The American Girl doll store gave Texas Children’s 200 American Girl Dolls to donate to patients. Child Life hosted an American Girl Doll tea party in the Child Life Zone for patients. All girls attending received a doll.
The sound of strumming ukuleles in unison can be heard every Thursday at noon outside of the Kids’ Zone Radio studios. That’s when a group of Texas Children’s employees come together to learn to play the ukulele. The group consists of men and women from various departments who have kindled a friendship over their new musical talents.
“When we started, it was really for the child life department for team building and self care, but people enjoyed coming and it grew,” said Music Therapist Amy Smith. “People who were in the group started inviting other people in the hospital who might want a break in their day, who might want to do some self care while here at work, to learn a new skill and meet new people.”
The group has now grown to 20 employees and continues to see more interest as word gets out about this sort of music therapy for employees. There is a lot of research to support the positive effects group music making can have on individuals. For Nurse Coordinator Amelia Sherinski, it’s a place to get away from the emotional task of working in hematology/oncology patients.
“There is a lot of emotional stress associated with my job,” Sherinski said. “It’s nice to take that mental break, come do something I’m really bad at, but have a good time doing it.”
The members of this team are by no means professional ukulele players. Most had never picked up the instrument before joining this group, but in preparation for Garth Brooks’ visit to dedicate the new Child Life Zone, the group prepared their own rendition of “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”
“Our tag line now is that the ukulele choir at Texas Children’s got to open for Garth Brooks,” Smith said. “That was a neat opportunity where they asked us to write a song and we decided to remake this famous song to instead say ‘deep in the heart of Texas Children’s’.”
But the choir isn’t just practicing for the next big celebrity to join, last year they did caroling on patient floors and they are even available to attend your next Texas Children’s event.
“It was so neat to give back to the children here at Texas Children’s in a different way than most of us are used to,” said child life specialist Laura Linville.
To join the Texas Children’s Ukulele Choir or request their talents for your next Texas Children’s event, contact Amy Smith.
Garth Brooks was on-site to celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated and expanded Child Life Zone. Funded through the Teammates for Kids foundation, which Brooks co-founded in 1999, the Zone provides a fun, safe and procedure-free environment for Texas Children’s inpatient population and their families.
“The kids in this hospital, and hospitals around the world, have a hard climb,” Brooks said. “I love being part of Child Life because they understand the greatest healing principle we can bring children is to let them be children.”
Texas Children’s Child Life Zone originally opened in 2001 and now features a completely renovated and expanded play space. The Zone offers a variety of video gaming choices thanks to the new Microsoft Media Wall and Surface Pro tablets. Patients can challenge their friends to a game of pool, air hockey or race car driving on the Zone’s arcade games. An expanded kitchen offers unique programming for patients and families to learn more about healthy lifestyles while cooking with the hospital’s chef.
When the kitchen is “closed” the 24-foot kitchen counter doubles as an arts and craft bar. The Zone also includes an expanded production studio which offers patients the opportunity to explore and create music as a part of the hospital’s music therapy program. Kids can go “on air” each week as Radio Lollipop broadcasts their radio program throughout the hospital. With the new closed-circuit television system, patients on isolation will now be able to see what’s happening in the Zone and participate in live shows being broadcast from the studio.
The Zone, located in the hospital’s West Tower and adjacent to other support services, is available to patients ages 6 and up and their families. The focus of the Zone is as much on the family, in particular siblings of patients who can often feel overlooked, as it is on the patients themselves who greatly benefit from the therapeutic play the Zone provides.
“Providing patients and families with the opportunity to play normalizes the hospital environment,” said Mary Tietjens, child life manager at Texas Children’s. “Play is a wonderful therapeutic tool that supports a healing environment and promotes positive coping. We can’t thank Teammates for Kids and Microsoft enough for all they have done to make the vision a reality.”
More than 100 patients and their families attended the grand opening event and were given the chance to meet Brooks. Representatives from Teammates for Kids and Microsoft were on hand to show families the activities and resources available at the Zone. Brooks chatted with patients and families, signed autographs and posed for pictures.
“Kids are what it is all about for me. They are the greatest gift God has ever invented and they should be happy,” said Brooks.
Texas Children’s Child Life Department hosted its annual “Teddy Bear Clinic” March 3 on The Auxiliary Bridge. Patients and families received a free stuffed animal to use as their patient while visiting various stations for check-ups, X-rays and other exams, with the goal of learning more about hospital procedures.
Texas Children’s Child Life department provides developmental, educational and therapeutic interventions for children undergoing medical treatment. Child Life services help children effectively manage stress, which reduces the need for sedatives and pain medications and helps children heal faster with less long-term psychological effects.
With more than 40 child life professionals, Texas Children’s has one of the largest Child Life departments in the country. Child life specialists are professionals who have studied normal child development and the reactions of children to health care settings. The Child Life department has activity coordinators who maintain hospital playrooms, provide bedside play opportunities and facilitate special events to help normalize the environment and promote developmentally appropriate play in all areas of the hospital. In addition, the Child Life department has a very active library for children and families where there are many programs provided from the community. There also is a partnership with HISD to provide educational opportunities for those patients that have long hospitalizations.
Photo Gallery of Event
On July 16, patients on 11 West Tower were greeted by three-time Olympian Erin Hamlin. Most recently, she made history and took home the bronze medal in the singles luge event at the Winter Games in Sochi. The 27-year-old brought smiles to patients, showed off her medal and even came with a luge in tow for them to ride. View photos below
Texas Children’s patients recently had the chance to learn more about hospital procedures during the annual Teddy Bear Clinic on The Auxiliary Bridge during Child Life Week.
Texas Children’s child life specialists are finding creative ways to ease a child’s anxiety before their procedures, and the specialists’ efforts recently received national attention on NBC’s Today.com.
Texas Children’s has one of the largest child life programs in the country with more than 30 professionals on staff. Child life specialists focus on the psychosocial needs of children, doing everything they can to ensure our young patients feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible during their hospital stays. For patients who come to the hospital for surgery, child life specialists help diminish fears before entering the operating room.
This starts with providing age-appropriate information to alleviate misconceptions, minimize fears and provide each child with a sense of control before they enter the unfamiliar world of the operating room (OR).
“Every child is different, and they cope best if we individualize treatment based on their developmental and psychological needs,” said Child Life Specialist Diane Kaulen.
For example, child life specialists may take young children in a red wagon on their way to an OR or give an older child the chance to see a mock-up of the OR so they can touch and play with medical supplies in a calm setting and even choose their anesthesia “flavor.”
“We use a variety of techniques, including distraction and relaxation methods and engaging in play activities to create a sense of normalcy and control,” Kaulen said. “I think the most important element in preparing a child for surgery is meeting the child where they are. Some children like to know a lot of information and some do not.”
Child Life helps children effectively manage stress, which reduces the need for potentially dangerous sedatives and pain medications and helps children heal faster with fewer long-term psychological effects.
“Most children have a set of coping skills they already draw on to help them cope effectively in difficult situations,” Kaulen said. “We’re able to evaluate potential situations that would create anxiety for that child and then develop a plan to help that child cope with those potential stressors. Parents can be a great resource for us when we individualize the plan of care.”