2020 Issue 1
The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department
Spotlight on Child Life in March March is Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Month! The Education Council planned a month-long celebration, with the goal of educating the hospital employees about the unique and integral programming of our department. The first week in March, our staff will be taking over the official Mount Sinai Instagram stories (@mountsinainyc). Throughout the day, child life and creative arts therapists will be sharing information about our programming, featuring child life, art and music therapy, Paws and Play, KidZone TV, and patient and family engagement. The page has over 22,000 followers, and we are excited about reaching so many people in a new way this year. Following the success of last year’s staff competition, we are excited to announce that we will be holding another competition this year. Pediatric units will be put to the challenge to create a scene using both art materials and medical supplies. While competing for prizes, staff will benefit from the therapeutic process of art making, and will experience how creating art with medical supplies may desensitize patients to the clinical environment. Patients and families will vote for the best scene on KZTV, and staff will vote at the annual Ice Cream Social on March 19! Every Wednesday in March, the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department will wear special t-shirts designed by our child life and art therapists highlighting the services of our department, which will help identify our staff and create a buzz around the month’s events!
T-Shirt design to be worn by all staff during Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Month
Making Seasons Bright in The Zone The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department aimed to make the season brighter for our patients and families by welcoming special guests, creating activities and hosting parties. Thanksgiving kicked the season off with special coffee carts for caregivers, as well as turkey-themed crafts for patients. In December, the Zone, decorated in a “Candy Land” theme, held its annual holiday party for patients and family members. From arts and crafts with Camp Hole in the Wall to pictures taken in the photo booth, patients and family enjoyed the holiday happenings. A “driedel challenge” also added a fun spin to the celebration. We also hosted a “Caregiver Holiday Shop” event thanks to all of the generous toy donations. Parents and Continued on page 2
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@mountsinai_pawsandplay LB 2019
Fall and Winter Happenings in the Child Life Zone To the delight of our pediatric patients and families, the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department hosted a myriad of special events and visits in the fall and winter of 2019. Outpatients in the Cohen Center for Pediatric Comprehensive Care eagerly participated in events such as “Brooke’s Cooks,” a series of educational and delicious cooking classes. Hospitalized patients enjoyed a wide range of entertaining and memorable experiences, too. December kicked off with an exciting KidZone TV visit from Heisman Trophy Winner, Joe Burrow. This set the stage for a talented lineup of guests, including members of the Sesame Street cast and world-renowned illusionist David Blaine, who inspired children, teens and adults alike with his incredible magical skills! Visits from YouTube philanthropist Mr. Beast and Irish musician Owen Ó Súilleabháin, as well as KidZone TV specials such as the “Winter Talent Show” and “Family Feud,” are just a few of the additional events that generated widespread excitement.
A Special Birthday Surprise for Akila Two days before her 18th birthday, Akila Smith received a room makeover from “Wish Upon A Teen” and The Today Show. Design My Room, a program under “Wish Upon A Teen,” provides teen patients who have extended hospitalizations a touch of home through hospital room makeovers. Akila received wonderful art supplies, colorful bedding, comfortable pajamas and awesome wall posters featuring some of her favorite idols. The Today Show was there to capture the room reveal and to surprise Akila with her very own sewing machine. It was an unforgettable birthday for Akila!
Making Seasons Bright in The Zone (continued) caregivers were invited to visit the theater to “shop” for gifts for their children. They were then encouraged to take a break and enjoy a party hosted by Project Sunshine, which included arts and crafts projects, nail painting and a hot chocolate bar while volunteers wrapped their gifts. The season ended with Christmas Day visits from Santa, who delivered gifts to patients and siblings throughout the hospital. We are looking forward to celebrating all holidays with our special patients and families throughout 2020! Mountsinai.org/childlife
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Research Study Underway The Paws & Play facility dog team is conducting IRB-approved research on Professor’s impact on patient distress during needle stick procedures for our pediatric hematology and oncology patients in the Blau Center for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders. Professor and certified child life specialist, Ali Spikestein, provide Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) to patients during procedures. This may include Professor offering comfort positioning or doing tricks for distraction during anxiety provoking procedures. In addition, Ali may encourage a patient to pet Professor for relaxation. Data collection began in March 2019 and is expected to continue through 2020, with a target of enrolling 248 subjects. This study, the first of its kind, will produce important information about how AAT affects patient distress. We are excited to share our results with the healthcare community.
