Parent Partner Program

The healthcare space can be intimidating for those unfamiliar with its nuances. It can be particularly uncertain for parents of a child diagnosed with unique health issues, especially in a place like Montana where geographic distances are vast and population sizes are small in comparison to other US metropolitan areas. This can often leave parents feeling vulnerable but thanks to a partnership between Montana’s Department of Health and Human Services and Shodair’s Medical Genetics Department those worries are addressed through connection and support.

“The Montana Parent Partner Program provides an immensely valuable service to our patients,” Corbin Schwanke Chief Administrative Officer of Genetics said. “Genetic syndromes are individually rare, but collectively very common, and many patients and families experience similar challenges in their journeys after a diagnosis.”

Montana mom Erin Faulkner is that parent partner for this program and is a perfect fit for the role. Being a genetics patient herself, she understands the struggles families face. She is one of a handful of parent partners in Montana working to support families. The position is part time and completely virtual, and she doesn’t have a specific schedule. Instead, she works to meet the family’s needs when it is convenient for them.

Faulker, who lives in Ulm, also works as a Cottage Behavioral Counselor and the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind in Great Falls. She first came to Shodair at the age of 24 when her mother was working in the genetics lab. Her hope was to learn there was a common thread causing the trouble with her eyes, hearing, and joints.

“I wanted validation that I had conditions that could be attributed to the physical struggles I had,” she said. “It was when I told (Shodair Genetics Team) I had a detached retina that all points led to an ultimate diagnosis of Stickler syndrome, a connective disorder effecting various parts of the body.

Years later when Erin and her husband Byron decided to have a family her relationship with Shodair deepened. There’s a 50-50 chance a child she birthed would also have this same condition, but it was a risk she was willing to take because she so wanted to be a mom. Her daughter Sam was diagnosed at three weeks old. “The difference between those periods in my youth and my daughter was support,” she said. “Knowing where to turn when I had questions made an enormous difference in my nervousness.”

Erin understands its hard for any parent to watch their child struggle and she is honored to be the one on the other end offering patience and kindness. “Sometimes its merely someone saying to a mom, I’m here and I have your back,” she said.

Schwanke is a huge supporter of the program and says Faulkner is a perfect fit. “Having a peer, who has traveled that path in her own family, available to support parents who are struggling to find or access resources in the community is so appreciated by our patients and providers,” Schwanke said. “If nothing else, it’s helpful just to have someone to talk to who truly understands. A Parent Partner is the embodiment of our mission statement: To heal, help, and inspire hope. “