Child life specialist
Michele Waters plays guinea pig
for Laura Egan, 6, of Brick.
|
|
Few can make the claim Michele Waters makes. “I
never do anything bad,” she says.
She means from a kid’s point of view.
Waters is the friend who never sticks children
with needles —or even makes them say “Aah!”—when
they come for same-day surgery at Monmouth Medical
Center’s Cranmer Ambulatory Surgery Center.
As a child life specialist, Waters takes children
on preview tours of the facility, distracts them
when it’s time to take a blood sample and
comforts them when doctors and nurses are too
busy to chat.
“I see young patients in pretty much every
phase of the process, starting with pre-op,” says
Waters.
A child life specialist isn’t the only
amenity Cranmer offers young patients. Others
include:
- A child-oriented video, “Don’t
Be Scared—My View of Surgery,” given
before the day of theoperation to explain hospital
procedures.
- A playroom adjoining the waiting
room.
- A bag, shaped like a schoolbus, with
crayons and a coloring book, tissues, a bar
of soap and an emesis basin in case they become
ill on the way home.
- The chance to choose a
favorite flavor of lip balm before the anesthesia
mask is applied. The balm helps to counteract
the odor of the anesthesia.
- Wide latitude about
attire. Kids in surgery have been known to
wear favorite pajamas, boots or even a Batman
outfit. (Matthew LaPoff of Morganville, 2-1/2,
wore a doctor’s
outfit for his recent tonsillectomy.)
- A machine
that dispenses “SlushPuppies,” frozen
slush drinks, in several fruity flavors.
- A reward
from a “prize box” of
donated toys when it’s all over.
Cranmer staffers get rave reviews for the way
they guide children through surgery. Says Kathleen
LaPoff, Matthew’s mom: “They were
very kind, informative, helpful and attentive.”
• Ask questions in advance
so you’ll know what to
expect. Good questions include “What
tests will be done and how will
they look and feel to my child?” and “When
can family members visit?”
• Explain to your child
what’s coming up in simple
terms. Be truthful, but not needlessly
graphic. Avoid words like “shot” for
an injection and “dye” for
a substance that colors. Your
child may confuse these words
with their scary sound-alikes.
• Discuss in advance the
sights and sounds of a hospital.
• Read appropriate children’s
books and play “hospital.”
• Take along a favorite
toy or stuffed animal. Monmouth
Medical Center lets your child
take this item right into the
operating room.
• If you can, make babysitting
arrangements for your other children.
But be sure to include siblings
in discussions of a child’s
upcoming surgery.
• To sign up for a preoperative
tour for your child—or
for advice on what to tell him
or her about an upcoming operation—call
a child life specialist at Monmouth’s
Cranmer Ambulatory Surgery Center,
732-923-6525.
|
|
[ top ] |
|
|
Pediatric Surgery
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
