Mapp Child & Family Life Program celebrates Child Life Month in March
Members of the child life staff provide a host of services and support to patients and their families, from procedural preparation and support to therapeutic play.
By Casandra Andrews
[email protected]
To better support the emotional needs of sick and injured children on the Alabama Gulf Coast, the Mapp Child & Family Life Program at Children’s & Women’s Hospital offers a variety of services to patients and their caregivers.
The hospital-based team includes three child life specialists, a therapeutic recreation specialist, six certified schoolteachers, and an arts and activities coordinator. Child life professionals advance psychosocial care and the emotional safety of children, youth, and families impacted by healthcare and significant life experiences.
USA Health’s child life specialists at Children’s & Women’s Hospital provide services and support to patients, including:
- Procedural preparation and support
- Developmentally appropriate education for a new or existing diagnosis
- Reduction of stress and anxiety
- Non-pharmacological pain management
- Coping and relaxation techniques
- Normalization of environment
- Emotional support
- Alternative focus
- Family and sibling support and education
- Therapeutic play and other therapeutic activities
- Bereavement support
“We are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to offer so many services to our patients and their families, including day and night coverage in our pediatric emergency center with child life specialists,” said Kim Thompson-Yates, M.Ed., who coordinates the program. “We know visiting a hospital can be a frightening experience for a child and their family. Our goal is to help support pediatric patients through research-based programs and other best practices that allow them to have the best health outcomes possible.”
Members of the child life staff partner with other hospital departments to bring special occasions and other milestone moments to life for patients and families. They recently implemented a new therapeutic art program, and they coordinate parades, costume giveaways and contests for patients and siblings, parties for holidays and other occasions, and visits by special guests.
The child life staff also help plan annual events including the holiday tree lighting ceremony, a bell-ringing ceremony for pediatric cancer patients and an annual reunion for survivors. They coordinate with volunteers to support the pet therapy program each week and offer patients a variety of distractions during long hospital stays, including the use of video games and other electronic devices.
“I’m so proud of the profound commitment and compassion shown by our child life staff to the children and their caregivers who spend time here,” said Deborah Browning, MSN, RN, CENP, chief executive officer at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. “The team offers hope and strength when families face some of the most challenging situations anyone could ever experience.”