When it Comes to Play… We Mean Business

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 growth and development of all children, and we also understand the integral role that is in pediatric healthcare.

Often the main focus of healing and caring for sick kids (you know, the critical medical side of things) overshadows the multitude of other needs they have as they grow and develop – social, emotional, and cognitive needs. We get that! But through programming and education aimed at healthcare providers, we strive to improve the experience of hospitalized children by helping ALL of those needs to be met. We know how incredibly important play is in helping children cope with lengthy or frequent hospital stays. So this month, it’s all about play and empowering healthcare providers.

We’ll be posting some of our favorite articles about play, discussing its importance and effects on children and families as they walk through their medical journey, and we’ll be providing tips on how to incorporate play into the experience of your patients. We’ll even be featuring a few guest bloggers (like pediatrician Dr. Ben Meisel and Child Life Specialist Deborah Villas) who are experts in incorporating play into their daily practice with pediatric patients.

We invite you to participate in our playful focus as well – talk to us about the role of play in your work with kids! Share your experiences in how play makes a difference in your practice…comment, email, message us, join us!