November 2, 2020

Halloween came early for several patients, their families and employees at Texas Children’s. While the COVID-19 pandemic changed this year’s Halloween celebrations, Child Life teams at our three hospital campuses organized several spooktacular activities while keeping safety and social distance in mind.

At Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, the festivities began on October 10 in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where our hospital’s tiniest patients celebrated their first Halloween dressed up in costumes that ranged from lady bugs, butterflies and fruit, to super heroes and Disney characters.

Texas Children’s NICU Child Life and Music Therapy team organized the Halloween celebrations with support from the Newborn Center Social Work team and NICU leadership. Due to COVID-19, this year’s celebrations were organized differently to maintain social distancing. Instead of hosting costume decorating parties where parents gathered in a room to make their babies’ costumes, kits were distributed to families so they could make their own Halloween costumes individually.

“We provided materials to create felt layover costumes so that all NICU patients, no matter their medical needs, could participate,” said Child Life Specialist Teaghan Robinson. “Several families used the kits to create costumes for their babies, while other families purchased their own costumes for the occasion. Since the hospital environment can be a difficult place for NICU patients and their families, our team wanted to normalize their experience as they celebrated their baby’s first Halloween.”

For siblings who were unable to visit their newborn brother or sister in the NICU due to hospital visitation restrictions, the NICU Child Life and Music Therapy Team provided Halloween themed picture frame decoration kits for parents to take home with them so their children could also join in on the fun.

Video: Halloween highlights at Texas Children’s

The Halloween festivities didn’t stop there. There were plenty of other Spooktacular events in October:

Child Life Zone Halloween Party: Spirit of Halloween donated costumes to patients and their families for this special occasion. Activities included pumpkin painting, witches slime making, a photo booth, and games. Patients from each floor came up to the Child Life Zone on their designated day to allow for social distancing. Staff from other departments volunteered the event and dressed up in their Halloween best.

Reverse Trick or Treating: Complete with music, games, a photo booth, and COVID-19 friendly trick or treating, a decorated cart filled with Halloween goodies made its way to each patient floor in West Tower. Patients, dressed up in their costumes as they waited eagerly in their room to trick or treat with staff.

Halloween at West Campus: Patients received Disney-themed bags filled with fun activities based on the individual’s age/developmental level. These bags included stuffed animals, Halloween/Autumn coloring or sticker activities, Disney pen and journal, Disney playing cards and books to read.

Halloween at The Woodlands: The Woodlands Campus celebrated Fall Fun Day where staff handed out over 400 bags of fall themed toys and activities to our inpatients and outpatients. Inpatients were able to participate in socially distanced pumpkin painting. The NICU patients were also able to have their First Halloween pumpkin pictures by the Child Life team with the support of First Memories Texas equipment and supplies. The bags and items were generously donated by community partners including: Clariant Oil Services, Junior League of The Woodlands, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The Woodlands Fire Department, Klein Cain Mu Alpha Theta, Modern Woodmen of America, National Charity League – Woodlands Chapter, Chick-Fil-A College Park and 501st Legion – South Texas Squad of Star Garrison.

View the photo gallery to get a glimpse of the fun everyone had at these unforgettable events.

August 17, 2020

The Child Life team has created buttons personalized with employees’ faces to wear during their shifts. The “face buttons” are intended to help put patients at ease, as they give them a glimpse of the smiling Texas Children’s face beneath the mask and other PPE. The Volunteer Services team is extending this unique and thoughtful effort to all employees and medical staff by hosting “Create your own Face Button” events across the Medical Center Campus next week, with the goal of expanding to other locations soon. Bring your own photo to fit in a 2.5” round button, or come camera ready so your photo can be taken and printed on the spot!

Create your own face button event dates:

Tuesday, August 18

  • Feigin Tower Employee Screening Station – 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
  • Pavilion for Women Fourth-floor Starry Night area – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wednesday, August 19

  • Legacy Tower Employee Screening Station – 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Thursday, August 20

  • Pavilion for Women Fourth-floor Starry Night area – 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
August 3, 2020

Members of the Child Life team have decorated sidewalks at the Medical Center Campus with inspiring chalk art. The art is meant to send positive vibes to anyone and everyone visiting or working in our facilities. Go check it out, and thanks Child Life!

July 14, 2020

The Child Life team at Texas Children’s has a pretty special job. Through a variety of educational and therapeutic interventions, they strive to alleviate stress and anxiety, while promoting positive coping skills for patients and families during their time at the hospital.

Made up of a variety of teammates – including child life specialist, art, music and animal-assisted therapists along with media professionals and activity, school, library and gaming coordinators – the department focuses on the psychosocial needs of children while collaborating with parents and other health care staff.

The need for such services and expertise has grown exponentially during the pandemic with anxiety and stress among patients and parents at a peak. Texas Children’s Child Life team has stepped in to do their part in calming these new nerves and making patients’ experiences at the hospital the best they can be during these unprecedented times.

