{"id":1140,"date":"2024-04-15T14:23:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T11:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mtrh.go.ke\/?page_id=1140"},"modified":"2025-11-13T12:02:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T09:02:06","slug":"child-life","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mtrh.go.ke\/?page_id=1140","title":{"rendered":"Child Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>CHILD LIFE PROGRAM BY SALLY TEST PAEDIATRIC CENTRE, KENYA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Child Life is a young profession created to help children and their families navigate the emotionally and physically demanding process of coping with hospitalization. MTRH\u2019s Child Life Health Workers (CLHWs) help lessen children\u2019s anxiety by introducing them to real medical equipment through play, explaining how and why procedures must be done, and ways each child can assist the medical team. Using age-appropriate language and play, CLHWs help minimize the stress children experience by normalizing the strange environment of the hospital by addressing each family and young patient\u2019s social, emotional and educational needs. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mission of Child Life professionals is to introduce laughter and joy into moments of stress for hospitalized children and their families &#8211; not only through games and toys, but by first understanding each child\u2019s developmental level in order to best help her or him to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Understand the purpose of medical equipment that may be used through medical play.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prepare children so that they can comprehend WHY certain investigations must be done.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Distract children during needle sticks and other more complicated procedures or operations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Explain at an appropriate developmental level what medical personnel have said.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Teach and practice with children alternative ways of coping with pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide advocacy for both the child and the family during hospitalization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Child Life at the Sally Test Paediatric Centre provides:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Procedural preparation <\/strong>helps children learn and enthusiastically anticipate upcoming medical procedures.<br><br><strong>Play \u2013 <\/strong>Understanding that \u201cplay is the work of childhood\u201d that helps them integrate and understand their world, the STPC provides activities in its large playroom for mobile children and bedside activities for those who must remain in bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Child Life services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Teen program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>End of Chemotherapy celebrations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Holiday celebrations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Education of parents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Education of medical staff<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Children\u2019s Library<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sibling visitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legacy building that include memory books and beads of courage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the STPC on Facebook:&nbsp;&nbsp; www.facebook.com\/SallyTestPediatricCentre<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHILD LIFE PROGRAM BY SALLY TEST PAEDIATRIC CENTRE, KENYA Child Life is a young profession created to help children and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":290,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1140","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":257,"url":"https:\/\/www.mtrh.go.ke\/?page_id=257","url_meta":{"origin":1140,"position":0},"title":"SHOE4AFRICA CHILDREN\u2019S HOSPITAL","author":"admin","date":"December 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital is the first dedicated public children's Hospital and one of its kind in East & Central Africa. The 250-bed multi-specialty Hospital which provides paediatric medical and surgical services; also has Outpatient Ambulatory and Emergency Department. Specialist Services at Shoe4Africa Children\u2019s Hospital Paediatric Cardiology Paediatric Neurology Paediatric Nephrology\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":285,"url":"https:\/\/www.mtrh.go.ke\/?page_id=285","url_meta":{"origin":1140,"position":1},"title":"SHOE4AFRICA CHILDREN\u2019S HOSPITAL","author":"admin","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital is the first dedicated public children's Hospital and one of its kind in East & Central Africa. The 250-bed multi-specialty Hospital which provides paediatric medical and surgical services; also has Outpatient Ambulatory and Emergency Department. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Specialist Services at Shoe4Africa Children\u2019s Hospital \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paediatric Cardiology \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paediatric\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":290,"url":"https:\/\/www.mtrh.go.ke\/?page_id=290","url_meta":{"origin":1140,"position":2},"title":"Directorate of Pediatrics and Child Health","author":"admin","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Based at Shoe4Africa Children Hospital, the Directorate of pediatrics and Child Health is a Centre of Excellence for both Outpatient and Inpatient services to children aged 1 day to 14 years, both medical and Surgical. The outpatient services include; Sick Child Clinic and Specialized Clinics, a fully-equipped Emergency Department, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":288,"url":"https:\/\/www.mtrh.go.ke\/?page_id=288","url_meta":{"origin":1140,"position":3},"title":"Directorate of Mental Health and Rehabilitative Services","author":"admin","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Department has two units, the Mental Health Unit and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation (ADA-R) Unit. 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