Overview
Being a child in the hospital – or having a child who is hospitalized – is tough. It can be a time full of stress, uncertainty, and worry. That’s why for more than 45 years, M Health Fairview Pediatrics has offered Child and Family Life Services.
While the healthcare team works to address issues affecting your child’s physical or mental health, our Child and Family Life Services team partners with patients and families to help them navigate and cope with healthcare experiences. Our certified child life specialists (CCLS) and child life associates (CLAs) use developmental and psychosocial techniques so patients and families can better participate in their own healthcare. They team up with patients and families to help them understand their hospitalization, healthcare experiences, illness, and stressful life events.
The main goal of our Child and Family Life Services team is to make each healthcare encounter a positive experience for patients and their family so they are empowered moving forward. Research has shown that preparing children prior to a medical procedure or experience helps reduce fears, answers questions, and helps children feel confident in their upcoming medical encounters.
How Can Child and Family Life Services Help?
Our certified child life specialists and child life associates work with children from infancy through adolescence and their families. They focus on the social and emotional needs of children by providing developmentally appropriate preparation for medical procedures, education about a health condition, strategies for pain management, and coping skills. They also provide opportunities for play and creativity by promoting emotional expression, self-esteem, and independence to foster growth and development while in the hospital.
Child and Family Life Services staff are present in many hospital and clinic settings including inpatient pediatric units, outpatient pediatric specialty clinics, the pediatric emergency department, surgery center, and sedation units.
Our certified child life specialists support families by:
- Providing context to help parents or caregivers understand their child's behavior in the medical setting.
- Helping parents or caregivers learn how to support their child in the medical environment and during procedures.
- Helping siblings understand and cope with illness and the effect it can have on their family.
- Preparing siblings to visit their brother or sister in the hospital.
They assist children by:
- Teaching children and teens about their medical condition.
- Helping families prepare for medical procedures and providing support during procedures.
- Identifying coping strategies and helping patients practice them.
- Giving patients a sense of control and engaging curiosity through medical play and other therapeutic interventions.
- Encouraging children and teens to express feelings about their illness or injury.
- Encouraging normal growth and development for hospitalized children and teens through developmentally appropriate play opportunities such as playroom/teen room activities, hospital events, interactive television programming, and other special experiences.
Contact us
Want to get involved with M Health Fairview's Child and Family Life Services department? We are always looking for volunteers. Apply to be a volunteer and indicate on your application that you would like to volunteer for Child and Family Life! You can also donate books, toys, and other items for our Child and Family Life Services team to use with patients. Learn more here.
To contact the Child and Family Life department please reach out to:
M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital
612-273-3124
M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital
952-892-2256
Professional Qualifications and Educational Opportunities
Our Child and Family Life Services department is comprised of certified child life specialists (CCLS) and child life associates (CLA).
Certified child life specialists have a graduate or undergraduate degree in child life or a related discipline. In addition, each specialist holds a professional certification through the Association of Child Life Professionals.
Child life associates have a two- or four-year degree in child development or a related degree. They provide patients with opportunities for play to support growth and development at bedside, unit playrooms, or pediatric specialty spaces.
Learn more about internship and practicum opportunities with Child and Family Life Services.
Sibling Support
When a child is facing a serious health issue, it can have a dramatic effect on the whole family, including brothers and sisters. Of course, siblings love and miss their hospitalized brother or sister. But they may also experience emotions they don’t always know how to express or deal with. For that reason, we provide a range of programs and support services specially designed just for the siblings of children with complex healthcare needs. M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital also offers a variety of family-friendly spaces and amenities to engage siblings of children facing health challenges.
Find out more about our sibling support services.
Facility Dog Program
Through our donor-supported B.A.R.K. (Brave and Resilient Kids) Buddies NutriSource Facility Dog Program, our team of facility dogs and handlers help kids engage in therapy and rehabilitation after illness or surgery, provide comfort during difficult moments, and calm anxious children during stressful procedures. Our facility dog program was the first of its kind in Minnesota. Alongside their certified child life specialist handlers, our full-time facility dogs help families across M Health Fairview Pediatrics.
Zucker Family Suite and Broadcast Studio and ZTV
The hospital’s in-house television channel, also known as “ZTV,” is housed in the Zucker Family Suite and Broadcast Studio. ZTV airs more than 30 shows monthly – including many live, interactive options – to children and families staying at M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital. Staffed by our Child and Family Life team and funded through generous philanthropic contributions, the studio’s mission is to offer patients and families a creative outlet using technology and media to help them process their hospital experience in a meaningful way.
Superhero Day
Being in the hospital is no fun for anyone – especially for a kid. We’re awed by our patients’ bravery and strength. We’re humbled by their determination to embrace joy and fun, even in the midst of treatment and recovery. Our patients are our inspiration every day, and that’s the idea behind Superhero Day. Held each year at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, Superhero Day is an opportunity to recognize the heroes among us – including our patients and families—and the hospital staff who care for them.