Baylor Scott & White Health believes that treating the patient means treating the whole family. In 2011, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas became one of the first hospitals in the nation to develop a Palliative Care Child Life Services program dedicated to exclusively serving children of adult patients who are facing life-altering or life-ending illnesses and trauma. The program has expanded in the last eight years to additional Baylor Scott & White hospitals.
Now, through a generous grant from the Moody Foundation, more children whose lives have been impacted by the health or injury of a loved one will receive this support.
“We have the unique opportunity to take the long view in deciding how our foundation can best invest in meaningful projects that positively impact the lives of Texans for years or decades,” Frances Moody-Dahlberg, executive director and chairman of the Moody Foundation, said. “Bringing comfort to our smallest and most vulnerable children in their time of uncertainty allows us to be of service in a way that is both gratifying and humbling. We are pleased to come together with Baylor Scott & White Health on this life-changing initiative.”
With the help of this grant, the Palliative Care Child Life program will be established or expanded in locations in North Texas, including in Fort Worth, Irving and Grapevine; and in Central Texas, including Waco and Temple. Highly trained and dedicated certified child life specialists help families in crisis, serving in palliative care and in all other hospital units including trauma, emergency department, intensive care unit, oncology, cardiac care, transplant, women’s and children’s services and rehabilitation.
Acting as advocates, educators, liaisons and hand-holders, child life specialists support children and families with their knowledge and experience with child development and age-appropriate therapeutic interventions. In doing so, they help reduce the stress and anxiety that many children can experience in these circumstances.
“When there is a serious life-limiting illness or injury, the children are often the ones who need the most information and emotional support, but the adults often don’t know where to start,” Cinda McDonald, manager of Palliative Care Child Life Services, said. “We work with adults to educate and empower them in how to support their kids through their health crisis, giving them confidence to talk about this difficult information with their kids.
“For many children, their lack of understanding can sometimes lead to fears or misperceptions, like that they “caused” a serious illness because they didn’t clean their room as told, or that they were at risk for “catching” their mother’s breast cancer if they gave her a hug. It’s both heartbreaking and real,” McDonald says.
“Our goal is to work with children and their families, and help by being that unbiased person outside of their family, that ‘safe space’ where children can have open and honest conversations on topics that parents have given us permission to talk about.” Helping children cope with real-life circumstances is the goal of providing child life services and support in this innovative way, McDonald explains.
Thanks to generous support from the Moody Foundation and other gracious patrons, generations of Texans may be supported on their journey through the inevitable circumstances of serious illness, injury or death of a loved one. To find out how you can support this program, please contact Lynn Bohne at 214.820.4070 or Lynn.Bohne@BSWHealth.org.
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