Embedding Family Voices in Pediatric Campus Design: A Participatory Model for a New Children's Hospital

ObjectiveTo describe a practice-based, participatory engagement model that embedded patient, family, and youth voices during planning for a new pediatric campus within a quaternary children's health system.BackgroundFamily-centered care is widely endorsed, yet engagement in capital projects is often late, limited in reach, or disconnected from early design decisions. Practical guidance for large-scale, equitable engagement with clear linkage from input to decisions remains limited.MethodsA multidisciplinary Engagement Core Team partnered with an established Patient and Family Advisory Network (PFAN) to ensure patient and family centered input. Over 8 months, the team hosted more than 50 engagement sessions, including town halls, pop-ups, virtual focus groups, and full-scale mock-up reviews. Input was captured, organized into consistent planning and design categories, translated into actionable recommendations, and linked to resulting design decisions through decision logs.ResultsThe process engaged more than 1,000 participants and captured over 5,000 comments. Town Halls reached approximately 30% of the inpatient census on event days. PFAN input informed campus identity and wayfinding, public realm features (including outdoor access and key landmarks), and multiple inpatient room elements including layouts, storage strategies, and bedside environmental controls.ConclusionsA structured, multi-modal engagement model can scale patient and family participation in large capital projects and translate lived experience into specific, evidence-aligned design decisions. The team has a post-occupancy learning plan focused on patient/family experience, operational performance and safety, and equity.