Supporting Military-Connected Children, Families and Employees
Supporting Military-Connected Children, Families and Employees
Nemours Children鈥檚 recognizes that roughly 80% of what affects a child鈥檚 health takes place in their home, school and community. We鈥檙e making a difference by going 鈥淲ell Beyond Medicine鈥 with programs that address the nonmedical 80% of what it takes to create a healthier future for all children 鈥 our patients, children who live in our service areas and children across the country.聽
Given our proximity to major military installations in Delaware and Florida, initiatives to support military-connected children, families and employees are a natural priority for Nemours.聽
- Coalition Leadership
- Joint Advocacy
- Medical Identifier
- Employee Support
- KidsHealth
Leadership in the Hidden Helpers Coalition: Supporting Children & Teens in Military Connected Families, Nationwide
Throughout America, more than 2 million children under the age of 18 live with an ill or injured military veteran or service member. These children, sometimes referred to as 鈥渉idden helpers,鈥 report being proud to support their family member. However, many of these children and teens need more support.
Children from military caregiving homes often experience stress and anxiety and report feeling isolated from friends and others. At times, their relationship with their healthy parent suffers. 鈥淩esearch on children whose parent or family member returns from military service with an injury or illness points to worrisome outcomes, particularly related to psychological or behavioral well-being,鈥 said the on this issue, 鈥淗idden Helpers on the Frontlines of Caregiving,鈥 published in 2021.
鈥淢y children 鈥 have had to grow up way too fast and sacrifice so much," said Silvia Lopez, a Delaware resident who cares for her husband, five children and one grandson.
In 2021, as part of our mission to go 鈥渨ell beyond medicine,鈥 we joined a national coalition to help improve public awareness and health care for children who serve on the front lines at home. The is a joint effort of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project and the Biden Administration鈥檚 Joining Forces initiative.
Nemours Children鈥檚 is the first pediatric health system to join the coalition of more than 100 public and private sector organizations. We pledged to create a collection of web-based trainings and resources for health care providers. To create the training, we conducted focus groups and surveys of more than 200 adult caregivers of military veterans and service members.
The goal is to enable the best possible care by helping providers understand the special needs of children from these families and build trust and understanding with the parents, legal guardians and children. In early 2024, we released the publicly available training. It is housed on . There is no cost to create a user account on the platform or to complete the training. Read more about a detailed project history and course description.
鈥淢ost care providers have no idea what children caregivers go through/witness/deal with every day,鈥 wrote one parent answering our survey. 鈥淢y kids have had to do/deal with things most adults couldn鈥檛 handle, having to take care of me due to my military injuries.鈥
Our goal is to directly address this need, so that America鈥檚 鈥淗idden Helpers鈥 can find the help they need to thrive.
Listen to Nemours two-part Well Beyond Medicine Podcast featuring the Hidden Helpers Coalition:
Part One
Hidden Helpers, Hidden No More with Dr. Larry Moss and Steve Schwab 鈥 Well Beyond Medicine Podcast.
Part Two
Hidden Helpers Heard featuring spouses and adult children of wounded warriors 鈥 Well Beyond Medicine Podcast.
Sparking Cross-Sector Collaboration in Support of Military-Connected Children & Families
Nemours is committed to leveraging our state and federal government relations teams to support policy and advocacy strategies that benefit military-connected children. On June 28, 2024, we co-hosted at our Delaware hospital 鈥淪upporting Our Military Families and Hidden Helpers,鈥 an awareness-raising and press event with the Eliabeth Dole Foundation and U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.). The event included Nemours-connected military families and panels focused on policymaking, education and health care.
The event aimed to:
- Elevate awareness of the unique challenges facing children in military and veteran families, particularly children who have a parent with service-related injuries or illnesses
- Celebrate recent work in support of children in military and veteran families
- Amplify commitments to improving and scaling collaboration with like-minded organizations and leaders, inclusive of event co-sponsors and panelists
- Increase awareness of, and participation in, the Hidden Helpers Coalition
- Feature new commitments made by event sponsors and panelists to increase support for children in military and veteran families.
View Event Program and Speaker Biographies
View the detailed program agenda and event background.
Supporting Our Military Families and Hidden Helpers
Watch a recording of the June 28, 2024 event on YouTube.
Identifying Military-Connected Children & Families Among our Patients to Improve Care
About 4 million children in the United States are part of military families. Up to half of these children receive their health care off-base at civilian facilities. But studies suggest that the majority of health care providers do not ask for the military status of the child鈥檚 family. Knowing that a child is part of a military, guard, veteran or reserve family is essential for identifying potential support needs and providing the best possible care.
The importance of establishing 鈥渁 clinical process to identify children who are military connected and document it in the electronic medical record鈥 is recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics in its recommendations for pediatricians and health systems on caring for children in military families in .
As part of our commitment to improving care for children in military-connected families, in 2024 Nemours Children鈥檚 added a military-connected patient identifier to our patient registration process and electronic medical record. Nemours Children鈥檚 chairs the health care subcommittee within the national , which focuses on increasing awareness of and support for the unique needs of children who are part in military-connected families where a parent has service-related injuries and/or illnesses. Together with the other health care organizations in the Coalition, we are continuing to refine our strategies for supporting military-connected patients, once identified.
"I would say to clinicians, it鈥檚 essential to have awareness of who your patients in military and veteran families are and to knowing the impacts of the parent鈥檚 service on children and teens 鈥 the transitions and everything these children go through. Making them feel safe, understood and heard makes all the difference in the patient/family relationship with provider".
鈥 Military Caregiving Spouse and Mom
The Unique Health Care Needs of Military Families
Knowing that a child is part of a military family allow providers to customize the ways they support the needs of the patient and family. In this 5-minute video, learn how the Fischer family and Dr. Sandler, chair of pediatrics at Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Florida collaborated to increase the ability of John Fischer (Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy) to participate in his son鈥檚 cancer treatment while deployed.
Salute: An Associate Resource Group for Military-Connected Employees
In spring 2024, Nemours launched 鈥淪alute,鈥 a new Associate Resource Group (ARG). ARGs are voluntary and peer-led groups that bring together Nemours associates who share identities and experiences, along with their supporters/allies. Through Salute, associates share common military and veteran experiences and goals related to health care, working at Nemours, and celebrate our military and veteran associates. Through their sharing, Salute members identify ways Nemours can better support our military-connected associates and partner with other military-connected community organizations.
To learn more, email Salute coordinators at salute@nemours.org.
Expanding Content on Nemours KidsHealth庐
Nemours powers聽, a pioneer and leader in pediatric health content that's been trusted by millions worldwide for more than 25 years to keep families healthy. To support military-connected children and families, KidsHealth庐 has published new articles for parents and teens, including: