RALEIGH, N.C. — Visitor restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic made seeing little ones in pediatric hospital settings challenging at best.
The Journal of Child and Family Studies, a peer-reviewed behavioral health and scientific publication, reveals children faced greater psychological difficulties navigating their physical conditions in isolation. With the curtain of the public health crisis lifted, the journal points to why child life services are crucial not only for the patient, but for the family and medical teams inside hospitals.
WakeMed is one of the medical centers making use of the role of child life specialists. Austin Crowell said it’s been a glove fit for him since being hired.
”Sometimes the child is fine during their IV and the parents are really stressed. You just have to distract who you need to distract,” Crowell said.
He believes their role impacts patient care far beyond the doctors, nurses and other staff providing it.
When Crowell is on the clock, he visits patients such as Kaylee Gautier.
She can experience pair suddenly, during board games, card games like UNO or even squaring off in a playful drawing contest.
“The hospital’s stressful no matter what age you are,” Crowell said.
He said rarely does his job feel like work.
Crowell said child life services help young ones navigate stress and manage anxiety, breaking down medical information into language children can understand.
“A lot of medical providers tend to breeze through the information and go through it really quick, and they use a lot of jargon. I want to be able to help simplify all the information so it’s not quite as overwhelming for them,” he said.
Limited social interactions during the pandemic made person-to-person connections much more difficult.
“The hardest thing about working in the hospital during COVID was our playroom restrictions," he said. "You couldn’t take kids in the playroom. You couldn’t have that communal time as well."
That can be a real challenge for children like Gautier. A positive distraction is good in medical settings, Crowell says, and Gautier agrees.
“Because I have more fun than playing by myself, even though I'm used to playing by myself,” Gautier said.
Her mother, Michelle Gautier, said her daughter has become a regular at the medical center.
“Kaylee comes here quite often,” Michelle Gautier said.
The mom said it’s refreshing to see the staff be considerate of her daughter’s ADHD and autism by patiently helping Kaylee Gautier overcome her fears.
“They’ve given her so much calm and peace," Michelle Gautier said. "They’ve held her hand and explained everything.”
It’s a rewarding feeling for Crowell.
“It’s a scary place, and so sometimes it’s nice just to know you that you have a friend or somebody there to explain things to you and support you along the way,” Crowell said.
Any family can request a child life specialist at the Raleigh WakeMed campus in the pediatric wing.
Many of the games and toys there are made possible by the Starlight Foundation. It’s a nonprofit organization connecting medical centers to donated gaming consoles, delivering toys and other playtime accessories free to give sick children a better experience overall.