by Shani Thornton | Nov 11, 2017 | Blog
Artwork is a powerful therapeutic tool to help children and caregivers express their emotions about their medical experiences. Children often have a difficult time verbalizing feelings associated with pain and the modality of art provides them the opportunity to...
by Shani Thornton | Jul 30, 2017 | Blog
Our journey to Tblisi… With child and family centered healthcare at the forefront of our minds, we recently embarked on an exciting and powerful journey to Tblisi, Georgia where we reunited with colleague and Standish Advisor Khatuna Dolidze, PhD, MS, CCLS 10 years...
by Shani Thornton | May 31, 2017 | Blog
Last week we packed up and headed to the 2017 Association for Child Life Professionals conference. We joined thousands of pediatric healthcare professionals from around the globe including nurses, doctors, administrators, educators, students and child life specialists...
by Shani Thornton | Mar 31, 2017 | Blog
We asked a few Child Life Specialists “What do you love about your job?” Here is what they...
by Shani Thornton | Feb 28, 2017 | Other
When it comes to pediatric healthcare, taking advantage of app and tablet technology can be an effective, fun and interactive way to help kids and families learn about the hospital, a new diagnosis or upcoming procedures. Healthcare experience can be challenging for...
by Shani Thornton | Feb 2, 2017 | Blog
Pediatrician Arash Babaoff has extensive experience working alongside child life specialists across a variety of settings and throughout the world. He works at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Medical Director of Yanez Barragan Ecuador Project, and a...
by Shani Thornton | Feb 1, 2017 | Blog
We are living in a time where the technology we have at our fingertips influences every aspect of our daily lives. From the moment we wake up we are inundated with news, social media feeds, programs that give us directions, traffic updates, recipes – anything we...
by Shani Thornton | Jan 17, 2017 | Blog
“Doctors are never afraid” A four-year-old boy told me this as he donned surgical gloves and gave his doll an injection. He was channeling the power of a healer to counterbalance the terror he faced on a daily basis as a pediatric oncology patient. His...
by Shani Thornton | Jan 10, 2017 | Other
When we decided to focus on the importance of play in healthcare this month, we reached out to one of the gurus of cultivating playful experiences for children in the face of great challenge – Dr. Ben Meisel. Propelled by his belief in the power of play, Dr. Ben...
by Shani Thornton | Jan 3, 2017 | Blog
HAPPY NEW YEAR! This year, we thought we’d kick off 2017 by focusing on something fun – PLAY. Everyone, young and old, here and there, across the world plays. At The Standish Foundation for Child and Family Centered Healthcare, we know how important play is to the...
by Shani Thornton | Dec 20, 2016 | Blog
A Look into Medical Camps with Dr. Ben Let us catch you up….we are delving hardcore into what it means to play, and why it is CRITICAL to understand it and incorporate it into your pediatric healthcare practices. Our last blog segment by Dr. Ben attempted to shine...
by Shani Thornton | Dec 18, 2016 | Blog
On this day, December 10th, in 1948 the United Nations drafted the Universal Declaration of Human rights – a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations outlining, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. So when...
by Shani Thornton | Nov 30, 2016 | Other
Every year unsuspecting and very disappointed parents find themselves trying to give their sick kid a happy holiday from within hospital walls – a challenge that you can help with. With the holidays upon us, here are a few tips FOR and FROM health care providers on...
by Shani Thornton | Nov 12, 2016 | Other
All of us at Standish Foundation wish you and your family a peaceful Thanksgiving -Andy Mangione Standish, President Through the years, I’ve attended events honoring Active U.S. Military and Veterans. Yet this post-election Veterans Day event was different. I was...
by Shani Thornton | Jul 18, 2016 | Other
We would like to extend our sympathy to the entire Copeland family, especially Kim, Maegan and Austin. Sean and Brodie Copeland, the two Americans killed in the terrorist attack in Nice were from Lakeway, Texas where Standish Foundation for Child & Family...
by Shani Thornton | Mar 1, 2016 | Blog
If you know a child life specialist, give them a hug, high-five, or a social media shout out! We’d like to honor to these incredible child life specialists Laura Gaynard, Deb Vilas, Cinda MacDonald, Maria Fatima Garcia-Lorenzo, Natalie Fyles, Khatuna Dolidze, Susan...
by Shani Thornton | Dec 20, 2015 | Other
It’s been a fantastic year at Standish Foundation for Child & Family Centered Healthcare. For 2016, plans are being made to deliver our programs in Austin and even more cities in the U.S. We will continue helping to minimize the suffering and fear of hospitalized...
by Shani Thornton | Nov 28, 2015 | Other
The holidays have something in common with hospital stays. Hospitals are places of hope and healing. Hospitals are also places of pain and sorrow. Most children don’t understand the juxtaposition of the two. It’s an abstract and unfathomable concept. Standish...
by Shani Thornton | Nov 24, 2015 | Other
Ever wonder who comes up with those awesome, themed spaces at children’s hospitals and clinics? Andy Keller is one of them. Here he offers some tips and insights for making healthcare spaces a bit more child-friendly. In your professional opinion, what are the top 3...
by Shani Thornton | Nov 19, 2015 | Other
We’re once again exploring the world of alternative therapies for children, mainly art, music and play. While the idea of employing these with adults seems a little preposterous (although, they have a place!), these therapies are almost non-negotiable for kids. There...
by Shani Thornton | Nov 4, 2015 | Other
One of the best ways to explain a doctor’s visit or something more serious, like a surgical procedure, to a young child is with the help of a story. Here’s a short list of some of our favorite books Going to the Hospital by Fred Rodgers Poo Plays Doctor ...
by Shani Thornton | Oct 8, 2015 | Other
Shoal Habib said, “Hospitals are unlike other places in that people who are in them don’t want to be.” Consider the children with acute and chronic illness who are in hospitals frequently. They become experts on the unwelcome, unwanted hospital experience. These...
by Shani Thornton | Oct 31, 2015 | Other
Understanding what little ones need is always a challenge—are they hungry, tired, afraid? When they’re in the hospital, that challenge is compounded. Their little minds are inundated with new information, sights, sounds and sensations and then, something unfamiliar...
by Shani Thornton | Sep 30, 2015 | Other
Making the hospital a happier place for children of all ages is a rewarding, but of course challenging task—and there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Tactics and techniques differ for different genders, cultures and age groups. What’s employed for school-age...
by Shani Thornton | Sep 23, 2015 | Other
We never get tired of hearing about how Child Life Specialists arrived in their professions. Brenda Sturgeleski, BA, Ed, LES, CCLS, CTRS, shares how she turned a fine arts degree and passion for serving children into a Child Life career. How did you get involved in...
