Visiting Child Life Scholarship the Walt Disney Company

Transcription

Visiting Child Life Scholarship
Awarded by: Child Life Council with a grant from
the Walt Disney Company
Submitted by: Kathleen Grobbel, CTRS, CCLS
1/25/2014
Beaumont Children’s Hospital 1
Visiting Child Life Specialist Scholarship
As the grateful recipient of the Child Life Council’s Visiting Child Life Scholarship, I was able to visit four
outstanding Child Life programs in Florida through a grant from the Disney Corporation. The visits were
designed to encourage the development of innovative play programs. My personal goals included:
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Building new play programs at Beaumont Children’s Hospital
Discovering how other hospitals maintain a balance between balance between developmental
play, special events and procedural support
Learn about implementing new Child Life programs in NICU
Understand how to best provide services for the children of adult patients.
Currently, Beaumont does not have funding for NICU and adult services but both areas are considered
potential growth areas for our Child Life Department.
I have included in this report, descriptions of my visits along with lessons learned along the way. At the
end of each report, I will detail specific changes that I will introduce to Beaumont Children’s Hospital
and to the Beaumont Child Life department. The following itinerary describes my journey:
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Florida Hospital for Children
Orlando, FL
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital
Orlando, FL
Thursday, January 23, 2014
All Children’s Hospital
St. Petersburg, FL
Friday, January 24, 2014
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital
Tampa, FL
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Day 1
Florida Hospital for Children, Orlando, FL
I was welcomed to the hospital with a huge smile and hug from Chantelle Bennett, Manager of Child Life
Services. This warm welcome and my wonder at the magical lobby playroom sponsored by Disney
immediately put me at ease.
The Child Life Department at Florida Hospital for Children consists of 17 staff members, including 15
Certified Child Life Specialists, an administrative specialist, and a Special Events and Volunteer
coordinator. The department reports to the Director of Patient Experience, Tracy Woods, who is a
Certified Child Life Specialist. It is nice to see the understanding that Tracy has about the benefits of
play programs as a way to enhance the patient experience.
Florida Hospital for Children opened in 1908. The hospital partnered with the Disney Corporation and
opened the Walt Disney Pavilion in 2007. All employees are trained at the Disney Pavilion in the service
standards required by all Disney employees. It is easy to see this, as every person I came in contact with
was professional, helpful and friendly.
There are 185 Pediatric beds. The lobby and parking are shared with the adult hospital, but the
Children’s Hospital has its own portion of the building, called the Walt Disney Pavilion. All patient rooms
are private and in addition to the lobby playroom there are two other playrooms.
The entrance playroom welcomes families into the children’s hospital with a Disney themed playground.
Life sized characters invite children to play with the interactive lighting features. There are Disney
movies playing at all times and the children can rest on adorable bear stools and log cabin styled rocking
chairs.
Radiology- child friendly interventions
The morning was spent shadowing Kari Webb, in the Radiology department. The Radiology Child Life
position started a year ago, so is relatively new. Kari receives consults from nursing and physicians but
also checks schedules each morning to see when children are scheduled for MRIs, CT scans and Nuclear
Medicine studies. Her assessment is filled out on a multidisciplinary form along with nursing and
anesthesia.
Child Life Specialists carry child friendly backpacks filled with toys and distraction tools. I was able to
witness the effectiveness of the backpacks first hand as Kari introduced herself to a child in the waiting
area. The child was quiet, but immediately intrigued by Kari’s Hello Kitty Backpack. Rapport building
came easily as Kari allowed the child to dig in and play with the toys. Kari let the child choose her
activities, so we played Uno together while she discovered the child’s preferences for her upcoming IV
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start. Sharing the child’s choices with the nurse prior to the procedure helped make it a comfortable
experience.
Making children less fearful before a radiology procedure is often done through offering play choices.
Kari lets each child choose their favorite scent for their anesthesia mask. She also lets them draw
pictures on the anesthesia balloon so when it expands, the child can see his/her artwork.
