For children who are hospitalized, the experience can feel especially scary, filled with unknowns in an unfamiliar place. Thankfully, children’s hospitals have teams dedicated to making the experience the best it can be for the child and their family.
Experienced teams at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone are committed to personalizing the healthcare experience for every child and family. Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care is leading that mission at the children’s hospital, where the team offers support services and resilience programs, family partnership programs and safety and quality initiatives.
Jami Egorow, MS, CCLS, clinical manager for Child Life and Creative Arts Therapies from Sala Institute, is sharing how specialized programs like art, music, drama and animal-assisted therapy help “normalize” the hospital environment and create ways for children to continue growing, healing and developing — at the bedside and beyond.
As a child life specialist working with children and families, what’s the most important part of what you do?
One of the best things we can do is reduce the stress that children of all ages, from infants to adolescents, and their families may experience in the hospital. It can be anxiety-provoking to be in a new and unfamiliar place, and we’re specially trained to be there to help kids understand what they’re going through, give them outlets to cope — whether that be art or music — and really help the whole family feel more comfortable and gain more sense of control.
How can play be an important tool to help children understand medical procedures?
Play is the language of children and is universal. Rather than asking them, “Tell me what you are afraid of today,” if we play a game, they can relax enough to be able to play out their feelings. Because treatments and procedures such as blood draws or surgery can be overwhelming, we use a variety of tools and techniques to support children before, during and after a procedure. We use medical play, such as a doll-sized MRI machine, to help kids understand what they might see, hear, feel, smell or taste during a procedure. We help children find ways to relax and feel more comfortable through play and other fun activities.
What’s the biggest surprise for parents or caregivers during a child’s hospital stay?
How resilient children are. As adults, we know all the things that can make a medical diagnosis or treatments and procedures anxiety-provoking. But for children, when they end up in the hospital, whether for a scheduled surgery or an unexpected trip to the emergency room, they may not have the cognitive ability or context to fully understand, so we do our best to make the experience easier. Often, families will be surprised to see how well their child does, especially how they can still smile and have fun during a difficult time.
What can caregivers do to minimize their child’s anxiety around medical visits, or a hospital stay?
Preparation is important because we find that children who know what to expect cope better in the long run. This could look like telling your child ahead of time what to expect from the visit in age-appropriate language with just enough information to address what they may be wondering about, and as a child life specialist, we also do that in the hospital with different teaching tools such as imaginative play, books and videos.
Parents know their children best, and we partner with them to understand what their child may need at that moment. We also make sure that caregivers are getting their needs met, whether that be by taking a 15-minute coffee break or a phone call outside of the room while we spend time with their child. Children read off emotions of caregivers in the room, so we find that reducing the stress of the parent can ultimately help their child.
What’s something families can bring to comfort their child in the hospital?
We encourage parents to bring a comfort item, something their child can connect with to make the environment a little less scary, whether that’s their favorite stuffed animal, a favorite blanket or their tablet so they can watch their favorite shows. Having those familiar items can be helpful to your child’s overall coping.
What does it mean to you personally to be able to help patients and families?
It really is an honor to work with patients and their families. Children are vulnerable when they spend time and are asked to express themselves to somebody new, so to have that connection is powerful. I work closely with medical providers and other members of the interdisciplinary team to make sure every child and family’s voice is at the center of their medical plan. No parent ever wants to imagine their child in the hospital, but child life specialists are available to help support you along that journey in whatever way you need.
Jami Egorow, MS, CCLS, is a certified child life specialist and clinical manager for Child Life and Creative Arts Therapies from Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care, part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone.
