Kathryn Garcia Castro became a Cedars-Sinai family advisor after giving birth in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. (photo courtesy of Cedars-Sinai)

When Kathryn Garcia Castro’s twins were born in 2015, they were 14 weeks early. One weighed 2 pounds, the other just 1 pound.

The twins were in the Cedars-Sinai neonatal intensive care unit for three months, and Garcia Castro spent every day with them.

The twins – Mateo and Camilla, now 7 years old and in the second grade – are busy with school and friends.

Garcia Castro is still at Cedars-Sinai volunteering as a patient and family advisor, offering support and advice for new parents in the NICU. One of her favorite activities is teaching and encouraging new parents to hold their premature babies skin-to-skin, something nurses helped with when she was a new mom. She also was able to help create a welcome packet for new parents.

“The nurses were so helpful to me when I was overwhelmed in the NICU. This is my way of giving back,” Garcia Castro said.

Garcia Castro belongs to one of Cedars-Sinai’s patient and family advisory councils, a group of about 50 former patients who advise about improving patient experiences based on their own time as a patient or caregiver.

“For a hospital caregiver, it is very important to hear the perspective of patients and their families,” said Alan Dubovsky, vice president and chief patient experience officer. “They bring the patient’s voice to the table. The goal of patient and family advisors is to share that perspective and make sure it is considered as we work toward elevating the patient experience.”

Members are asked to offer suggested improvements for the medical center and other patient care areas. They have worked on tasks ranging from discharge checklists and wayfinding projects to care packages and meal suggestions. Now, the council is looking to attract new volunteers to grow its ranks.

Brandy Starks joined the patient and family advisor program in 2019 after serving both as a former employee and patient. As an employee, she worked in advanced heart disease research. As a patient, she was treated for a pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrhythmia and other issues. When she returned to good health, she was already employed elsewhere but wanted to give back to Cedars-Sinai.

“The care was so supportive at Cedars-Sinai, I was inspired to help others,” she said.

As a patient and family advisor, Starks worked on both inpatient and outpatient projects, including one initiative to standardize information on the whiteboard in patient rooms and another effort to make patient research consent forms easier to understand.

“My experience on the council inspired me to start a nonprofit organization to help underserved community members learn how they can benefit from clinical trials,” Starks said.

For information, visit cedars-sinai.org/patient-and-family-advisors/become-a-pfa.html.