Surgery- team building and medical play
I followed my visit to Radiology with a trip to the surgical suite. I was excited to meet with Jessie Wendt,
CCLS. Our Beaumont Surgery Child Life program is only 2 years old and we have experienced many
challenges introducing play, preparation and support to this area filled with seasoned surgical nurses.
One of my goals for visiting this area was to learn how she was able to become ingrained as part of the
team. Jessie was able to share many insights about team building and the use of play prior to surgery.
Jessie learned through her experience that the most important way to become part of the team is to get
to know each employee personally. She builds personal relationships with her team and understands
their preferences during pre-surgical procedures. For example, some physicians and nurses prefer that
Jessie stays in the room during their description of the upcoming surgery while others prefer that she
step out temporarily. Knowing and respecting these differences in this fast paced environment let the
team know that she is respectful of their time with the patient.
Nursing demonstrated high regard for Child Life and insisted that I see the pool noodles Jessie uses to
explain the IV procedure! The children love discovering this fun and familiar item used as a unique
educational tool.
Whenever possible, Jessie meets children for rapport building in the waiting room which is filled with
playful activities including an activity of the week. Jessie uses blank cloth dolls for medical play. She has
learned to develop relationships with medical supply representatives through her career and often, they
give her expired equipment such as GT and Port kits for use during her medical play sessions.
Children of Adult patient Consults- assisting with bereavement
Another valuable stop during my day was a visit with Nan Whitehead. Nan is the first Child Life
Specialist to cover adult areas of the hospital. She receives consults from nursing, physicians and social
work. Her patients are adults experiencing critical care issues or end of life who have children.
Nan takes special care in providing services to help children cope during this difficult time. She first
completes an intake form with information about the patient, family, their ages, religious preferences,
and much more. She asks the families to complete a confidentiality disclosure form which then allows
her to speak with the school. Often Nan finds that the school is unaware of the family crisis. Her
conversation with them can lead to helpful academic adjustments such as temporary 504s and decrease
homework until the crisis passes. This is a valuable link for the family and can make a difference in how
the children cope.
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Nan started the program with in services and small meetings with the multidisciplinary team explaining
Child Life in the adult world. She keeps a list of all of the nurse managers and meets occasionally for
refreshers. Her work hours are typically 12:00 pm – 8:30 pm. This ensures that she is available to meet
with children after school hours.
When a family is facing a death and dying situation, Nan allows the children choices for legacy building
activities. Children choose paper and paint colors and decide on which music to play during their
sessions. Nan helps children complete keepsake prints of their parents hand and cuts a beautiful lock of
hair tied with a ribbon of their choice. Disney recordable storybooks are a beautiful way to create
parent keepsakes. All items are packaged beautifully along with grief resource materials.
Nan also uses her Ipad to help prepare children for a visit with their critically ill parent. She takes photos
of each piece of equipment and explains how it is helping. She also takes a photo of the parent, after
ensuring that there is a colorful blanket and pillowcase to decrease the medical environment. Nan uses
“I wonder…” statements to encourage conversation and to discover the child’s preferences for visiting.
Charting is completed on the interdisciplinary plan of care and includes medical stressors, interventions,
types of coping, education provided responses/barriers to interventions. It is easy to see how a Child
Life Specialist can have extreme value in the adult world. Assisting children with a difficult time through
age appropriate activities can build strong coping skills for life. This visit with Nan gave me renewed
determination to build a program for the children of adult patients.
NICU- Supporting families
Monika Valierre shared insights on her work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Her unit has 80 beds
and she works 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. Her main goals for Child Life in the NICU are:
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Sibling support
Parent support
Infant development
Monika offers parent support groups twice monthly in the evenings along with the Social Worker. This
is a relaxed environment with refreshments and support. The group also includes at least one parent
volunteer who is typically the parent of an NICU graduate.
