Child Life Council : Spotlight on Child Life

Spotlight on Child Life

Below is a list of articles and features about child life and child life specialists. Some have links to the actual stories, others can be accessed by visiting the publication Web sites and searching the archives. Please contact communications@childlife.org if you would like to submit other articles for inclusion here.

2008

Make it All Better: Parents and kids need comfort before a hospital stay San Diego Union-Tribune, Diane Suchetka, July 1, 2008

EXCERPT: "...Start with a child life specialist, if your hospital has one. Most big-city hospitals do. And more and more suburban ones are becoming aware of how helpful they can be. Here's their advice on how to get your child back from the hospital with as few emotional scars as possible..." Read full article
WRAL News Feature on Jennifer Kreimer of WakeMed Health & HospitalsWRAL News, Originally aired May 30, 2008

"WakeMed program helps children deal with upcoming surgery" - Watch the news story that features the work of CLC member Jennifer Kreimer, MS, CCLS and the pre-surgical preparation program at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina. Watch Now
FOX 19 News Feature on Katrina Baliva of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
FOX19.com, Originally aired May 26, 2008

" 'Josh Cares' Helps Patients at Children's Hospital" - Watch the news story that features the work of Child Life Fellow Katrina Baliva, and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center “Josh Cares” program. Senior Clinical Director Sharon McLeod is also interviewed. Watch Now
KSPR News Feature on Rana Post, CCLS, of CoxHealth South KSPR-ABC News, Natalie Swallow, Originally aired April 28, 2008

"Hospitals Make Stay Easier for Kids" - Watch the news story that features the work of CLC member Rana Post, CCLS in the child life program at CoxHealth South in Springfield, Missouri. Watch Now
Solace for sick kids: When a child faces a serious illness or death, families can turn to hospital specialists for support
ArgusLeader.com, Dorene Weinstein, April 27, 2008

EXCERPT: "...While the Thompsons faced the overwhelming burden of making end-of-life decisions for their infant, they got help from a child life team at Sanford USD Medical Center. They are among a group of patients who doctors locally are increasingly interested in helping." Read full article
Specialists ‘normalize' hospital enivornment for children
The Brownsville Herald, Melissa McEver, April 26, 2008

EXCERPT: "...The profession has become more prominent in recent years in the U.S., with more children's hospitals and outpatient clinics across the country hiring them and more universities starting degree programs. Currently, there are about 3,000 certified child-life specialists around the world, said Melissa Boyd, resource-development coordinator for the Child Life Council, which certifies these specialists..." Read full article
NBC Nightly News Feature Story on Myra Fox of Children's Hospital Boston
NBC Nightly News, Originally aired April 9, 2008

Watch the news story that honors the life and work of CLC member Myra D. Fox, Director of Child Life Services at Children's Hospital Boston. Also, be sure to watch the longer “Web only” segment, also available through the NBC Nightly News Web site.

Originally aired NBC Nightly News Segment

Extended "Web only" segment
Daughter’s memory drives health centers: Priyanka Foundation starts child life program in India
IndUS Business Journal, Paul Imbesi, February 15, 2008

EXCERPT: "MINNEAPOLIS – The Priyanka Foundation, which is dedicated to serving chronically ill children and their families in India’s hospitals, is opening the first-ever child life center in India this spring..." Read full article
WGCU Radio Feature on the Child Life Program at HealthPark Medical Center in Fort Myers, Florida
WGCU Radio, John Davis, Originally aired January 17, 2008

Listen to a radio story featuring the child life program at HealthPark Medical Center in Fort Myers, Florida. John Davis interviews CLC members Jennifer Niell, CCLS and Kelley Cowan, CCLS. Listen Now

One smile at a time: Mizzou doctoral student helps children cope with medical experiences
MizzouWire, Lisa Bruce, January 9, 2008

EXCERPT: "Sut means "split lip" in Vietnamese. For nine years, it's the name a young boy was known by in his village. In the span of an hour, that changed. After a short operation repairing his cleft lip, Sut's mother and his community began using his birth name, Thanh, which means 'blue sky.'
Toni Crowell, a doctoral student and Blumenthal Fellow for Child Life in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, knows Thanh's story firsthand. She has been on eight missions with Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that provides surgery and care to children with cleft lips and palates..." Read full article

2007

A little girl’s dream fulfilled: Priyanka Foundation will support terminally ill children
The Hindu, Staff Reporter, October 27, 2007

EXCERPT: "BANGALORE: It is a dream of a young daughter being fulfilled by her mother. Priyanka Child Life Services, a project in memory of Priyanka Bhakta who battled leukaemia at the Children’s Hospital and Clinics in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was inaugurated at the Manipal Hospital in the city on Thursday..." Read full article

Hospital Specialists Help Children Cope When Siblings Are Sick
Health Behavior News Service, Joan Hennessy, October 12, 2007

EXCERPT: "In many children’s hospitals, there is someone like Jaime Bruce who can boil down complicated doctor-speak into simple words that children understand. Along with helping young patients, Bruce — a child life specialist in the pediatric critical care unit of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt — can provide information to help calm a sibling’s fears. Although few in the public are familiar with the efforts of child life specialists, a new study finds that their work is effective..." Read full article

Child life specialists help patients cope with illness
St. Louis Business Journal, Chris Birk, June 1, 2007

EXCERPT: "A dozen years ago, facing a bone marrow transplant, a young boy and his family found resolve and relief in David Ish. As a child life specialist at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, Ish helped explain the procedure to the boy and his siblings in terms they could understand and provided a needed, playful outlet during a difficult time. He even accompanied the family on off-site trips while the child recuperated, facilitating time for recreation and family togetherness under the banner of healing..." Read full article

Critical caring: Child Life program makes hospital visits easier for children
Columbia Missourian, Lauren Burke, February 4, 2007

EXCERPT: ...But thanks to a special program at University of Missouri Health Care’s Children’s Hospital called Child Life, his countless visits have been a lot easier than expected. "Hospitals are unfamiliar and uncomfortable for children to be in,” said Melissa Pulis, Child Life manager at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and member of the Midwest Child Life Networking Group. “Making the hospital more of a place that is welcoming, fun, enjoyable and understandable really helps children cope better with their medical treatment....” Read full article

Patient Relations in Pediatric Radiology: Enhancing the Imaging Experience
RT Image, Jane Kollmer, January 8, 2007

EXCERPT: "...Because of the complex and delicate relationship between the pediatric patient and healthcare provider, some hospitals use a specially trained staff to serve as a liaison between the physicians and patients and their families. These professionals are called 'child life specialists,' and their job is to work with pediatric patients and their families throughout all steps of the imaging procedure..." Read full article