Med students will learn how families cope with chronically ill children at Helen DeVos

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

Twenty medical centers across the United States and Australia use Project Delivery of Chronic Care (DOCC) for their pediatric residency training. Now Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital brings that program, which teaches physicians caring for chronically ill children, to West Michigan.

The residents learn what it’s like for parents to care for a chronically ill child outside the hospital. Residents visit the young patients’ homes, interview the parents and listen to panel presentations by five parents of a chronically ill child.

"Project DOCC is an opportunity for residents to see a child and family in the context of their own environment," said Jeri Kessenich, M.D., residency director. "This allows them to better understand the day-to-day needs of the family, how to better advocate for families and to learn themselves about the unique parenting challenges these families face. Every resident who has completed the program has a newfound respect for parents and siblings of chronically ill children."

Four-year-old Allison Woodhouse has spent over 200 days in the hospital because of cystic fibrosis.

"Caring for a child in a hospital is completely different than caring for a child at home," said Paula Woodhouse, Allison’s mom. "Project DOCC gives residents a snapshot of what life is like when the health of your child impacts everything a family does. We must pack three bags just to run an errand, need a wheelchair lift and are unable to enjoy a date with a spouse longer than three hours.”

Allison's mom, Paula, serves as a Project DOCC parent coordinator and vice chair, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Family Centered Care Advisory Committee, and was the driving force that brought DOCC to West Michigan.

Source: Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital

Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].