Keeping Families Connected: The Impact of Real-Time Messaging at Bethany Children’s Health Center 

When a child is in inpatient care, the entire family is affected. The distance, both geographical and emotional, between a patient and their loved ones can be incredibly challenging in times of care administration. Research from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality highlights the importance of patient-family engagement, noting positive effects on a patient’s: 

• Emotional Health 
• Symptom Resolution 
• Pain Control 
• Blood Pressure & Blood Sugar Levels 

At Bethany Children’s Health Center, the only inpatient pediatric rehabilitation facility in Oklahoma, they understand this need for connection. Many families travel long distances to ensure their children receive the best care, often facing long stretches of time apart. 

To help keep families connected, Bethany Children’s has embraced using TigerConnect for secure messaging, which helps maintain that crucial link between patients and their families, even when they can’t be physically together. In a recent podcast episode, Amy Gower, Family Engagement Communications Specialist at Bethany Children’s, and Will O’Connor, MD, TigerConnect CMIO, explore how real-time messaging has not only improved communication but also strengthened the emotional bonds between patients and their families, enhancing the care experience for everyone involved. 

Secure Virtual Connections in Real-Time

Bethany Children’s serves a diverse population of children aged 0-21, many of whom have families that have traveled across the state for crucial care. The distance can make it difficult for parents and guardians to stay involved in their child’s day-to-day care, which is where TigerConnect Patient Engagement lends a meaningful hand. Amy Gowers explains that by using this platform, the healthcare team at Bethany Children’s can send real-time messages, pictures, and videos directly to families, keeping them informed and involved regardless of physical distance. 

This secure, real-time communication is particularly vital for parents who want to stay informed about their child’s progress in therapy, receive updates before and after major procedures, or be notified about upcoming hospital events. 

“[Families] can’t come even on a weekly basis. And so just to be able for them to lay eyes on their child and see what they’re doing – it just totally helps the morale of families,” says Gower. 

The ability to instantly share updates provides guardians with peace of mind while also strengthening the emotional connection between the child and their family, making the hospital experience less isolating for everyone involved. 

Improving Patient Care and Discharge Planning 

Amy Gower highlights how real-time messaging has also made a big difference in the continuity of care, especially when it comes to things like discharge planning and keeping track of follow-up appointments. It helps families be more prepared when it comes time to continue their child’s care journey from the hospital to the home. The continuous flow of information allows for better coordination with families, leading to improved care outcomes and a reduction in readmission rates. 

By involving families in every step of the care process, from ongoing therapy updates to detailed discharge instructions, the staff at Bethany Children’s can facilitate a smoother, more organized transition. This level of coordination is especially important for children with complex medical needs, where clear communication and family-centric planning are fundamental to their ongoing recovery. 

Boosting Satisfaction Among Patients, Families, and Staff 

Frequent correspondence with care providers creates a sense of involvement and reassurance for families, leading to higher levels of satisfaction levels during what can only be a stressful time. 

For the care teams at Bethany Children’s, witnessing families’ ability to stay connected with their child through TigerConnect—whether celebrating a milestone in physical therapy or offering encouragement before a procedure—significantly boosts team morale. This direct patient-family engagement is a reminder of the positive impact they’re having on entire families. Additionally, the ease of coordinating and collaborating with the care team reduces administrative burdens, allowing staff to focus more on delivering high-quality care. This, in turn, leads to better patient outcomes and creates a more supportive atmosphere within the hospital. 

To learn more about how Bethany Children’s Health Center used TigerConnect’s real-time messaging to keep families connected, informed, and engaged in their child’s care, listen to the HIMSSCast podcast episode.