A New Push for Kids’ Care: Jarrard Opens a Pediatric Hospitals Specialty to Help Rebuild Trust

An agency launch aimed at calming parents and helping children’s hospitals tell their story

Jarrard (the national healthcare communications and consulting firm) said this week it has created a new specialty group focused just on children’s hospitals and pediatric health systems. The announcement, made in a press release on Dec. 18, 2025, positions the firm to offer a one-stop set of communications and reputation services for hospitals that treat kids.

Put simply, Jarrard is pitching itself as a partner for hospitals that need to explain changes to families, respond faster when something goes wrong, and shape public opinion about pediatric care. For readers, the immediate takeaway is that more hospitals will likely hire outside advisers to manage community relations, patient messaging and crisis communications around children’s services.

What the pediatric specialty will actually do for hospitals and parents

The new unit will bundle several practical services that hospitals already buy separately. Jarrard says it will handle strategic communications, media relations, reputation work, crisis-response playbooks, and messaging aimed at patient families and community leaders. The firm also plans to offer change-management support — the kind of work hospitals need when they restructure services, merge, or change how care is delivered.

On the patient side, the specialty will help hospitals craft family-facing materials, run listening sessions with parents, and design digital communications so families know what to expect before and after visits. For hospitals, the offering includes executive coaching for leaders, stakeholder mapping to identify local influencers, and simulation drills to test responses to medical or reputational crises.

The target clients are clear: standalone children’s hospitals, pediatric networks inside health systems, and regional medical centers that provide pediatric services. Smaller community hospitals that deliver occasional pediatric care may also tap the firm for specific projects, such as communication around service changes or safety incidents that concern parents.

Why Jarrard is expanding into pediatrics now

Jarrard already has a reputation in healthcare communications. The firm works with hospital systems and health-focused organizations around the country. Launching a pediatric specialty narrows its focus to a part of the market that raises unique sensitivities — parents, child-focused donors, and often intense local media attention.

Timing matters. Children’s hospitals face a mix of workforce strains, shifting patient volumes, and heightened scrutiny over safety and access. Those pressures make clear, consistent messaging more important. As hospitals consolidate and as families look to social media for news, the case for professional communications support has grown stronger. Jarrard’s move is both a response to demand and a bet that pediatric care will remain a distinct reputational area where specialists can add measurable value.

What Jarrard’s survey found about public trust in pediatric care

The firm also released a survey alongside the launch that looks at how parents feel about pediatric hospitals. The headline finding: trust is uneven. While many parents still say they trust their child’s providers, a notable share express doubts about access, staffing and transparency in the event of errors or service changes.

Jarrard’s summary said a sizable minority of parents — roughly four in ten, by the firm’s account — worry their local hospital would handle a serious pediatric safety issue well. The survey highlighted higher concern among parents of younger children and among those who follow local health news closely. Methodology details in the release note a nationally weighted sample of parents and caregivers; the firm framed the data as a warning shot for hospitals that assume trust is automatic.

Leadership comments and early industry reaction

In the press release, Jarrard’s leadership framed the specialty as practical and timely. The firm’s CEO was quoted saying, “Families deserve clear, honest communication when it matters most. We created this specialty to help children’s hospitals build and protect that trust.”

Industry observers reached briefly for comment described the move as logical: communications shops often specialize because pediatric issues provoke strong local feeling and can drive fundraising. Pediatric hospital leaders who spoke off the record welcomed another experienced partner for community outreach and crisis drills, noting that outside perspective can speed decisions when tensions rise.

How this could change hospital behavior — and what it won’t fix

Practically, hiring a specialty communications team can reduce confusion for families and help hospitals move faster when they need to explain changes. Better messaging may blunt the worst fallout from a safety incident and make it easier to recruit donors and staff by clarifying a hospital’s mission.

That said, good communications cannot substitute for clinical capacity or safe staffing. The specialty helps frame and explain decisions, but the underlying problems — workforce shortages, budget limits, or care access gaps — must be solved inside the hospital. Families should expect clearer statements and more outreach, not miracles. For hospitals, the clearest advantage will come when communications work is paired with genuine, operational improvements.

About Jarrard and where to read the full release

Jarrard is a national healthcare communications and strategy firm that works with hospitals, health systems and related organizations. The firm issued the announcement and survey results in a press release on Dec. 18, 2025, via a national wire service. Readers who want the full release or the survey details can consult that press release and the firm’s public materials for the complete methodology and contact information for follow-up reporting.

Sources

• prnewswire.com