The NICU is filled with Cuddlers, volunteers available to hold the babies when parents are not available.
Monica is in charge of orienting, training, scheduling and supervising 50 volunteers.
As we traveled through the NICU, we could see the work that Monika does with the infants and their
parents. She keeps detailed track of infant ages and milestones and help families track these milestones
with keepsakes such as photos and footprints. Her favorite soothing tool is a small, portable sound
machine with heartbeat and music sounds called mybaby sound machine.
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Emergency Department, a healing environment
The new Emergency Department at Florida Hospital for children was designed using color, light and
interactive environments for healing. Children in every room can choose their own mural projected
onto the wall as well as the color of their ceiling lights. Private rooms add to the quiet atmosphere.
Child Life is consulted to prepare children for IV starts and other medical procedures using medical play.
An anxious child was introduced to the IV procedure by Specialist, Nicole Baxa. Using a bear and real
medical equipment, the child began to feel more comfortable with what to expect from the upcoming
procedure.
A “mobile playroom” is a colorful cart filled with toys and crafts that are easily accessible for patients
and staff. Each room has its own bathroom for privacy, and the waiting area windows face a beautiful
lake. Volunteers play with children in waiting rooms and play at the bedside upon referral from Child
Life Specialists. There are two Specialists who work 4-10 hour days, providing 7 day a week coverage for
the Emergency Center Department.
Management, First Cause No harm
After a fun day of shadowing, I was able to meet with Chantelle at the end of the day to discuss
administrative and supervisory topics when developing play programs. Chantelle described her
approach with other managers in the hospital in terms of teamwork. She works hard to get managers to
understand that Child Life’s main priority is to cause no harm, physically and emotionally. Florida
Hospital for Children provides Atraumatic Training modules for every employee who may come in
contact with a Pediatric patient. Training is done upon hiring and annually.
Chantelle meets every other month with Nurse Managers from departments that have Child Life
programs and discusses improvements and issues. This idea is definitely one that I would like to
implement as we build our program.
Procedural positioning is an effort that has had great success at Florida Hospital for Children. Their
standard of care is that children are not restrained during procedures. There are no “old school”
papoose holds at the hospital and all employees understand the importance of comfort positions. This
is a challenge Beaumont is facing. Although many departments are beginning to understand the
importance of comfort positioning, there are still departments and physicians who use restraining and
laying children down. The effort to change the Beaumont culture is underway, and with Chantelle’s
ideas and knowledge, I have more tools to face this challenge.
The administrative team at Florida Hospital for children uses Studer Training as a way to classify
employees into high, medium and low performers. Low performers do not stay employed and medium
performers receive extra training.
The Florida Hospital for Children, Child Life Department uses an intense system of interviewing
candidates for new Child Life positions. The top 3 or 4 candidates spend an entire day with the team.
They demonstrate their play skills with children in waiting rooms.
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Donations are handled by one full time Child Life Specialist. There is also a full time Volunteer and
Special Events coordinator.
Changes for Beaumont Children’s Hospital
As a result of my visit to Florida Hospital for Children, I will make the following changes:
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Purchase or have staff make bags or backpacks that are child-friendly for easy rapport building
and playfulness
Introduce Surgical area to a playful activity of the week
Encourage Child Life team to meet children in waiting rooms whenever possible
Encourage the use of flavors for anesthesia masks
Bring interactive and playful environmental suggestions to meetings when discussing
Beaumont’s new Pediatric Emergency Department
Investigate funding for a Child Life Specialist for children of adult patients and create
prepackaged kits that are ready for the current team when consulted
Develop sign that indicates patient rooms that would benefit from volunteer play
Share playful and informative whiteboard style with Pediatric Administration
Purchase mybaby sound machines for NICU and infants on Pediatrics
Create mobile playroom for areas without play materials
Share design ideas with Interior decorating department at Beaumont
Develop slide show for Child Life team, BCH and Emergency Center planning committee
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Day 2
Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, FL
Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando Florida is one of eight hospitals in the Orlando Health
System. There are 158 Pediatric beds not including NICU. Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children opened
in 1989 on the famous golfer’s birthday. In 2006, a new women’s hospital opened across the street.
