Child Life Program

Child Life Program

Child Life Services enhance the healthcare experience for children and their families, promoting better outcomes and ensuring that children's emotional and developmental health is cared for alongside their physical health. Our dedicated Child Life Specialists are committed to providing compassionate, family-centered care to help ease the stress and anxiety often associated with hospital visits for our youngest patients.

Helping Your Child Through Their Hospital Experience

A trip to the hospital is often a new and frightening thing for a child; big words, loud beeps, and lots of strangers. What if there was a person who was there to support your child and help them through the hospital experience through play and learning?

That is what Child Life Services are here for.

Our Child Life Program Services:

  • Developmentally appropriate preparation for tests, surgeries, and other medical procedures using therapeutic language, play, and education.

  • Therapeutic medical play using special dolls, stuffed animals, and medical equipment.

  • Helping children and families cope during medical procedures by using techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, and distraction.

  • Providing opportunities for play in the hospital setting by offering developmentally appropriate toys, games, and expressive art activities to promote normalization and coping with the hospital environment.

  • Co-treatment with Music Therapy

  • Coordination of special events, holiday celebrations, and donations.

  • Coordination and supervision of Child Life Volunteer Program and Pet Therapy.

  • Support for siblings and children of adult patients

  • Bereavement support

What is a Child Life Specialist?

Certified Child Life Specialists are educated and clinically trained in the developmental impact of illness and injury. Their role helps improve patient and family care, satisfaction, and overall experience.

Certified Child Life Specialists help infants, children, teens and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of acute and chronic illness, injury, trauma, disability, death and bereavement. They provide evidence-based, developmentally and psychologically appropriate interventions including therapeutic play, preparation for procedures, and education to reduce fear, anxiety, and pain.

Our Child Life Specialists:

  • Hold a minimum of a bachelor's level degree in Child Life or a related field
  • Completed a rigorous internship of at least 480 hours
  • Hold national certification from the Association of Child Life Professionals
  • Through all of this training, they have expertise in the special needs of hospitalized children.