Happy Birthday, Moby! On December 10, 2019, the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department celebrated the second birthday of Moby! Jackie and Moby put on a puppy parade on all their clinical units, engaging in wellness, comfort, and socialization with faculty, staff and trainees. We love you, Moby!
Precious Little Ones in the NICU Celebrate the Holidays NICU child life specialists Lindsay Davis and Claire Pettengill have been busy over the past several months helping NICU families celebrate their very first holidays. Recognizing that all days in the NICU are difficult, but particularly special occasions, child life specialists strives to create opportunities for families to recognize and commemorate these milestones in fun and creative ways.
Quote from family about the Halloween costume made by Lindsay and Claire: “I am in shock. Thank you! This is better than anything I could have bought. You totally made our day and helped in a way you don’t understand! We appreciate this so much ❤.”
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A baby in the NICU dressed in a festive snowman outfit gets ready for a first Christmas.
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Staff Accomplishments
Patient Art Highlight Esmeralda created this four-part acrylic painting while attending groups in the Child Life Zone and donated it to our department as a “thank you”! She shared that the activities offered and support from staff made the Zone feel like a second home, and she hopes that when she is feeling better she can return to volunteer and help other children the way the Zone has helped her.
Katherine and Christina, our art therapists, use clay during individual sessions to help patients cope with the hospital environment and engage in a relaxing art process. Monthly Clay Day groups are also offered in the Zone for patients to utilize our pottery wheel or learn hand-building techniques. Patients have the opportunity to create a variety of items including bowls, animals, food items, mugs, and vases. Upon completion of clay work, pieces are glazed and placed in a kiln to be fired into ceramic ware.
Child life specialist Abby Patch presented “Getting to the Heart of it: A case from the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit” at Schwartz rounds with the PCICU team in December. Department Director Diane Rode and patient technology and media coordinator Luis Borges presented the webinar “Incorporating a Technology Professional Within Your Child Life Team” hosted by the Association of Child Life Professionals. The presentation elaborated on the impact of incorporating a technology-based staff position into a child life team and how this approach can increase a department’s ability to address the needs of pediatric patients. At this year’s national American Art Therapy Association (AATA) conference, Child Life Specialist and KidZone TV Producer, Nicole Wood co-presented with Art Therapist, Lauren Smith in Kansas City. Their presentation was entitled “Creating Farewell Narratives: Videography in Life Review and Creative Arts Therapy” and focused on a Video Therapy (VT) intervention with an adult patient in Palliative Care who engaged in life review, shared some of “his most special memories”, and reflected upon his wish to inspire others to “give back” in a legacy video portrait. Child life specialist Nicole and Art Therapist Christina participated in the 2nd Annual Spirituality, Health, and the Artist exhibition in December. This show featured artwork created by Mount Sinai staff members to showcase how art can be a spiritual practice and explore how care providers can use expressive arts for self-renewal and resilience in their clinical practices. Jackie, Paws and Play: Care for Clinical Teams Coordinator started a Harvard University 18-week leadership class.
Welcome to New Staff Members Darcy Dirksen joined the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department in January 2020 as a child life specialist in the emergency department. Darcy has a bachelor's degree in English and secondary education from Mercer University (go bears!) and a master's degree in applied developmental psychology from University of Pittsburgh (go panthers!). She is very excited about her position in the ED! Outside of the hospital, Darcy likes to explore with her dog, spend time with family and friends, watch Pittsburgh sports and paint. Regina Yannello joined us in February 2020 as an administrative coordinator for the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department. For the last eight years, Regina has worked at Mount Sinai Hospital as an administrative assistant to the Tisch Cancer Institute Multiple Myeloma Program. Before relocating to New York City, Regina was an office manager for a radiology practice in the Hudson Valley. Regina likes to spend her free time as a soap artisan, formulating bath and body products. Mountsinai.org/childlife
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