March is Child Life Month, a time to recognize the critical work of Child Life Specialists who help kids and families during hospital stays. Being in the hospital can feel scary, but Child Life Specialists make the experience easier by offering support, play, and education to help children understand what’s happening.
What is the Child Life Program?
Renown's Child Life Program is here to help kids feel comfortable and supported. Our team includes Certified Child Life Specialists and assistants who know how to talk to kids about medical care in a way that makes sense, helping them feel less nervous about treatments and offer fun activities to make the hospital feel more like home.
How Child Life Specialists Help
Child Life Specialists do so much for kids and their families, including:
✔ Helping kids feel less scared about medical treatments
✔ Teaching children and parents what to expect in the hospital
✔ Using play, art, and music therapy to keep kids engaged
✔ Providing pet therapy to bring comfort and smiles
✔ Helping families cope with stress, grief, or tough times
✔ Creating fun activities in the playroom and at the bedside
How You Can Help
Our Child Life Program relies on donations to provide supplies and happy experiences for children in the hospital. If you’d like to help, consider donating to support young patients during their stay.
This Child Life Month, we thank our Child Life Specialists for their dedication to making healthcare experiences less scary and more comfortable for kids and families.
When patients are facing a serious infection, the path forward is not always simple. Treatment can require close monitoring, specialized expertise and a care team that knows how to navigate complex medical conditions with both precision and compassion. At Renown Health, the Infectious Disease department provides that level of support every day.
Our Infectious Disease team members (or “ID team” for short) help patients manage challenging diagnoses while working alongside providers across Renown to coordinate the best possible care. Their work may happen largely behind the scenes, but the impact is deeply felt by patients, families and care teams throughout our health system.
She Bleeds Purple: Why Sarah Carmona Zink Shows Up for Renown
Sarah Carmona Zink didn’t know it then, but the days she spent in the NICU with her son Howie in 2016 would shape the rest of her life. He was born with gastroschisis, a condition where the intestines form outside the abdominal wall. At five days old, he underwent lifesaving surgery.
Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by Bordetella pertussis. The illness starts with mild symptoms that can escalate to severe coughing with a "whoop" sound. Without treatment, individuals remain contagious for up to 3 weeks. Antibiotics can shorten the infectious period to about 5 days.
