Funded Projects

Resident Education Supporting Children’s Unique Experiences

Project Year

2026

City & State

Iowa City, Iowa 

Program Name

Resident

Topic

Health Disparities

Program Description

RESCUE – Resident Education Supporting Children’s Unique Experiences Comprehensive Hospital-to-Home Support Program for Medically Complex Children  

Problem: Medically complex children experience prolonged hospitalizations, frequent readmissions, and fragmented care transitions, placing significant strain on families and healthcare systems. These children require coordination across multiple specialties, therapists, and community resources; yet residency training often emphasizes acute inpatient management rather than longitudinal, family-centered care. Children in rural and semi-rural Iowa face disproportionate barriers, including limited access to home nursing, therapy services, and school accommodations, complicating safe hospital-to-home transitions.  Residents often lack structured opportunities to engage in family-centered care planning, understand longitudinal care needs, or collaborate with community supports that directly affect children after discharge. Similar gaps exist in outpatient, school, and community settings, leaving families to navigate complex systems without guidance. Addressing this unmet need is essential to improving patient- and family-centered care while enhancing resident training.  

Target Population: RESCUE focuses on children with chronic medical conditions, multi-organ involvement, or frequent hospitalizations requiring multi-specialty coordination. While the primary setting is a tertiary children’s hospital, the program also includes care delivered in outpatient clinics, therapy centers, schools, family support organizations, and community clinics, ensuring residents gain comprehensive exposure to the full continuum of care.  

Project Goal: RESCUE aims to enhance resident competence and confidence in caring for medically complex children while directly improving hospital-to-home transitions and access to care coordination resources. Through family-facing tools, structured cross-system communication, and partnerships with community organizations, RESCUE reduces care fragmentation, improves caregiver preparedness, and strengthens continuity of care. By embedding family-centered, hospital-to-community care into residency education, residents acquire transferable skills applicable across outpatient, school, and community practice settings, fostering coordinated, holistic, and sustainable care throughout their careers.  

Proposed Intervention:  Hospital-Based Experiences: Residents lead family-centered multidisciplinary rounds, participate in Family-Centered Grand Rounds, engage in simulation-based training, and join structured reflection sessions to strengthen clinical reasoning, interprofessional teamwork, and communication skills.  Community-Based

Exposure: Residents shadow care coordinators, social workers, and community partners, including home health agencies, therapy centers, schools, and clinics. They develop individualized hospital-to-home transition plans addressing medical, functional, and social needs.  

Integrated Education Projects: Residents present case summaries and lessons learned to inform quality improvement initiatives and enhance hospital-community integration.  

Anticipated Outcomes:  Family & Patient: ≥75% of families report increased confidence in care coordination, improved discharge preparedness, reduced care plan confusion, and fewer missed appointments.  

Resident Education: ≥85% of residents demonstrate improved confidence and competence in caring for medically complex children.  

Community Partnerships: Partners report improved communication with hospital teams and increased use of standardized medical summaries across care settings.  

Sustainability and Impact:  RESCUE creates a replicable, scalable model for embedding longitudinal, family-centered education into pediatric residency. By positioning families as co-educators and residents as active participants across the care continuum, RESCUE improves outcomes for medically complex children, strengthens community partnerships, and prepares pediatricians to deliver coordinated, compassionate, and collaborative care across any practice setting.

Project Goal

The RESCUE initiative aims to enhance pediatric residents’ competence and confidence in managing medically complex children while simultaneously improving the care experience for patients and families. By providing structured, hands-on experiences across the hospital-to-home continuum, the project strengthens residents’ understanding of hospital course management, care coordination, and family-centered communication. The skills and approaches gained through this program are designed to be transferable, equipping residents to support medically complex children in diverse practice settings, including outpatient clinics, schools, and community-based programs. Ultimately, the goal is to improve care continuity, promote patient- and family-centered care, and prepare residents to deliver holistic, collaborative, and compassionate care for medically complex children throughout Iowa and beyond.

Project Objective 1

Objective 1 – Strengthen Resident Skills in Caring for Medically Complex Children and Family-Centered Communication  Specific: Residents will engage in structured hospital- and community-based experiences, including multidisciplinary rounds, care coordination shadowing, family-centered grand rounds, post-discharge reflection sessions, and simulation of high-acuity procedures (tracheostomy, gastrostomy, cough assist, nebulized treatments) to enhance clinical reasoning, interprofessional teamwork, and family-centered communication.  Measurable: ≥85% of residents will report improved confidence in managing medically complex children and in family communication; pre- and post-simulation surveys and family feedback will support these outcomes.  Time-Phased: Implemented throughout the academic year during inpatient rotations and community shadowing experiences.  Inclusive & Equitable: Open to all residents, incorporating diverse patient, family, and community experiences; practices will be added to the residency training curriculum if beneficial.

Project Objective 2

Objective 2 – Improve Family-Centered Hospital-to-Home Transitions  Specific: Residents will develop individualized hospital-to-home care transition plans, provide families with a Care Coordination Starter Kit, and conduct structured feedback sessions to identify gaps in discharge readiness and coordination.  Measurable: ≥75% of families will report increased confidence in managing their child’s care, and family satisfaction surveys will demonstrate improved preparedness compared to baseline.  Time-Phased: Assessed at discharge and 1 month post-discharge throughout the academic year.  Inclusive & Equitable: Care plans and educational materials will address diverse family needs, including rural and semi-rural households, and will be adapted for families with varying language and literacy levels.

Project Objective 3

Specific: Residents will collaborate with community partners (schools, therapy centers, home health agencies, nonprofit organizations) through cross-system case conferences, co-development of family-facing tools, and feedback on barriers to care coordination.  Measurable: Increased completion of standardized care plans and improved community partner satisfaction with communication and coordination.  Time-Phased: Evaluated quarterly during the academic year.  Inclusive & Equitable: Ensures engagement of diverse community partners and families across multiple care settings, representing all patient populations served.

AAP District

District VI

Institutional Name

University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital

Contact 1

Fulden Aycan, MD