Help Your Child Feel Comfortable at the Hospital with our Child Life Specialists
At Southcoast Health, we understand that visiting the hospital can be intimidating for children. That’s why we have a child life specialist in New Bedford, MA at St. Luke’s Hospital to make a hospital visit easier for children of all ages and their families.
Our child life specialists are professionals trained to work with children and families in medical settings to ease the stress of hospitalization and other health care experiences. We help children understand what is going on around them at the hospital, offer support during medical tests or stressful experiences, and create time for fun and play to help children feel more comfortable.
You can trust our child life specialists’ expertise, as each of them have either a bachelor’s or master’s degrees with an educational emphasis on human growth and development, education, psychology or related fields of study. Certified child life specialists complete a supervised clinical internship, pass an exam and adhere to standards for continuing professional development to maintain certification.
Our Child Life Program in MA at Southcoast Health
At a hospital, children may confront a variety of stressful and potentially traumatic events that can overwhelm their natural ability to cope and heal. Because children process information much differently than adults, they have distinct needs for managing the effects of stress and trauma.
The child life specialists at Southcoast Health can help make your pediatrics experience positive by:
- Creating a child-friend, family-centered environment
- Minimizing anxiety and stress through emotional support, medical preparation, coping interventions and therapeutic play opportunities
- Providing consultation and intervention services to the health care team regarding the development and impact of illness, injury and hospitalization on children and their families
- Encouraging and enabling parent and family involvement
If your child is worried about coming to the hospital, contact our specialist at (508) 973-5637. We will work with you to develop a coping plan that fits their needs. Please also reach out to us by phone if you would like to make a donation to our pediatric patients.
Providing exceptional pediatrics close to home, Southcoast Health cares for children through child life specialists in Fall River, Dartmouth, New Bedford and Wareham, MA and surrounding areas of Rhode Island.