“We are glad we are able to be in the room to support patients and families during this challenging time,” said Diane Kaulen, manager of the Texas Child Life Department. “We are there in PPE (personal protective equipment) helping support patients and families through all the emotions that come with illness and hospitalization. Our team is happy to still be working with them.”

The power of play

One way child life team members help children express and process difficult emotions is through play, the power of which can be amazingly strong. Audrey McKim has seen play work wonders time and time again during her tenure as an activity coordinator with Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers.

“As a child life team we make it a priority to bring patients together through intentional programming anchored by play,” McKim said. “We understand the significance of creating connections and building a community among people who are mere doors apart from each other but have the opportunity to share so much more than a diagnosis.”

Creating these connections during the pandemic has been challenging, but not impossible. McKim said an average day for her begins with huddles in the morning and looks over the census. Based on all the things she and her colleagues know about their patients and their needs, interests, strengths and diversity, they create a new daily challenge game.

Cup stacking and collapsing, ping pong challenge, Play Doh sentences, speed Spot-It, balancing building and trivia are just a few of the games the child life team play with patients in their rooms. To ignite competition among the other patients on the floor, scores reflecting speed and number of questions answered correctly are posted on a giant “Leader Board.”

“Imagine the show ‘Minute to Win It’ happening every day inside patient rooms,” McKim said. “We didn’t even need prizes, bragging rights and Leader Board ranking was enough.

McKim and members of her team also have incorporated photo projects into their repertoire and utilized creative themes burgeoning from social media. They have marked holidays with events like timed St. Patrick’s Day gold coin hunts, Mother’s Day interviews and photos from patient beds, individual egg hunts in rooms, Earth Day and super hero day art.

“What we found is how much patients started looking forward to visits from someone bringing something purposeful and fun that tied people and days together,” McKim said. “In the absence of so much, we have discovered a beauty in the challenge of creating and sustaining community through play all while staying apart from each other.”

The COVID effect

Chandler Townsend, a child life specialist in the Emergency Center, said she quickly learned that COVID-19 has more than just medical side effects.

“A hospitalized child within this pandemic is not just experiencing stressors related to hospitalization,” she said. “Our tiny heroes and their caregivers are now walking through our doors with a whole new set of external stressors, already altered from their baseline.”

Children miss their communities of classmates and playdates. Parents find themselves on a seesaw, balancing their work as professionals and as nurturers. The disappointment of a favorite park being closed, a postponed celebration or a canceled trip to see grandparents is felt by all. And, on top of everything, a visit to the hospital.

It takes extra, special intentionality to address kiddos’ fears and foster resilience, and Townsend and colleagues are doing just that and more. They are engaging family members in supportive conversation, recognizing that due to visitation protocols, they may not have their spouse’s hand to squeeze and may benefit from that extra check in.

They are allowing opportunities for control/mastery over a child’s day through procedural preparation, the dissemination of honest information, validating emotions, re-shaping perspectives, being a supportive presence and creating chances for control and facilitating play.

“Child Life is striving to adapt creatively while still keeping patient-and family-centered care at the center of our minds,” Townsend said. “I’ve been so encouraged by my coworkers and their drive to allow kids to be kids.”

December 16, 2019

The Medical Center campus patients and employees will no longer think of the solar system when they hear someone say Pluto. That’s the name of the newest animal-assisted therapy dog.

The two-year-old Golden Retriever joins Golden Retrievers Elsa, Bailey and Pinto, who also serve patients at Texas Children’s in the Texas Medical Center, and Golden doodle/Golden Retriever mix, Cohen, who serves patients at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands campus.

All five dogs are part of hospital’s Pawsitive Play Program, which is designed to enhance to enhance the emotional well-being of pediatric patients by reducing their anxiety, perception of pain and fear of hospitalization. Pluto will provide goal-oriented, therapeutic interventions to those in clinics in Mark A. Wallace Tower. He is generously supported by a gift from the Barnhart family and spends his days with animal-assisted therapy coordinator, Hanna Kuhn.

“As a dog handler, even walking down the hall can brighten a patient or staff members day so I love that we get to bring smiles to everyone we encounter,” Kuhn said. “I think patients automatically feel calmer when they are able to pet the dog during preparations and procedures, so I am looking forward to bringing Pluto into the outpatient environment and supporting patient’s positive coping during procedures by utilizing Pluto’s presence as a coping tool and distraction option.”

During his hospital debut and first day on the job, Pluto visited patients in Mark A. Wallace Tower so that he and Kuhn could get acquainted with them and their families.

“When we were here a few months ago for surgery, we met Pinto and my daughter was so excited,” Kristin Moreno, mother of patient Claire Moreno said. “The dogs are a great way to motivate her now that we have to come back for therapy.”