Named after the legendary golfer’s wife, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies houses the
122 bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The Child Life Department is titled Child Life, Music and the Arts, which is a perfect description for this
creative play program. The department works closely with Volunteer Services and shares a secretary. I
was welcomed by Shari Mosley, Director of Child Life and Linda Jones, Supervisor of Child Life. Linda
oversees the clinical staff and students. We spent some time in the morning touring the hospital and
discussing programs and special events unique to Arnold Palmer.
The hospital lobby is a spectacular child friendly space. Its ceiling rises at least four stories and
everywhere your eye lands, you find surprises for children. Upon it’s opening, Disney built the beautiful
replica of Cinderella’s Castle. Children play in it, using their imaginations and watch Disney movies.
Recently, Disney returned to create an even more playful environment to the hospital lobby. They
added Mickey and Minnie life sized statues, an incredible three story beanstalk, and a huge hot air
balloon floating in the air with Donald Duck smiling down.
Child Life specialists use the area for their special hospital wide events. They also use the lobby as an
enticement for children who need to walk more. They travel to the lobby for pretend play and fun
games of I Spy. “Can you find Tinkerbelle?” is a favorite for children of all ages!
Just outside of the hospital lobby, Children’s Miracle Network provided support to build a huge
wheelchair accessible wooden ship complete with a steering wheel and sails. Children can play with
musical alligators and turtles, creating chime sounds that travel even to the patient rooms!
Volunteer Services manages large community organizations interested in doing service projects. They
invite these organizations to work on the landscaping, clean wagons, Christmas carol and other nonpatient related jobs. Volunteer Services also assists with donations.
Playroom fun
The Child Life Department is responsible for 6 playrooms and one outpatient playroom. There are 11.6
FTEs/Child Life Specialists. Within the department is a subset of Specialists that are responsible for
entertainment and celebrity visits. Children receive playroom passes from the nursing staff and are
able to travel to each open playroom for structured activities.
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During my visit, a number of children participated in a fun shrink dink activity. Children were engaged
and happy with their final projects. During the group, Specialists also offered Wii games for an
interested child. The music contributed to a playful atmosphere and children were welcomed warmly
and introduced to each other for socialization.
In addition to allowing me to participate in the playroom activities, each member of the Child Life
Department shared copies of their favorite and most creative play activities. I can’t wait to try out the
many new and creative play activities.
Hematology/Oncology, creative activities
After the playroom activity, I was able to meet with the Hematology/Oncology Child Life Specialist,
Lauren Hamed. This was interesting because I am currently seeking to fund a position for our own
Oncology clinic. Lauren described her work with children and families experiencing cancer treatment.
She had many great activity ideas and instructions including a duct tape bag, rainbow looms, medical
tape art and unique construction paper crafts. Her playful manner and energy was contagious.
Another unique and playful idea is a portable projector cube that projects games onto the floor. Lauren
explained that many of the siblings like to play with it when their brother or sister is undergoing
chemotherapy treatments. This projector looks like it could have many uses including encouraging
patients to walk and move post-surgery.
Pediatric Intensive Care, Sibling play and support
After the Hematology/Oncology clinic, I visited the Pediatric Intensive Care unit for a tour. The PICU is a
large, newly remodeled unit with 17 patient beds. Child Life works with siblings, preparing them for
visits to their brother or sister. Using medical play dolls and real equipment, the Child Life Specialists
introduces the equipment that siblings will encounter on a visit to the PICU. This individualized play
helps children feel more comfortable with visiting. Child Life also helps siblings decorate the patient
room and create “All about me” posters for their brother or sister. This provides siblings with a way to
feel needed and useful.
