2020 Issue 4
The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department
A Heartwarming Story in the Middle of a Pandemic Alexandra Lovo Lopez was one of two pediatric patients to receive a heart transplant during the pandemic. She was admitted to Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital at just 4 months old and diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a rare condition that causes weakness of the heart muscle, making it difficult to pump blood properly. It didn’t take long for everyone to fall in love with Alexandra’s sweet personality while she waited for a donor heart. She was a little ray of sunshine for everyone during such challenging times. While COVID-19 visitation restrictions made it challenging for Alexandra’s parents, both mother and father always made sure she was never alone and continued to take shifts staying at the bedside. Alexandra’s mother shared, “Child Life are great people. They helped us a lot since we were at Mount Sinai Hospital. They always brought joy to Alexandra and played with her.” After spending four months in the PCICU on a Berlin Heart, Alexandra received a new heart and was discharged home shortly after.
Child Life and Creative Arts Team Up with Adolescent Health Center The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department is collaborating with the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center beginning this fall. The team is excited about the opportunity to revitalize and facilitate offerings for their teen parenting program. This initiative allows parents ages 21 and younger to attend health and wellness appointments for themselves, as well as their baby, while also having access to additional comprehensive care and counseling services. Child life and creative arts therapy services will focus on helping new parents bond and connect with their baby through creative modalities. They will provide education about helping their children through their well visits and vaccinations, as well as facilitating online support groups to help parents connect to one another and process the unique experiences and challenges of being a teen and a parent. In addition, through a partnership with Vroom, the team will provide a facelift to existing spaces, including an area for displaying information about developmentally appropriate ways to interact with their children and use every day moments to build relationships. Families will also receive books and age appropriate toys during their visits, as a way to encourage additional opportunities for play and bonding in the home. Mountsinai.org/childlife
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Paws & Play Research Update The Paws & Play program is full speed ahead working on two IRB-approved research studies focused on the impact of our facility dogs on patients and staff. The first study is assessing how pediatric patient distress during painful needle stick procedures is impacted by a certified child life specialist’s procedural support with facility dog, Professor. Data collection involving 248 patients is expected to be completed by fall 2020, followed by analysis and dissemination of these important results. The second study, assessing the impact of facility dog, Moby, on the wellbeing of clinical care teams is in the data collection phase, expected to be completed in fall of 2021. Moby and his handler, creative arts therapist Jaclyn Craig, visit the inpatient and outpatient oncology units twice per week to support staff and provide relief from stress that is common to essential healthcare workers.
Happy Birthday, Professor and Amos Professor and Amos’ 5th birthday celebration spotlighted a tie-dye theme party hosted by child life and creative arts therapy department. The event, held on August 27, featured a dog talk show on KZTV, party favors for patients, badge reels for staff, a party in the Zone and a puppy parade on the units and hematology/oncology clinic. Patients, families and staff agreed that the highlight of the day was the puppy parade where the dogs visited all units in the pediatric hospital in their tie-dye bandanas. The day ended with a visit to the Zone where patients and families sang happy birthday to Professor and Amos!
Patient and Family Advisory Councils – Continuing to Elevate Patient and Family Engagement From September 2019 through August 2020, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital’s patient and family advisory councils continued the tremendous work of elevating family-centered care by lending their voice and expertise to a variety of topics and hospital-led initiatives. Even as our community struggled with the distress and uncertainty created by COVID-19, the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), Family Advisory Council (FAC) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Family Advisory Council shifted from onsite to virtual meetings to continue their great work. The councils provided feedback on a variety of hospital projects, including the redesign of the pediatric emergency department, a family-centered rounding quality improvement initiative, central line education and a NICU research study looking at how reading to babies leads to improved developmental outcomes and increased parent-child bonding. Additionally, the councils supported the development of COVID-19 resources for patients and families. At the invitation of Dr. Bruce Gelb and Dr. Karen Wilson, the councils explored the various emotional and logistical factors that influence a family’s decision to participate in a research study and the importance of developing sensitive and clear messaging to introduce the opportunity. Throughout this time, the councils reasserted their commitment to bringing the topic of racism to the forefront by exploring ways in which they can represent a diverse perspective while advocating for equitable care. As Thalya Onelien, a youth advisor, explained, “As a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color), racism and inclusion are always at the forefront of my mind. In addition, my health is also at the forefront due to my identity as a chronically ill person. The intersection of these topics are significant. Anyone in a hospital setting shouldn’t have lingering anxiety about their care being just, valid, and adept.” Mountsinai.org/childlife
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Live Virtual Music Programs on KidZone TV American Ballet Theater Orchestra: Members of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra shared stories, history, dance and musical excellence over seven weeks and 14 shows on KidZone TV this past summer. Created in honor of the late Dr. Barry Webber, surgeon at Mount Sinai Queens and husband of Harriet Clark, Principal Teacher of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, these performances were a gift to uplift our patients, families, physicians and staff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Orchestra members joined us virtually from their living rooms and home studios, instruments in hand to share the healing gift of music. Each 30-minute, live program highlighted a different theme or ballet such as, “Romeo and Juliet” and “Swan Lake.” With clips of performances, dancers also joined in to tell us stories of the stage and take questions from our viewers. Decoda: Music and teaching go hand-in-hand with our bi-monthly performances by Decoda, a New York City-based collective of versatile professionals committed to music and audience engagement. Patients and families are able to “direct” from their rooms by sending in musical instructions. These can look like lines, squiggles or dots on a page. The musicians are challenged to perform them! My Music Rx: Each week performers with My Music Rx take song requests from our patients and families to perform them live on KidZone TV in a 30-minute program. The My Music Rx musicians are able to perform a wide variety of genres. Patients are able to call and text during a show to ask questions, learn about instruments or request a song. My Music Rx also provides KZTV with free, pre-taped content to share during the evening channel 114 programming. This includes artists such as Vance Joy, DUCKWRTH, Ed Sheeran and many more!
