Whether you’re walking the halls of the hospital at main campus or glancing outside the window, you may have noticed a new addition to the Pediatric Tower construction site – an 8-foot cardboard cutout of Elsa!
Elsa is Texas Children’s new therapy dog. She has been seeing patients across the inpatient population since October and provides goal-oriented therapeutic interventions. The positive response to her arrival has been overwhelming. Since Elsa is unable to see all patients, Child Life recently launched a fun project for patients, families and staff so they can interact with Elsa in other ways.
An 8-foot replica of Elsa wearing a construction hat can be found in a different location every week in the Pediatric Tower. The Bellows construction team is joining in on the fun and they are moving Elsa each week to allow patients, family and staff to enjoy the weekly game of “Where’s Elsa?”.
There are interactive activities to engage patients and families who find Elsa and a weekly event in the Zone on the 16th floor of West Tower for patients and families to have fun searching for Elsa. For those patients who are on isolation, there are specialized activities to ensure they are able to participate in the game too.
Join in on the fun and see if you can find Elsa this week! Engage your patients and families to find Elsa too!
And as always, Elsa is ready to greet you when she sees you in the hall and continues to be incredibly excited to be a part of the Texas Children’s team.