{"id":859,"date":"2021-03-01T17:12:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T17:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=859"},"modified":"2024-03-05T19:53:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T19:53:59","slug":"child-life-month-celebrating-our-child-life-services-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/child-life-month-celebrating-our-child-life-services-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Child Life Month: Celebrating our Child Life Services team","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Hospitals and doctor’s offices can be scary places for kids. How do you help a young patient understand a diagnosis or procedure in ways that make sense and don’t cause further stress and anxiety? At Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, this is what our Child Life Services team<\/a> strives to do every day.<\/p>\n

Child Life Specialists play a critical role on our patient care teams. As child-friendly liaisons between doctors, patients and families, they are experts at finding creative ways to help kids comprehend what\u2019s going on. From defining medical terminology or explaining tests and procedures, to developing individualized care plans and just being there for patients while they’re receiving treatment \u2013 everything our Child Life Specialists do is done through the eyes of a child.<\/p>\n

“Child Life is the lens through which all pediatric health care experiences can turn from a frightening experience into an opportunity for healing and growth,” said Julie Hertzog, Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Child Life Supervisor. “We bring play, joy and healing to an otherwise overwhelming environment, not only for our patients and their families, but for Mary Bridge Children\u2019s team members as well.”<\/p>\n

Kids learn and process information through play, so Child Life Specialists spend a lot of time interacting with patients with games, toys and imaginary play. Whether they\u2019re creating art with paint-filled syringes, playing doctor in Piper\u2019s Playroom, or accessing a port on a stuffed doll, activities are catered to the unique developmental and cognitive needs of each patient.<\/p>\n

There are numerous benefits to working with our Child Life team. They\u2019re able to empower kids to speak up, be heard, and learn to become their own advocates. They\u2019re also highly skilled at engaging with kids on their level, interacting and helping connect the dots, making visits to the hospital as stress-free as possible. With the help of Child Life Specialists, many patients learn to identify their own strengths and voice their questions, fears, concerns or hesitations related to their care.<\/p>\n

No two patients are the same, and by acknowledging this, our team of Child Life Specialists develops unique patient-specific care plans that are tailored to each child.<\/p>\n

Child Life Services is invaluable to patients, but they\u2019re also critical supporting parents and our medical professionals.<\/p>\n

\n

Fast facts about Child Life Services<\/h3>\n

Here are some fun facts about Child Life Services at Mary Bridge Children\u2019s:<\/p>\n