Child Life Program at Center for Children

Child Life programs focus on working with children and their families who are living with the realities of chronic or terminal illness, surgery, trauma, injuries and disabilities in a variety of health care settings.

Programs, advocate for children and their families, prepare children for medical procedures, teach children about their illness, minimize stress and anxiety for children and their families, create opportunities that strengthen self-esteem and independence, provide non-pharmacological techniques to comfort children, and provide normal life experiences that promote optimal growth and development.

What Kinds of Services are Available from a Child Life Specialist?

Please note that all Child Life services are free of charge to patients and their families.

• Provide psychosocial and emotional support to children and their families
• Advocate for the rights of a child and family
• Provide developmentally appropriate stimulation
• Provide a child centered environment for therapeutic play activities
• Provide education in developmentally appropriate language to patients regarding medical conditions, procedures, and the physical environment
• Accompany children to and during frightening and painful procedures. These include physician visits, anesthesia induction in the operating room, radiology (x-ray, CT-scan, MRI, PET, etc.)
• Non-Pharmacological Pain Management
• Guided Imagery
• Family Meetings

Pre-Admission Tours

NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases is pleased to offer pre admission tours to children and families of pediatric patients coming for surgery at our facility. Tours are highly recommended to ease anxieties surrounding an often-intimidating experience for children. They are conducted by our Child Life Specialist, Frances Renton MS, CCLS. A Child Life Specialist is a professional in the hospital who specializes in working with pediatric patients and their families to ease the stress and trauma of a hospitalization or medical appointment.

In order to insure that you are able to have adequate time with the Child Life Specialist we ask that you give a minimum of 24 hours notice. The tour covers the following areas and will be modified on a case-by-case basis:

• Pediatric waiting areas on the surgical floor
• Recovery room
• Parent waiting room
• Special care unit (NSCU)
• Pediatric inpatient unit and playroom / activity center. The Playroom is located on the inpatient unit and is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week

To schedule a tour please contact our Child Life Specialist Frances Renton MS, CCLS at: 212.598.6461