by Digital Media Engagement Committee | May 16, 2022 | Other
To what lengths would you go to make the life of a hospitalized child more joyful? For Maria Fatima “Girlie” Garcia-Lorenzo, she went as far as forging the path for the child life profession in her home country. And like most extraordinary achievements,...
by Digital Media Engagement Committee | Apr 6, 2022 | Blog, Other, Programs
As the need for psychosocial care grows in the healthcare space for children, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new leadership development program in collaboration with JoAnn Medical Center in Tbilisi, Georgia. The goal of this program is to develop...
by Hannah Berger | Dec 24, 2020 | Blog
Even during these unprecedented times, we came together to provide support to hospitalized children, families, and healthcare providers. Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers and donors. With your help, we impacted 7,900 children and families, 3,600 frontline...
by Hannah Berger | Nov 23, 2020 | Blog
Originally posted at ChildLife.org by Yvonne Kassimatis | Nov. 3, 2020 Lisa McWhorter, MS, CCLS, CPMT Lisa is a Certified Child Life Specialist, military spouse, and mom of three wild and crazy boys. After receiving her master’s degree in Child Life and...
by Hannah Berger | Oct 28, 2019 | Blog
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ilaria Simonelli, a global educator and activist promoting family-centered care, as a basic human right. Here is what she had to say. Please tell us about your work and your passion to help children; particularly...
by Hannah Berger | Sep 25, 2019 | Blog
We’re excited to announce the launch of the Standish Foundation for Children “Family-Centered Care Fellowship Program.” The goal is to create an avenue for educational exchange which enhances a provider’s knowledge, skills and confidence in delivering child and...
by Hannah Berger | Jun 17, 2019 | Blog |
Interview with Joan Brasher, co-author of The Donut That Roared What is The Donut That Roared? The Donut That Roared is a book that helps prepare children for getting an MRI. The main character is a boy named Jackson who has to get lots of MRIs. He uses his...
by Hannah Berger | Apr 22, 2019 | Blog
Finding the right support for pediatric healthcare providers can be tough. However, with the advancements with technology and online platforms, people are able to connect and gather resources from around the world by a click of a button. It is pretty remarkable. We...
by Hannah Berger | Apr 8, 2019 | Blog
Children who are military connected have unique needs and experiences compared with their peers of similar ages. These experiences tend to include frequent moves, prolonged separations, and deployments of family members (Heubner, 2018). Along with the deployment of a...
by Hannah Berger | Mar 16, 2019 | Blog |
We would like to continue our celebration of child life month, by recognizing one specialist, Shannon Alford. She is supporting families with her newly published ebook, Hospital Prayers: A Devotional for When Your Child Needs Blessings & Bandaids. Shannon Alford...
by Hannah Berger | Mar 12, 2019 | Blog
Child Life is in every sense of the word a “specialty”. Oh, let me count the ways in which you are specialists… You are supporters- you come and meet the child at their level and on their terms, allowing the child to feel a degree of...
by Hannah Berger | Dec 30, 2018 | Blog
We want to wish you and your family a Happy New Year! Thank you for your support in helping us bring hope and happiness to hospitalized children and families. Because of you, our programs impact 700,000 children annually in the U.S. and overseas. In the past year we...
by Hannah Berger | Jul 30, 2018 | Video
Balancing between your child and the medical team Navigating the healthcare road with your chronically ill child can be overwhelming to say the least. When it comes to medical procedures, parents often times feel like they are being pulled between their child and the...
by Hannah Berger | May 3, 2018 | Blog
We are always eager to share new methods of support to pediatric patients and families. Today, we will be introducing you to Chelsea Vail, the co-creator of Woombie Med Pods, a swaddle specifically designed for preemies and hospitalized infants. How did the vision for...
by Hannah Berger | Apr 30, 2018 | Blog
It’s been my experience that good nursing care is key to a good recovery. When my Father had open heart surgery, the nurses were diligent, intelligent and thoughtful. The nurses cared for our family members as much as they cared for my Dad. The large and small acts of...
by Hannah Berger | Feb 8, 2018 | Blog
In January, a team of medical volunteers provided over 40 surgeries for children and adults in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Patients were treated for birth defects such as cleft lip and palette and microtia which is a malformation or absence of the ear/s. Thanks to our...
by Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | Mar 31, 2017 | Blog
We asked a few Child Life Specialists “What do you love about your job?” Here is what they...
by Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | 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 Hannah Berger | 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...