Letter from our Founder and Executive Director                         March 3, 2025

I don’t have to tell you that the last 5 weeks have been intense. Many of you know that Family to Family Support Network (FFSN) is a small, pro-education, non-profit that has been working for the last 10 years to ensure that all families receive respectful, neutral, compassionate care. While our history at FFSN began with crafting hospital-based training for adoption-sensitive care, the need to embrace so many other unique patient populations led to our content expansion over the past decade. Now, more than ever, I am thankful we have continued to expand our curriculum and offerings - perhaps for such a time as this. 

Our nurse leader partners offer a wealth of  wisdom and experience. They have pointed me to the American Nursing Association Code of Ethics, (https://codeofethics.ana.org/home#). While many of the statements within the Code of Ethics are at the heart of all we do at Family to Family Support Network, a few stand out, including:

“The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person. 

“Respect is extended to all who require and receive nursing care in the promotion of health, prevention of illness and injury, restoration of health, alleviation of pain and suffering, or provision of supportive care.”

“Nurses engage in self-reflection to identify and mitigate bias or prejudice that interferes with or harms the nurse-patient relationship.” 

“Respect for a patient’s decisions does not require that the nurse agrees with or supports all choices made by a recipient of care.”

These statements articulate our “why” and  speak to our investment in empowering healthcare professionals with training and discussion focused on delivering respectful, neutral, compassionate care to all patients. 

Our focus for the coming year will be training healthcare providers to support both parenting and adoption for patients during the perinatal period, as well as amplifying our concern for reproductive trafficking by unlicensed “professionals” operating under the guise of infant adoption. Our focus on Respectful Maternity Care will continue with both our online Respectful, Equitable Care Certification Course and our collaboration with NotOnMyWatch Consulting Partners. In addition, we will continue to amplify the maternal health crisis and the ensuing disparities in outcomes, specifically for people of color in this country. We commit to equipping healthcare providers with the knowledge, tools, and resources to care for unique families with unique needs. As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats", thus improving care for unique and marginalized families does not just help these patients; it strengthens the healthcare system as a whole, creating more compassionate and equitable care for all.

Some have asked how we are doing as a non-profit. Thankfully, we do not rely on federal funding; rather, we have committed partners who not only support our education, but are deeply passionate about respectful, compassionate patient care for all. While we have a handful of donors who make monthly donations faithfully, we would be so thankful to welcome additional donors! If you would like to join us in our commitment to respectful, neutral, compassionate care for patients across the country, please visit our website (https://www.familytofamilysupport.org/donate). If you’re unable to support us financially, we would be grateful if you could help spread the word about the work we’re doing at Family to Family Support Network. 

I am so thankful for the many people I have met since I stepped into the healthcare space over 20 years ago. The response to our training has been so positive, and I have been challenged to be a better person from day one and have seen such respect, compassion and empathy lived out on a daily basis.  Please continue to follow our work. As I have said so many times these past few months, I believe it has never been more important. 

Rebecca Vahle

Executive Director

Family to Family Support Network