Healing Through Play
Kids are constantly growing, developing social-emotional skills that will carry them through the rest of their lives – and the learning shouldn’t stop because of a hospital stay. At St. Louis Children’s, we believe providing opportunities for play, recreation and social interaction is essential to ensure the optimum development and well-being of children who are facing challenging experiences during their most formative years.
Current State
Thanks to donor support, experts in child development are empowered to help more kids find effective ways to cope with fear and anxiety through the following programs and self-expression activities.
Expressive therapies like art, music and dance movement give kids a voice, even if they aren’t able to speak. St. Louis Children’s child life specialists guide patients through creative exercises to maintain their physical, social, cognitive and emotional well-being.
School programming ensures that patients are able to continue learning and keep pace with their peers. Resources include 1-on-1 tutoring, direct instruction, curriculum delivery and school liaison services.
Inpatient playroom and teen lounge spaces give kids a place to relax and have fun away from their hospital room. Donor funding allows us to provide safe, supervised play areas that offer a wide variety of toys, books and games for children of all ages.
Holiday celebrations help families with kids in the hospital maintain a sense of normalcy in their home away from home. Because of donor funding, patients can still look forward to celebrating milestones like birthdays, prom and back-to-school season.
The path forward
At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, we are committed to caring for the whole patient, taking a diverse and individualized approach to meet the needs of every child, adolescent and family in our care.
| Child life services | |
|---|---|
| Annual Cost | $1.2 million |
| Endowment | $20 million |
| TOTAL | $21.2 million |