Welcome to The Child Life Department at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
Being admitted to a hospital or having to undergo a medical procedure can be a very stressful and frightening experience for children. At Jamaica Hospital, our Child Life Program provides children with the resources needed to help them through this challenging time.
Our Child Life Team
The Child Life staff is part of Jamaica Hospital’s family-centered team. It is their goal to make hospitalization a less stressful experience for pediatric patients and their families by providing psychosocial and emotional support.
Child Life Services are available for families and children receiving care from our hospital’s Pediatric Unit, Pediatric Emergency Room , Ambulatory Surgery Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Hospice Care Unit.
Certified Child Life Specialists work in partnership with our doctors, nurses and social workers to ensure that your child feels more at home during their hospital stay. Our staff is specially trained to explain medical procedures in a manner that children can understand. They provide therapeutic opportunities to explore the hospital environment through recreational play, medical play, and expressive arts.
Other functions performed by our Child Life Specialists include:
- Advocating for the emotional and physicial needs of patients and families
- Educating patients and families about diagnoses
- Addressing fears and anxieties that patients may have about hospitalizations or medical procedures
- Providing age-appropriate preparations, distractions and support for impending procedures and treatments
- Teaching effective coping mechanisms for pain management and relaxation
- Providing palliative care and bereavement support
- Facilitating legacy building activities for families or loved ones
The Importance of Play
Play is an important approach utilized by our Child Life team to help your child with their hospitalization.
Jamaica Hospital’s Child Life program encourages your child to continue playing while hospitalized in order to explore their environment, enhance healing and promote normal development and independence.
Play provides a safe, relaxing and familiar environment during stressful times. It can also be used as a tool to prepare and teach children about medical procedures. Our Child Life Specialists use medical play, teaching dolls and real medical equipment to prepare children for surgeries and other treatments.
The Child Life Play Room
Our Child Life playroom is located by the nurses’ station, on the pediatric unit of Jamaica Hospital. It is a safe space where children can play, socialize with others and enjoy supervised activities such as group play, crafting and reading. Children that are on IV medication or unable to come to the playroom, are allowed to check out toys to their rooms. Our playroom is stocked with a variety of toys and games suitable for children of any age.
Donations
The Child Life program at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center accepts donations of new and unwrapped gifts or items.
If you are interested in making a donation, please contact Tracey Kunj-Ramen MS, CCLS, at 718-206-8881 or email tkunjram@jhmc.org.
