Parent Mentors

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Managing parenthood is challenging enough. The day-to-day care can even be more overwhelming if your child is sick, injured or has a chronic condition. Friends and family may offer help and support, but unless they've been through a similar situation, they may not always understand the difficulties you face. That's where our Parents as Partners mentor program can help.

Who better to help you navigate this challenging time than those who've been where you are? Every parent mentor is the parent of a Cook Children's patient, so they have a unique understanding of the fears and challenges you're facing and the daily routines at our medical center. Parent mentors provide one-on-one support and encouragement to newly diagnosed families or those with similar medical conditions for both inpatient and outpatient families.

A parent mentor can help you:

Navigate the medical center.
Find resources and information regarding your child's condition.
Learn to advocate for your child.
By offering support and a much needed shoulder to lean on—and even friendship, understanding and laughter.

Support and understanding go a long way in helping you cope with the challenges you face while caring for your child's illness or injury. All of our parent mentors are specially trained and are matched with families who are new to the system or whose children have similar conditions. This creates a unique relationship of support and encouragement from someone who has walked a similar path to yours, and can ease the way as you begin your journey at Cook Children's.

Parent mentors

Abby Johnson

Katie Senter

Lauren Findley

Mary Huynh

Natalie Dorsey

Samuel Suldocan

Find a parent mentor

Call us at 682-885-7123 or email parents@cookchildrens.org.

Parents as Partners program

Because families play an important role in a child's recovery and healing, we partner with families to provide the best care possible for kids. Through a variety of support groups and activities, our Parents as Partners program is working to improve the Cook Children's experience for patients and families. If you'd like more information on our Parents as Partners program, please call us at 682-885-7123 or email parents@cookchildrens.org.