospital!
Our Program
The Child and Youth Advisory Group is made up of youth, aged 12 – 18 who have been a patient at Children’s Hospital or have a family member that has been treated at the hospital.
What We Do
The Child and Youth Advisory Council brings fresh, new, helpful and creative ideas to Children’s Hospital. Our vision is to enhance patient and family-centred care by looking at the health care experience through the eyes of children and youth patients.
What to Expect
The Council meets monthly to work on projects, hear guest speakers and discuss feedback from patients. Members share their own health care experiences so that we can teach others what it is like and use this knowledge to improve care.
As a Council member, you will be part of a team of young people and health care professionals – all with different ideas, challenges and issues on how care can be improved. Your involvement will show adults and other young people what a positive and important contribution we can all make to our hospital and the health care system.
"I am with the CYAC because I was once in the hospital myself and have experienced what those kids go through. I think that myself and other kids could change the hospital for the better."
"I have plenty of experience to share with the younger patients and I know what needs to be done and how to do it. I am glad that I can be a part of the future care provided by the Children’s Hospital."
How to Join
- Contact us by email at LHSCPatientEngagement@lhsc.on.ca
Our Accomplishments
- Added child-friendly murals to the Inpatient Treatment Room and Paediatric Medical Day Unit
- Created a Bill of Rights for Children and Teens in the Hospital
- Provided recommendations for the Paediatric menu choices
- Created a space guidelines document for Children’s Hospital Leaders which provides suggestions from the youth partners on how to make hospital spaces more child friendly.
- In August of 2019 the council completed a “Youthful Lens on Day Surgery” video which took patients through the journey of what it is like to come for day surgery. You can watch the video here: AboutKids Health | LHSC.
- Most notably the council was part of a program creation for a peer support program for patients in hospital aged 12-17. This program is called Youth CoRE and the CoRE stands for the programs key values of Connect, Relate and Engage. This program is staffed by Youth Resource Facilitators who connect with youth patients at bedside. Often times their connections are simply just offering a board game or video game to play together which typically emerges into a more peer support focus type of conversation.
