Sarah Jefferson — Family Engagement Specialist
(gentle bright music) I'm Sarah Jefferson, and I'm a family engagement specialist for the CCATER Center. Family engagement specialists have lived experience as a parent caring for a child with medical complexity. As a parent of two children with special health needs, I have experience with the journey and the challenges of supporting their health and wellbeing. I work with the care coordination, training technical assistance specialists, and with our combined experience and knowledge, we support pediatric hospitals, group practices, and community health centers to enhance the care that they're already providing to families.
Enhanced care coordination is very meaningful for me. It means improving the quality of life of a child with medical complexity, as well as the life of the entire family. I think back to when my son got his first diagnosis, when he was two days old, and my stress level increased exponentially, and it stayed that way for many years. Some of the stress that I was experiencing was inevitable because of my son's health needs.
A lot of the stress was based on thoughts swirling around my head, like health insurance, medical bills, and all the other things that come along when you're taking care of a child with medically complex needs. I took several years off from work because raising my son was more than a full-time job, and what I learned during that time was extremely valuable, and now I have a chance to give back to cares providers. (gentle bright music) (no audio)