Child Life Specialist helps bring new program to Munson Medical Center
One’s perspective about a blood draw differs dramatically at age 6 than 60.
Amplify that for a medical procedure or surgery.
Child Life Specialist Lisa Gates hopes to make the hospital experience more comfortable for younger patients and their families as she helps launch a new Child Life Program at Munson Medical Center.
“The main objective is to be there to help kids and their families through their hospital experience,” Gates said. “I think it’s exciting we are bringing that to Munson.”
Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer Jim Fischer said the hospital launched the program and hired Gates after perceiving the need to enhance the family centered model of care.
“Lisa will be part of an interdisciplinary team, collaborating with family, physicians, nurses, and others to develop a plan of care,” Fischer said. “The child life component is based on the individual child’s perception and understanding of their anticipated health care experience.”
Gates, who started at the hospital on June 8, has spent the past 2 ½ years in a similar role for Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming. She graduated from college with a degree in psychology and a friend introduced her to the child life specialist role at Spectrum Health.
“I came home energized by that experience,” she said. Gates then pursued additional training, including volunteer hours, a practicum, and an internship before testing for the child life specialist exam. The position requires ongoing training, similar to other clinical roles. As a child life specialist, her goal is to connect with the pediatric patient and try and help the patient understand any procedure before it is performed on them.
“It is my job to find out what misconceptions patients have and then use play to explain to them what they will actually experience,” she said. For example, for a blood draw she may use one of her medical dolls and an actual blood draw kit to show the young patient what will happen.
“We talk about what their job is, so they are ready,” she said. “I will also be at the bedside during a procedure to provide additional support and distraction items to focus on.” Part of the role of a child life specialist also involves educating other staff on how the patient may view their hospital stay. Word choices are important.
“If someone says to a patient we are going to ‘take your vitals’ (vital signs) they may think that they will have something taken away from them,” she said. “I might come up with a list of words and phrases, and the explanations that staff members can use for younger patients.”
Plans call for the child life specialist to be able to chart patient encounters in the electronic medical record so clinical staff can help the child’s experience during any subsequent visit. Gates also is a certified specialist in car seat education and installation and will act as a resource in that area. She is beginning her role on the hospital’s inpatient children’s floor and plans to expand her efforts to the Emergency Department, and surgery center in the future.
The child life specialist position is being funded by a three-year grant through Munson Healthcare Foundations. Further donations to support the program and purchase toys and tools to enhance the program may be made through the foundations.
Gates said she and her husband have always been attracted to the Traverse City area, and thought they might have to wait for retirement to move here. She’s thankful it happened much sooner, and her husband was able to receive a job transfer to Traverse City from Muskegon. They recently bought a house in the Lake Ann area.
“I love working with people and families,” she said. “Everybody here seems onboard with the child life concept, and that is really nice to have that support.”