Music Therapy, a Highlight of my visit
I also spent time with the Music Therapist, Holly Solis and the Child Life Specialist in the Winnie Palmer
Hospital. The Music Therapist is a very talented person with terrific activity ideas and works within the
Child Life department to meet the many needs of children in the NICU and in the main hospital.
One of the highlights of the entire trip was participating in a brand new program led by Child Life and
Music Therapy in the NICU. Older infants who have spent their entire lives in the hospital gather with
their parents, nurses, therapists and enjoy songs and socialization. These babies demonstrated a high
interest in looking at the other babies, and their parents enjoyed clapping hands and singing along to
popular baby songs. It was obvious from this group that there is an important place for both Child Life
Services and Music Therapy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
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In addition to working with the babies, the Music Therapist also works with siblings and patients in the
ICU, Oncology and on the general pediatric units. Activities done with music therapy include creating
music videos and help with song writing. A touching example of the unique possibilities of music
therapy was a young teen writing a song for his sister in the ICU.
Another example from Music Therapy became a hospital wide effort. A young child was in the hospital
for a very long time and was struggling emotionally with all of the things he was missing. Music Therapy
and Child Life teamed up to create Flat Stanley, based on the popular children’s book. Flat Stanley was
copied and sent with many employees of the hospital. People took photos of Flat Stanley wherever they
went and music therapy created a one of a kind virtual vacation for the patient. This experience helped
the child tremendously and created a common purpose for members of the health care team.
After visiting the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and seeing the benefits of play and music, I have
become more determined than ever to find funding sources for music therapy at Beaumont.
Special Events, large playful activities
Child Life offers many popular Special Events including:
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Pet Therapy, twice weekly
Disney character visits, Mickey, Chip n Dale, etc.
Animal Kingdom program, visits with live animals, owls, eagles, skunks and more bring smiles
and delight from patients and families.
Pastry Parties-cupcake decorating with a local pastry shop
Teddy Bear Clinics for the community
Legoland visits and demonstrations-characters and Lego activities
Equine Therapy-Miniature horse visits
Olympics- Silly activities such as cheese puff toss
Large scaled entertaining activities, a playful staff and whimsical environment help create a state of the
art child friendly atmosphere at Arnold Palmer.
As a result of my visit to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, I will make the following changes:
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Renewed determination to fund a Music Therapy program
Encourage consults for developmental play in our NICU
Plan and implement the Beaumont Olympics
Investigate creation of a Snoezelen Cart for patients with sensory needs
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Day 3
All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL
My visit to All Children’s Hospital started on a beautiful, sunny morning so I was able to see how the
huge lobby prism caught the sunlight and sparkled as soon as I entered the hospital. The beautiful
hospital was built in 2012 and provides stunning views from all of the windows to the downtown and to
the bay. It is obvious from the moment you enter that much care and thought was put into decorating
the hospital in a beach inspired, child friendly way. Colors are soft yet bright and ocean themes follow
you as you travel on each floor.
There are 259 Pediatric beds. Ninety seven of those are Neonatal Intensive Care Unit beds. There is a
director of Child Life Services who is also in charge of Social Work and Pastoral Care. Child Life has their
own secretary as well as a clinical coordinator, Holly Ott. Holly is responsible for clinical supervision of
the staff (14 Certified Child Life Specialists) as well as interns and practicum students. Last season, there
were over 50 applicants for the internship slot. The Child Life practicum program is 180 hours and there
are three slots for each season. Currently there is no Child Life Specialist for the NICU, but the
department would eventually like to have 2.5 FTEs for this area. Holly Ott and the team cover some
consults in the NICU.
There are 14 Child Life Specialists, a music therapist and an Academics coordinator. There is one Child
Life Aide position, a Volunteer coordinator, 2 pet therapy coordinators, an NICU certified Music
Therapist, and 2 temporary assistant positions that help out during the busy donation season of
December. In addition to the main campus, another Child Life Specialist works in the Tampa outpatient
facility, is supervised by Holly and is considered part of their team.
