Child Life Council 26 th Annual Conference on Professional Issues

Child Life Council

26

th

Annual Conference on Professional Issues

37. A Children's Hospital Dream Team: The Collaborative works

of Child Life and Child Advocacy in the Emergency Department

Presented By:

Leah Class, MS, CCLS, Child Life Specialist, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa

Stefanie Alt, MS, Senior Child Advocate, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa

A Children’s Hospital Dream Team:

The Collaborative Works of Child Life and Child Advocacy in the Emergency Center

Leah Class, M.S., CCLS

Certified Child Life Specialist and Community Visiting Group Coordinator

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa

(813) 554-8155 ext.4

[email protected]

Stefanie Alt, M.S.

Practice Manager

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa

(813) 870-4549

A Children’s Hospital Dream Team:

The Collaborative Works of

Child Life and Child Advocacy

in the Emergency Center

Learning Objectives

and Child Advocacy services in an Emergency Care Center

• Gain understanding of the Child Life and Child Advocacy roles specific to the Emergency Care Center

• Identify benefits of staffing Child Life and Child Advocacy services in a pediatric Emergency Care Center • Learn how to create a Dream Team of Child Life

Specialists and Child Advocates for your own Emergency Care Center.

National Statistics

• Approximately 28.3 million children and

adolescents visited Emergency Centers

nationwide each year between 2003-05

• 10.8 million visits were injury related • 17.5 million visits were illness related

Data from the 2003-05 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey,

Who We Are

Health Care system

– Free-standing hospital in 1998 – 2006 Facts

• 164 Inpatient Beds • 8,339 Inpatient Admissions

• Level II Steinbrenner Emergency/Trauma Center • 336 heart surgeries

• Level III NICU – 700 infants • $4.2 million in charity care

Steinbrenner Emergency/Trauma

Center For Children

• 24-Hour Level II Pediatric Trauma Center • 18 Bed Department

• 41,056 visits in 2006

– 6,383 were related to injuries

• Consultations from nearly 60 specialty services • Fast Track for minor emergencies

• One Full-time Child Life Specialist • One Full-time Child Advocate

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital

Child Life Department

• 6 Certified Child Life Specialists

• 2 Specialists dual certified in Child Life and

Recreational Therapy

• Areas served include:

– All inpatient Units – Day Hospital

– Pediatric Holding/Pre-Op area – Hematology/Oncology Clinic – Medically Complex Clinic – Emergency Department

Objectives for Child Life in the EC

• Providing patients and families with procedural preparation and support

• Promoting positive coping skills in patients of all ages • Diversion activities for patients and siblings • Advocate for patients and families

• Providing staff with assessment of individual coping abilities as well as general developmental assessments • Documentation

• Assist in increasing emergency center patient satisfaction

Procedural Preparation and Support

– Decrease anxiety, chance of misconceptions, and stress – Increase understanding and positive coping

• Tools: – Prep Kits – Prep Books – Distraction Tools • Common Procedures: – Sutures – I&D – IV starts – Appendicitis work-up – Bone reduction and casting

Diversion Activities

• Wait Times

• Waiting Room

Activities

• Bedside Activities

• Volunteers

• Child Life Cabinet

Patient and Family Support

• Pain Prevention

• Parental Involvement

• Sibling Support

• Keeping Families Informed

• Traumas/

Bereavement

Staff Education

• Developmental Stages

• Age-specific Reactions

• Patient and Family Assessment

• Family Dynamics

Documentation

• Charting in Medical

Record

St. Joseph’s Children’s Advocacy

Mission

To advocate for the health and well-being

of all children and their families through

education, awareness and safety product

distribution

Children’s Advocacy Center

• 23 Child Advocates

• Areas of prevention expertise

– Unintentional Injury/Safe Kids Tampa – Environmental Injury

– Child Passenger Safety – Social Injury

– Emergency Center Services – Mobile Immunization Services

– “Be Our Best” Health Education Program – Legislative Advocacy

Child Advocate in the EC

Provides injury prevention education, safety

devices, family support and other resources to

A Teachable Moment

Moment of Educational Opportunity:

a time at which a person, especially a child, is likely

to be particularly disposed to learn something or particularly

responsive to being taught or made aware of

something Source: Encarta World English Dictionary, 2007

Objectives for

Child Advocate in the EC

• Stand as an educational resource for families visiting the emergency center to help decrease repeat visits due to preventable injuries

• Provide safety devices to families based on need, the child’s age, the season and purpose of visit • Conduct Zap Asthma program

• Collect injury data and track injury trends • Offer family support

• Assist in increasing emergency center patient satisfaction

Child Advocacy Assessment

• Identify Patients

• Parent Survey

• Identify Needs

• Offer education

and/or safety devices

• Documentation

• Follow-up

Child Life and Child Advocacy

Collaboration in the EC

• Team of Medical Staff, Child Life Specialist and

Child Advocate

• Families receive comprehensive array of care,

support and education during their visit

-Medical staff treats the injury/illness

-Child Life Specialist works with patient on distraction and coping skills

-Child Advocate talks with parents about mechanism of injury and how to prevent future injuries

Benefits

• Offers a complete Family Centered Care

Approach

• Cross training of Child Life Specialist and

Child Advocate

• Relationship Building with medical staff

• Follow-up with hospitalized patients

• Reduce stress associated with Emergency

Center visit

• Increase Patient Satisfaction

Where Do We Go From Here?

• Expansion of current services in EC

• Fundraising opportunities

• Expansion of services to other sister

hospital emergency centers

• Model program for other hospitals locally

and nationally

Start Your Own Dream Team

• Gain support from

hospital

administration

• Funding

• Marking presence in

emergency center

(i.e., gaining support from staff)

• Space issues

• Stay Flexible

Questions

How To Contact Us:

Leah Class, M.S., CCLS St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa

(813) 554-8155 ext. 4 [email protected]

Stefanie Alt, M.S. Practice Manager

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital of Tampa (813) 870-4549