Elaine graduated from NUI Galway in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Community and Family Studies and a Masters in Family Support. She has over 20 years’ experience of dealing with patients and vulnerable families in her role as GP Practice Manager within a Primary Care setting. Within this role of managing the day to day business of a busy urban GP Practice, Elaine embraced an additional advocacy role by adopting a holistic approach in supporting patients and families within the practice, enhancing the care provided by the medical and clinic teams within the practice itself and community Primary Care Services.
“Family Support” is recognized as both a style of work and a set of activities that reinforce positive informal networks through integrated programmes. The importance of Partnership, needs led intervention, having a clear focus on wishes and feelings, safety and wellbeing, adopting a strengths based perspective and facilitating positive and empowering ways of supporting families are key in the delivery of “Family Support Programmes”.
The importance of being mindful of the concept of “Meitheal” (National Practice Model) cannot be overstated, to ensure that the needs and strengths of families are effectively identified, understood and responded to in a timely manner so that families get the help and support they need at that very difficult time in their lives.
Speaking about her new role as “Family Support Programme Coordinator” with CRY Ireland, Elaine said, “ I am so humbled and excited to coordinate the future plans of the Family Support Programme. CRY Ireland have been so committed to protecting the physical and mental health of families bereaved by the death of a young person through Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). It is an honour and a privilege to work as part of this wonderful CRY team who have supported so many families since 2002, who have lost a loved one so unexpectedly, so young. Thank you CRY for this opportunity”.