The team meets every other month for clinical supervision groups. They discuss patient, personal or
safety issues. It is a supportive environment designed for sharing and working out difficult topics. This
is an interesting idea that I would like to bring to our department at Beaumont.
Unique Play Programming
All Children’s Hospital recently started a volunteer sponsored yoga program for pain management. It is
offered twice a week for 1 ½ hours. The Yoga specialist brings mats and the Child Life Specialists
recommend patients for the program. Meditation and guided imagery are worked into the program to
help with coping and pain management. The yoga volunteers also offer a discounted yoga session for
staff which is well attended.
Another interesting program offered is the Creative Care Program. This is a community program funded
by a grant. It provides Music, Arts, Voice and Dance activities 5 days per week to inpatient units, dialysis
patients. Child Life Specialists make recommendations for this program. All volunteers go through
volunteer service training and additional Child Life volunteer training.
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A non-profit organization called Portable Playhouse coordinates local artists across the country to make
special visits to children’s hospitals. The artists work with the Child Life team and offer jewelry making
activities. All supplies are provided by the organization and children learn sophisticated beading and
jewelry making skills, developing a lifelong hobby
Special Events, a helping community
I enjoyed meeting with Beth to discuss daily group activities and special events. Each day, the
auditorium is opened for supervised play sessions. It is a large play space with bean bag chairs, craft
tables, children’s furniture and a pool table. Child Life hosts holiday parties and other special events in
the auditorium. The snow cone machine and cotton candy machine are recent additions to special
events and have become extremely popular and fun for the children and families.
Other popular special events include:
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Home Depot events building events
Miss Florida visits
Putting on Smiles- golfing games
Princess For a Day
T-shirt design day
Holiday parties
Winterfest- brought in a snow machine and had fake snowball fights
Sarasota Ballet- demonstration and teaching ballet moves
Homecoming Dance
Holiday shopping for families- a 3 day “free” shop designed as a way to honor family traditions
by allowing them to shop for their own holiday gifts.
Rec to Go, reaching children everywhere
In an effort to provide services to children who cannot leave their room due to infectious illnesses or
compromised immune systems, the Child Life Department offers live, in-room BINGO through closed
circuit television programming. The department is looking forward to expanding this program through a
recently acquired large closed circuit television equipment donation complete with a green screen!
Children will participate in television programming and games. It was exciting to hear of their plans for
this innovative use of technology.
Child Life uses a portable cooking cart with children. There is a range on top and pots, pans and utensils
stored underneath. The cart is used for special cooking groups, individual cooking and baking activities,
end of life care and meals and holiday preparations. Child Life hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving Day
meal in the Dialysis unit that children helped prepare, cook and enjoy with their families.
The hospital also has a gorgeous garden on the first floor near the cafeteria. Zoe’s Edible Garden,
named for the daughter of a local celebrity chef is filled with vegetables and flowers. The chef visits the
hospital occasionally to cook in the garden using the freshly grown items.
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Another tool used for children who cannot leave their rooms is the large Playmobile cart for children
who benefit from medical play. The cart has a full hospital and emergency vehicle play set complete
with doctors, nurses and patients. The cart is popular with children of all ages!
Additional Helpful tools
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Paul’s Project Bags- comfort items for parents, flip flops, blankets, toiletries
Chill and Spill Journals-used with longer term patients. Encourages journaling of feelings in a
creative way
Victorious Bags- gift bags for teens
Sensational Kids Program
All Children’s Hospital has created a multidisciplinary program to address the needs of young patients
with sensory issues. Often patients who are on the autism spectrum have specialized needs and
challenges, and this program seeks to address this. Child Life created emergency Sensational Kids kits
filled with toys and items that may help distract and occupy children including play dough, shaving
cream, and chewy toys.