Patient and Family 3D Portraits Capture Meaningful Moments Now in it's 6th year, our "Patient and Family 3D Portrait" project is a special offering that captures meaningful moments in a unique and beautiful way. Using an advanced digital sensor that can capture a subject in three dimensions, our staff can scan patients and their families in their rooms, the child life zone, or our Lion's Den and use our 3D printer to create one of a kind treasures. To date, we have captured almost 200 amazing and beautiful portraits - mothers holding their babies in intensive care units, teens in fun poses, and families embracing. Patients also have to opportunity to print favorite items such as toys, characters and props from shows, and even digitally design custom sculptures and creations, using their own scans!
The Holidays: Traditions and Donations Adapt to the Pandemic The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department is looking forward to helping our patients and families celebrate the upcoming holiday season. In addition to festive holiday and winter-themed activities, family members of hospitalized patients will once again be invited to visit our annual Child Life Zone Holiday Shop in late December to select complimentary gifts for their children. We are grateful to the many individuals and organizations whose generous holiday donations help us bring joy and spread cheer at this special time of year. This year we have adapted our holiday donation guidelines to adhere to hospital protocols in the time of COVID-19. We are asking all interested donors to purchase items from our Amazon holiday wish list that will automatically be delivered to our department. This list consists of a wide assortment of gifts that are guaranteed to bring smiles to the faces of pediatric patients of all ages. Our wish list can be accessed at: https://amzn.to/3jHGTs9 . Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season! Mountsinai.org/childlife
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Mindfulness Meditation During COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that change is the only constant. Meditation and mindfulness can offer a helpful way to live with this constant change. The predominant symptoms presenting at this time in many of our patients and families are anxiety, overwhelm and despair. These are natural responses directly related to living in the time of a global pandemic of an uncertain duration. MBI, or mindfulness-based interventions, such as meditation, use focused attention to promote the relaxation-response. Meditation techniques can be adapted for adults, children and teens. In addition to being offered to patients and their families during the pandemic, the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy department has extended mindfulness meditation sessions to the hospital’s clinical staff, encouraging them to take a few minutes to practice regularly.
SURGE: A Selection of Artwork from Patients and Staff The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department, along with Teachers & Writers Collaborative, is proud to present the most recent edition of SURGE: The Zone's Teen Art and Literary Magazine. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this publication of SURGE brings to the forefront the varied perspectives and experiences of our collective community, including the voices of several Youth Advisory Council members, pediatric patients and clinical staff at Mount Sinai Hospital. This collection of meaningful, honest and thoughtful artwork and writing pieces reflects the lived experiences of our community during this global pandemic. Below you will find artwork featured within this most recent edition. For a copy of SURGE Magazine: Summer 2020 edition, ask a member of the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy department, visit the Family Corner or access the digital copy by scanning the QR code below!
New Staff and Accomplishments Debbie Walters, a production assistant with KZTV since May, has a bachelor of fine arts in film and television production from New York University. She is passionate about exploring the ways in which technology supports the child life department. Outside of her work at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, Debbie also enjoys working in various aspects of production management in the film and television industry. In her free time, she loves spending time in Central Park and visiting new places. Sydney Epstein, a child life specialist, holds a bachelor’s degree in human service studies from Elon University and a master’s degree in child life from Bank Street Graduate School of Education. Sydney enjoys the creative and inspirational aspects of child life, especially the commitment to providing family centered care. In her free time, she spends time with her family, in addition to reading and photography. In September, Stefani Tower transitioned into the role of patient and family-centered care child life specialist. In this role, Stefani will provide support to children and young adults affected by a caregiver’s cancer diagnosis. Stefani will focus her work in the Ruttenberg Treatment Center, Dubin Breast Center and inpatient settings. Diane Rode, director, led a series of Clinical Supervision/Reflective Practice sessions over Zoom during the summer months for the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Team at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Jasmine Edwards virtually presented for the World Congress of Music Therapy in July on “The Role of Race: Empowering Music Therapy Students of Color.” Jasmine also commenced her second year as an adjunct professor at Howard University in the music therapy department, teaching remotely. Mountsinai.org/childlife
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