Meet the Staff
Norma Guerrero-Perez
Parent Liaison
My name is Norma Guerrero-Perez. I was born in Guadalajara, México. My mother Rocio is Méxican and my father Miguel Angel is an emergency Medicine Physician that was born in El Salvador but move to México to study medicine and decided to stay there. I have 6 siblings. I am married and have three amazing children - two daughters and one son. I move to the United States in 1997 and I have been a resident of Oakland since then.
My relationship with BCHO started in 2004 when my 4 month old baby boy started to seizure constantly. He has been a patient since then. In 2010, Marco had a head fracture after falling because of a seizure, and he required an emergency craniotomy. BCHO staff save his life and for that, we are forever thankful. In 2012 I decided to become a volunteer to give back a little bit. I was a Volunteer in the Emergency department for 4 years and 2 years in the NICU.
I have been a BCHO employee for 3 years now and I love my work. I love the fact that I get to do what I am good at doing, which is talking and bringing some comfort to people in their most vulnerable time, while taking care of their personal needs in the best way possible.
Susy Garcia
Parent Liaison
My name is Susana Garcia. I was born in Zamora, Michoacán, but moved to the Bay Area at the age of seventeen. I met my husband here and now I am a mother of two girls and one boy who is now our guardian angel.
My relationship with BCHO started back in 2000. My son had been at the Alta Bates NICU for a year when he was sent to BCHO for a second opinion on a G tube procedure. Once approved it was here at Children’s that the procedure was conducted. During our short stay at children’s my son’s life improved drastically. I was in awe with how the staff here and Alta Bates took care of my son and the rest of my family. A few years after my son passed away, I still held tight to all the affection we’d received. While working as volunteer at CARE Parent Network I heard about a pilot program here at the FRIC. Happy to say that the pilot program was very successful and that we are still here to help any and all families coming in and out of our hospital.
What is the Family Resource & Information Center?
The Family Resource and Information Center (FRIC) is a safe space where parents and care givers can come and relax, work, do research or simply take a break. The FRIC offers things like internet, beverages, snacks, fax services, toiletries, phone chargers, books and arts and crafts. Families can also come by to get help with faxing, scans and making copies. Both FRIC staff members are bilingual. We also have the support of three amazing volunteers that are always ready to assist the families with whatever is needed.
Susy offers a service every Wednesday called "La Hora del Cafe". During this time, parents and caregivers have the opportunity to have personal conversations and connections with Susy and other families. Susy has personal and professional knowledge of what it is to be a parent navigating the health care systems. Susy has the ability to recognize what families need to hear (in their own language!) and what support to provide. Every other Wednesday in the evenings, the Music Therapy team offers "Music Relaxation Group for families." All this work was done pre-COVID.
During the pandemic, even though the FRIC has remained closed, we still offer the same services. The only change is that our services are now bedside instead of being inside of the FRIC. We have also been supporting the CCTV programming by offering BILINGUAL BINGO, as well as our own Spanish program called "El Show de Colores" which happens every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m.
Please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you need more information or have any questions.
Family Resource & Information Center Photos
