Child Life Services
Being sick presents challenges, which can be tough on both children and their families.
The child life specialist at the Bill and Olivia Amos Children’s Hospital strives to create positive healthcare experiences for children, youth, and their families. Our goal is to ease the stress and anxiety of medical experiences during hospitalization.
Child life specialists are specifically trained, certified professional child-development experts who work to ensure that life remains as normal as possible for children in healthcare settings. They promote therapeutic interventions for effective coping through play, self-expression activities, and age-appropriate medical preparation and education.
As advocates of family-centered care, child life specialists work in partnership with doctors, nurses, social workers, and other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team to meet the unique emotional, developmental and cultural needs of each child and family.
Our Child Life program provides the following services to our patients and their families:
- Effective and developmentally appropriate coping interventions to enhance positive coping outcomes to hospitalization.
- Normative activities and toys for families to engage in while they are in their hospital room.
- Family support, education and developmental guidance for parents and other caregivers.
- Prepare children for medical procedures, using age-specific teaching tools and developmentally appropriate language.
- Support for children and their families during medical procedures using techniques, such as imagery and distraction to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation.
- Medical play opportunities to desensitize and explore real medical equipment through play.
- Advocate of family-centered care to ensure your child’s and your family’s needs are addressed in the most nurturing atmosphere possible.
- Foster an environment that promotes emotional expression.
- Consider the needs of siblings or other children who may also be affected by a child’s illness or trauma.
- End-of-life support to patient and bereavement support to families experiencing grief or loss of a loved one.
- Celebration of birthdays, milestones, holidays and essential life experiences.
- A visit to a child’s school after life-altering injury or chronic illness to help classmates understand and make it easier for the patient when returning to school.
- Opportunities to be creative and learn for children of all ages, including infants and teens.
Child Life Resources
Contact Us
Abigail Silver, CCLS | Certified Child Life Specialist
Bill and Olivia Amos Children’s Hospital
616 19th Street
Columbus, GA 31901
Office: 706-571-1459
Email: Abigail.Silver@piedmont.org