Just like any other employee, Pluto has an official hospital badge. He spends time without his vest playing with his toys and to ensure he always looks his best, he is groomed weekly and his paws are wiped down daily. Before making his journey to Texas Children’s, Pluto underwent extensive training at Canine Assistants, a non-profit in Atlanta, which has matched more than 1,500 service dogs with individuals and hospitals.

Pluto is extremely friendly, so whenever you see our newest four-legged employee make sure you greet him with lots of hugs and affection.

He loves to meet new people and is very social which means I get to talk to new coworkers all the time that I normally wouldn’t get to meet so that has been very fun. He is also so tall which means his head is always at the perfect height to be pet and I love that he makes it so easy for us to love on him. He likes to snuggle up next to me when he is tired and it just makes me feel so loved.

November 26, 2019

On November 23, writer, actor, director and comedian B.J. Novak brought countless smiles to patients and families at Texas Children’s when he treated them to a special reading of his critically-acclaimed, bestselling children’s book, “The Book With No Pictures.” Following the reading, Novak spent time helping patients with their own “My Book With No Pictures,” a new activity book that lets kids fill in the blanks with their own made-up words. After his time in The Zone, the author shared the fun with patients in their rooms.

Novak is well known for his work on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series The Office as an actor, writer, director, and executive producer. He is also acclaimed for his standup comedy, his performances in motion pictures, and his New York Times bestselling book of short stories, “One More Thing.” At once perfectly simple and ingeniously imaginative, “The Book With No Pictures” inspires laughter every time it is opened, creating a warm and joyous experience to share – and introducing young children to the powerful idea that the written word can be an unending source of mischief and delight.

For more information about the book and its author, visit thebookwithnopictures.com.

August 13, 2019

This year the tremendously anticipated Camp For All 2U event debuted at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. For the first time patients and their families were able to experience summer camp in all hospitals this summer.

Camp For All 2U is a unique, barrier-free camp that brings the same eventful camping experience to patients and their siblings. Many patients may have missed out on those valuable experiences because they are in the hospital.

“We were thrilled to bring Camp For All 2U here for our patients and families in this community,” Cynda Parrish. “The main goal is to bring fun and normalization to our patients and families here. To have the opportunity to engage in camp-like activities instead of just sitting around at home or in their hospital rooms is exciting.”

For a week in June and July the program transformed areas of hospitals into camp spaces providing patients, who may not get the experience of camp outside of the hospital, the opportunity to enjoy a variety of games and activities.

Canoeing and the pie throwing events are a favorite at the Medical Center Campus every year, and West Campus introduced a robotics activity that engaged patients in a whole new way. The Woodlands campus provided activities including a mad science experiment, canoeing, arts and crafts and a hospital favorite, horses!

The horses were brought to The Woodlands hospital by a local organization called Inspiration Ranch which provides therapy horses with a similar purpose as our therapy dogs. Patients were invited to pet and paint on the horses, and ultimately enjoy a moment that maybe rare for most of them.

Inspiration Ranch is a Premiere Accredited Center through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, which breaks down barriers and celebrates the inclusion of individuals with physical, emotional, and social disabilities. They offer exceptional equine-assisted therapy and activities in a loving Christian environment, providing hope and improving the lives of those with physical, mental, and emotional challenges through Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies.

“It’s a little different from therapy dogs when it comes to training because we have to put children on the horse, but the overall goal is the same, the therapeutic value.” President and CEO of Inspiration Ranch, MG Tindall said. “We know for a fact that being next to a horse is calming, they are non-judgmental, and they provided happiness along with and experience some children may not have had before. We appreciate Texas Children’s for allowing us to provide this for the patients.”

View photos from Camp For All 2U below.

Texas Children’s has been adapting camp activities for patients and their siblings in a hospital setting since 2016. Camp For All 2U West Campus was an expansion of the Medical Center Campus event and generously funded by community partner Wood.

“Camp For All 2U is just one of the many opportunities that we have available for patients and their families to enjoy this summer in the hospital,” Child Life Coordinator Mary Reddick said. “The Camp For All 2U staff makes it very easy to engage patients through a series of games and activities that they just love!”

After returning for the fourth consecutive year, an expanding to The Woodlands Campus this year, Child Life Specialist Sarah Herbek said that she is excited to see the program grow across the system and more patients are able to experience this amazing event.

“It feels great to know that Camp is reaching our Katy and Woodlands communities. Camp For All 2 U teaches kids what they can do, not what they can’t do,” Herbek said. “I love that Texas Children’s Hospital recognizes the importance of allowing kids to be kids and as we continue to grow as an institution, we still make it a priority to provide these types of programs for our patients and families.”

Although there is a pre-registration process, patients are more than welcome to join in on the fun if they happen to come across the camp activities at all campuses.

“Camp for All 2U brought tons of laughing and dancing from patients, smiles and excitement from employees, and tears from parents,” Parrish said. “We absolutely look forward to making this an annual event and provide more new and exciting things for the Woodlands community.”

For more information about Camp For All, visit www.campforall.org.