This program was of great interest to me, as we have begun a new program on our Pediatric Unit. Our
new Neurologists provide EEG studies for patients experiencing seizures. The patients are often on the
autism spectrum and have unique sensory issues that can impact how they cope with the long hours of
gluing leads to their scalp.
As a result of learning about the sensational kids program, I have already initiated a change in the way
Beaumont provides care for our EEG patients. I have begun work on an intake form that will be
completed the week before the patient’s scheduled procedure with help from the child’s parents.
Information about sensory needs, challenges and interests will be discovered and the Child Life team
will plan better for the patients by meeting their sensory and play needs.
Bereavement, beautiful keepsakes
All Children’s Hospital has a strong program for families experiencing loss. Their Child Life Specialists
work with patients and families, using the following tools as appropriate:
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Sesame Street book, When Families Grieve
Sculpy Keepsake frame for hand prints
Plaster hand casting for older patients using Alginate (dental mold)
Memory Bag for siblings, contains a stuffed toy, tips for memory making and supplies
Compassion Cart, dietary provides coffee, tea and cookies for families experiencing a loss
Sensory Playroom
Another highlight of the visit to All Children’s Hospital was experiencing the Sensory Playroom on the
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). Child Life Specialist, Loren, receives consults and meets with all of
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the patients in the CICU. Her work at the bedside includes adapting the child’s environment so that play
is accessible. In addition, she brings patients to the Sensory Playroom.
This wonderful room is designed to sooth and to assist with growth and development. Loren works with
patients individually in the room. The lights are low, but there are projectors which provide colors and
stars on the walls, along with a bubble tower that changes colors. Music is chosen based on the child’s
developmental age and interests. The padded play mat allows children to feel vibrations from the music
and to experience soothing. More active children can play games projected on the floor with an
interactive projector. Their feet become tools to make changes to the floor pictures and to play games.
Fiber optic strands change colors and are fun to play with and there is a sensory wall for children to
explore with their sense of touch. I was amazed by this unique playroom and the many uses it could
provide for children of all ages and capabilities.
Process Improvements, Safety
An idea that struck home for me was the department’s process for ensuring safety from handmade and
donated items. As a result of patients finding leftover straight pins in a few handmade blankets, the
department teamed up with the radiology department for a safety process improvement project. The
new system ensures that every handmade donation is sent through the CT scanner, and then sent to the
high heat dryers for cleanliness. It is not until these areas have wrapped and stamped the donations
that the staff is allowed to give them out. I was very impressed with this safety improvement as we
receive popular hand made donations often and this seemed like a wonderful precaution to ensure
patient safety.
As a result of my visit to All Children’s Hospital, I will make the following changes:
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Develop a Sensory program for children on the autism spectrum; program will include a deeper
assessment of needs and interests as well as play equipment specifically for this population of
children
Work on building an enhanced closed circuit television program
Share gardening program and design ideas with Green Team and use ideas for new gardening
program
Contact metro Detroit Arts programs to explore partnerships
Make an effort to schedule shadowing with each Specialist and introduce clinical supervision
groups to better support Child Life team
Safety Kaizen for handmade blankets
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Day 4
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Tampa, FL
I enjoyed meeting with Kelly Outlaw, Child Life Supervisor for my last hospital visit. Kelly shared
information about her team and the hospital. St. Joseph’s is a large children’s hospital within the
Baycare Health System. There are 121 pediatric beds in the Tampa hospital, not including the Neonatal
Intensive Care unit.
The Child Life Department consists of 13 FTEs. Nine are Certified Child Life Specialists, one is a Music
Therapist, one is an Activity Assistant and one is an Activity tech. There are also 2 additional PRN
positions that fill in during CCLS vacations and absences for coverage.
The Emergency Center has over 46,000 pediatric visits per year and there are two full time Child Life
specialists covering it. The Emergency Center has just been renovated with new private rooms and
colorful, child friendly décor.
