Gap In Service:

Emergency Room Coping Kits

Nora OConnell
Child Life Intern
Maria Fareri Childrens Hospital
Evaluation of a Problem
Maria Fareri Childrens Hospital does not have a full time child life
specialist in the emergency room

Admission rate is 30%, growing 8% every year

The emergency room has limited activity resources for patients and
has an infrequently used emergency room child life pager

Can often wait 12-16 hours for a bed when full

Data Collection
Wait times are long in emergency rooms

Caregiver stress can translate to patient stress

Making the emergency room visit a pleasant and calm experience

Activities to minimize anxiety

Other hospitals with activity kits and their wish lists

Organizations that provide activity kits: Caitlins Smiles, Project

Sunshine
Proposed Change and Goals
ER activity kits

5 developmental levels

Dont want to replace child life services

Focus on activities and distraction for wait times

Incorporates ER activity book

Similar activities in each kits

Gender neutral, promote distraction and stimulation

Easy to distribute and store

Emergency Room Book
Generic emergency room information

Is an activity book with some activity pages and some reading

pages

Most of the book can be colored

Geared towards readers or caregivers reading

Can be used a variety of ways

Infant (0-1)
Items

Toy/Rattle

Stuffed animal

Book

Caregivers can read to their children and sing to them

Toddler (1-2)
Items

Bubbles

Toy

Book

Playdoh
Preschool (3-5)
Items

Bubbles

Playdoh

Activity book

Kazoo

Puzzle

Bubbles and kazoos promote deep breathing and lung function

Playdoh promotes tactile stimulation

School-Age (6-12)
Items:

Notebook

Playdoh

Stress ball

Kazoo

Bubbles

Painting activity

Puzzles
Adolescent (13-18)
Items

Notebook

Kazoo

Bubbles

Stress ball

Playdoh

Painting

Beading
Selection of Strategies
Determining a way to pay for materials

Donations

Grants: Needlers foundation, Ashley Wade Foundation, St. Giles

Foundation

Use established relationships

Project Sunshine, Caitlins Smiles

Where will they receive these kits?

Storage space

Replenishment
Evaluation
Provide a survey to families about usefulness and feelings on wait
time

Discuss with staff in regards to ease of distribution and storage

Next steps

Personal reflection

What would I have done differently?

What did I learn?

Overall project assessment

References
Beck, J. (2016). 5 hacks for navigating those holiday emergency room visits with kids. Retrieved
from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/12/19/5-hacks -for-navigating-those-holiday-emergency-room-visits-
with-kids/?utm_term=.f44defeb1ee
Chambers, C., Demme, T., & Huber, J. (2012). Beamer visits the emergency room. Indianapolis,
IN: Dog Ear Publishing.
CHOP. (2014). Suggested Bedside Activity Kits for Patients. Retrieved from
http://media.chop.edu/data/files/pdfs/bedside-acitivity-kits.pdf
Corsano, P., Majorano, M., Vignola, V., Guidotti, L., & Izzi, G. (2015). The waiting room as a
relational space: young patients and their families' experience in a day hospital. Child:
Care, Health and Development,41(6), 1066-1073. doi:10.1111/cch.12239
Dowshen, S. (Ed.). (2014, October). Going to the Emergency Room. Retrieved from
http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/emergency-room.html
Guo, J. (2016, August 24). How emergency rooms treat poorer kids differently. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/24/theres-something-suspect-a
bout-how-emergency-rooms-treat-children/?utm_term=.c0dc33110bf6
Hilton, L. (2014). Calming kids hospital anxieties. Contemporary Pediatrics. Retrieved from
http://contemporarypediatrics.modernmedicine.com/contemporary-pediatrics/content/tags
/art-therapy/calming-kids-hospital-anxieties?page=0,1
References Continued
Nationwide Children's Hospital. (n.d.). Gifts to Make. Retrieved from http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/wish-list-gifts-to-make

Teeuw, A. H., Derkx, B. H., Koster, W. A., & Rijn, R. R. (2011). Educational paper: Detection of
child abuse and neglect at the emergency room. European Journal of Pediatrics, 171(6),
877-885. doi:10.1007/s00431-011-1551-1