CHANGE

Professional Mission

The Children’s Hospital Advisory Network for Guidance and Empowerment (CHANGE) is a youth led and driven board which advises Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC about the youth perspective and issues that affect this population.  It will work to ensure successful adult lives for youth who have special healthcare needs or have faced barriers in healthcare transition.  CHANGE recognizes the vital role that the youth voice has in creating change in perspectives, processes and policies in implementing an empowering culture and improving healthcare transition.

Working Mission

The Children’s Hospital Advisory Network for Guidance and Empowerment (CHANGE) is a board for and by youth who have had trouble transitioning to adult life.  The board provides the hospital with support to make it more youth friendly and accessible.   

Goals

Create a culture of youth empowerment, to provide youth with a voice in healthcare policies and procedures

Improve transition from adolescent healthcare to adult medicine, in order to increase successful adult transition outcomes 

Utilize the life course perspective

Objectives

To encourage medical practices and providers to embrace and incorporate youth development, advocacy, and empowerment  

Provide a youth voice in the development and implementation of policies, perspectives, and processes of Children’s Hospital.

Disseminate training materials for and about youth, including healthcare tools that are easily understandable and accessible

Host trainings and events for and about youth 

Motivate youth to become advocates in their own healthcare decisions by increasing empowerment and self-determination through supporting autonomy, competence, relatedness and motivation 

Organizational Structure

Membership
• A CHANGE/LEND liaison 
• 2 youth board leaders
• 12 board members
• Adult allies 

Meetings
• Monthly board meetings
• Monthly adult ally meetings
• Monthly executive committee meetings 

Potential Projects

Youth training programs

Toolkits

Youth perspective trainings

Educational materials 

Aspects of CHANGE involvement in improving healthcare transition