Child Life department goals for 2014 include increasing playful activities to an already very playful
department. Special events are huge, hospital wide activities and group play activities are offered daily.
Alternative Therapies
Alternative Therapies are supported through the grant writing arm of the hospital foundation.
The Music Therapist and Art Therapist work on referrals form Child Life and other members of the
multidisciplinary team. Often they provide group activities in addition to their individual bedside work.
Dance Therapy is an exciting program offered by a volunteer certified in dance movement therapy.
Massage Therapy is also available for parents and patients. This variety of therapeutic play and coping
activities helps the Child Life Department meet the needs of many different patients and families.
Safety Store
An interesting project in St. Joseph’s medical office building is the Safety Store. The store offers child
safety information and brochures as well as discounted safety equipment. Child car seats, helmets and
electrical plug covers are a few of the items available.
Special Events, hospital wide playfulness
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital prides itself on the many large, and creative special events it hosts.
These activities are well received by families and staff alike. It is obvious that a large amount of time is
spent on these wonderful special events. In finding a balance between procedural support and special
event planning and implementation, Child Life Specialists share responsibilities for all events.
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The Child Life department has also reached out to their Foundation and other departments for support
and help in planning the events. I was impressed with these creative events and the teamwork
demonstrated by the entire hospital.
Another important tool used by the Child Life Department in planning special events and outings is their
event binder. Throughout the year, Specialists keep track of all of their longer term patients in a binder.
This way, when tickets for events are given out or invitations are sent, these patients and their families
are sure to be invited.
I was lucky enough to be visiting Tampa during the Gasparillo parade. This local event is celebrated
throughout Tamp and includes Pirate ships, parades and parties. I was impressed with the way St.
Josephs’ used this local event to create playful experiences within the hospital. Each playroom was
offering pirate projects and games and a huge Pirate Parade was planned!
Special Events include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Spring Prom:
o Day of Beauty-hair and makeup done the day of event
o Dress and tuxedo shop-donated clothes for patients
o Red carpet entrance
o DJ
o Food
o Photographer
o Videographer
Halloween Parade
Pirate Parade
o A celebration for every hospital department in conjunction with Pirate Gasparillo Day in
Tampa
o Departments decorate gurneys as floats for the parade
o Staff and families dress up as pirates
o Crews for the Tampa pirate invasion visit patients and help with the parade
o Children vote on best pirate float
New Year’s Countdown and Ball Drop
Christmas Shop
Christmas in July
o Huge community event which helps provide toys for hospital
Sporting Outings
o Buccaneers games
o Spring Training
o Baseball games
I enjoyed all of the shadowing opportunities at St. Joseph’s and learned many useful tools for organizing
and planning large special events.
15
As a result of my visit St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, I make the following changes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Organize a Halloween parade as an exciting addition to our holiday festivities
Maintain a patient binder to better identify long term patients for outings and ticket giveaways
Add a photo booth designed by the team to our special events
Develop a special event to celebrate a local event, the Woodward Dream Cruise- decorate
stretchers as classic cars for a parade and float contest
Add countdown to New Year’s and party
Renewed determination to fund two Specialists for more coverage in the Emergency Center
Share photos and ideas to assist with the design of Beaumont’s new Emergency Center
16
Conclusion
The Visiting Child Life Specialist Scholarship program was an incredible learning experience. I returned
with many new ideas to create innovative play programs at Beaumont. I started the journey with
specific goals in mind, such as discovering new play programming and learning how to find a balance
between play and procedural support. Additionally, I hoped to learn about how to help infants, children
and families in the NICU and in adult care. I learned all of this and much more.
I have already begun sharing the knowledge learned by visiting these wonderful children’s hospitals, and
plan to implement many new services and programs to assist children through playful experiences. I
would like to thank the Walt Disney Company and the Child Life Council for this scholarship. I will
forever be grateful for this amazing opportunity.
17

Visiting Child Life Scholarship the Walt Disney Company

Transcription

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