patients received procedural support or education by a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS)
Child and Family Life: Impact
Our child and family life team is composed of over 50 Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) who work to support the emotional, social and developmental needs of children. In the hospital setting, play, music and art become critical tools for coping and healing. Your support directly impacts the lives of children and families, creating moments of comfort, resilience, and hope at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
Program highlights
Art Therapy
In just one year, the pediatric art therapist provided 1,840 patient sessions in a 1x1 format or group setting in her first year. Patients have been able to express themselves in new ways, such as decorating a coping box filled with tools to help them through their hospitalization, or a larger expression of their feelings through painting. Art therapy has allowed the team to provide a well-rounded menu of choices for each child’s interest level and needs.
Facility Dog Program
While the team always envisioned the positive impact a facility dog could have on patients, they did not fully understand the power of Indi until she arrived. In her daily work supporting the emergency department, radiology and sedation units, Indi interacts with numerous staff members during each shift. The team has become keenly aware of how Indi conserves her energy to be fully present for patients and their families, while still providing a calming presence and spreading love throughout the hospital. Her presence visibly lifts the spirits of team members and patients, bringing joy and comfort with every encounter.
Medical / Psychiatry Unit
Since the medical / psychiatric unit opened in June, our child life specialists, art and music therapists and hospital teachers have become an essential piece of the patients’ daily schedules, providing multiple group sessions daily to address kids’ social, emotional and physical needs. After discovering healthy methods of self-expression and learning effective coping strategies, these kids are now leaving Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital better equipped to handle the world around them.
Music Therapy
Through philanthropic support, the Edward and June Prein Family Pediatric Music Therapy Program was able to add a fourth music therapist to their team. The team is now reaching more patients than ever with the magic of music throughout Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and the HDVCH Outpatient Center.
Medical Play
Another area of significant growth in the last year has been the expansion of medical play. Medical play involves using real or pretend medical equipment to teach and engage children in a safe, non-threatening way, helping them better understand their hospital experience. Thanks to our community’s generosity, the child and family life team can purchase pretend medical equipment designed for dolls and stuffed animals, allowing them to tailor educational experiences to each patient’s unique medical journey, fostering understanding and reducing fear.
Events
Abby Walters, the Edward and June Prein Endowed Pediatric Music Therapist, and Lydia Betz, the Nowak Family Pediatric Music Therapist, played music for the International Candle Lighting Ceremony event.
The Cat Scans and the Ultra Sounds, a band made up of current and former HDVCH physicians and team members, hosted their annual fundraiser performance and raised $7,600 for the Edward and June Prein Family Pediatric Music Therapy Program.
Indi, our Facility Dog, celebrated her 3rd birthday and arrival to HDVCH with a party in the Balk Cafe.
The Healing Power of Music
One of my patients this year was a school-aged child who was with us long-term as she recovered from a catastrophic car accident in the ICU. As she began weaning off sedation, I started singing her favorite songs with her and her younger sisters. She began blinking to communicate which songs she enjoyed, and music gave her a way to engage with something she enjoyed as she healed. While her accident left her with severe physical deficits, she was still able to sing and write songs. I supported her in writing a song about what she loves, who she is, and all the incredible things she can do even after a horrible accident. I even got her medical team to give me words that describe her to add to the song as a surprise. The lyrics she chose for the chorus were so special and truly show how resilient and brave she is. She wrote: “I can talk / I can move my shoulders and my feet / I’m a singer / And I thank God for another day.”
-Abby Walters, Edward and June Prein Endowed Pediatric Music Therapist
kids kept up with their schooling during their hospital stay in the 2023-2024 school year through the Dick and Linda Antonini Hospital School Program, a 17.2% increase from the 2022-2023 school year
music therapy sessions conducted in 2024
patients have received a visit from Indi the Facility Dog and her handler, CCLS Spencer, in the four months since she arrived
patients received procedural support or education by a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS)
kids kept up with their schooling during their hospital stay in the 2023-2024 school year through the Dick and Linda Antonini Hospital School Program, a 17.2% increase from the 2022-2023 school year
music therapy sessions conducted in 2024
patients have received a visit from Indi the Facility Dog and her handler, CCLS Spencer, in the four months since she arrived
patients received procedural support or education by a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS)
kids kept up with their schooling during their hospital stay in the 2023-2024 school year through the Dick and Linda Antonini Hospital School Program, a 17.2% increase from the 2022-2023 school year
music therapy sessions conducted in 2024
patients have received a visit from Indi the Facility Dog and her handler, CCLS Spencer, in the four months since she arrived
patients received procedural support or education by a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS)
kids kept up with their schooling during their hospital stay in the 2023-2024 school year through the Dick and Linda Antonini Hospital School Program, a 17.2% increase from the 2022-2023 school year
music therapy sessions conducted in 2024
patients have received a visit from Indi the Facility Dog and her handler, CCLS Spencer, in the four months since she arrived
Would you like to make an impact?
Give a gift to support the Child and Family Life program at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.