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urgery can be scary, especially when you're a child. Uncomfortable rooms full of
weird sounds and unpleasant smells. Unfamiliar people wearing masks and
gloves and strange clothing. IV starts. Your facility will never be as welcoming as
home or school, but with a little creativity, you can capture the interest of pediatric patients
and distract them from their anxiety. — Compiled by David Bernard
• Invite them over. Pre-surgical assessment visits tend to
be all business and no fun. So open your doors some week-
end to children from area schools and churches for a teddy
bear and doll clinic. Give their plush pals wristbands, check
their vital signs and simulate anesthesia and surgery. Show
off your scopes and video displays on food items, like they do at conference exhibit halls.
Taking kids behind the scenes of surgery makes the process a little easier to understand.
• Educate at home. Posting a virtual tour of your facility on
your website can teach patients and their families about the
surgical process. Design a slide show of photos depicting
whom children will meet and the things they'll experience
from arrival to discharge (with members of your staff and
their children playing patients and parents), with easy-to-read captions to explain them.
Make sure to include a telephone number they can call with any questions.
• Tempt with touchscreens. Healthcare facilities have been calming
their youngest patients with crayons, coloring books and cartoons since
before many of us were born, but times have changed. These days, if
you lend a kid a tablet computer loaded with kid-friendly games and
other interactive apps, he may not even notice the preparations going
INNOVATIVE IDEAS
Take the Scare Out of Care for Pediatric Patients
I D E A S T H A T W O R K
