Parent to Parent Resource Room at the Vermont Children's Hospital

Resource Room

at the Vermont Children's Hospital

Our Baird 5-Pediatrics Parent to Parent Resource Room is available to parents and
family members as a quiet place to relax, read, communicate by email and research on the web.
Open day and night, this is a respite space with a phone, computer
and a recently updated library.

click to read the Resource Room story!

Rest * Research * Resources

At the Hospital, you can ask Parent to Parent to:
Send a newsletter, information packet, or request a match...
Request a visit or tell us to bring other resources (books, pamphlets, videos)

Use the room's computer to send/read email or do research...

We're located on Baird 5, across from the mural of Monty the Moose eating popcorn!

To talk with a Family Support Coordinator, or to find a parent whose child has the same diagnosis, call Parent to Parent of VT at 800-800-4005 ext. 11, or tell a nurse or Child Life that you would like to talk with Parent to Parent.

The story of the Parent to Parent Resource Room for Families (and the heroines of the story!)
In early summer 2004 Parent to Parent of Vermont, home of Family Voices of Vermont, in collaboration with some key staff members of the Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care (FAHC), opened the Parent to Parent Resource Room on the Baird 5 pediatric floor. The Parent to Parent Resource Room is available to parents and family members when their children are hospitalized. Envisioned by Joanne Barton, RN (Baird 5 Care Coordinator) and Tracy Wagner, RN while they were attending the first international Institute of Family-Centered Care Conference in Boston a few years ago, the Resource Room is a quiet place where parents can go to relax, read, communicate by email and get resources. In Tracy’s words, “While we were there [Boston], we were brainstorming how to improve our Hospital’s family-centered care practices, and we decided that Parent to Parent needed space on the unit. We knew we might face some challenges, but planned to forge ahead. Joanne moved from her office into mine, which left a tiny room open. There was some concern about confidentiality, better use of space, competition with the Ronald McDonald room, etc., as we anticipated, but our theme was ‘It’s right thing to do’, over and over again.” Meetings with hospital administration ensued, furniture was donated by local merchants, books, resources and decorations were provided by P2P, and P2P staff went through the standardized hospital volunteer staff training. Open day and night, the Resource Room has a phone, computer and a recently updated library.

Parents have commented on how helpful it is to have a place to go. What a testament to people who have a dream and bring it to fruition!