Child Life Program
Contact Us
Email us at childlife@metrohealth.org
The Child Life and Education Program helps children and families cope with and manage the hospital experience.
Our child life specialists are dedicated to helping children and families cope with and manage the hospital experience, minimizing stress, respecting family strengths, individuality, diversity, and different methods of coping.
Services for Children and Families
Child life specialists help prepare children and families for hospital experiences by explaining medical procedures and tests in a simple, honest, and developmentally appropriate manner. Tactile objects such as teaching dolls, models, medical equipment, and photos are often used with a child and/or family to enhance teaching and understanding.
Child life specialists focus on the feeling aspects of hospitalization. Acknowledging and validating the hospital experience is potentially anxiety producing. Child life specialists facilitate children and families to utilize existing coping skills. Child life specialists also work to create a comfortable and supportive environment for patients and families to express themselves.
Child life embraces the value of play in healing. Specialists work to enhance the optimal growth and development of infants, children and adolescents through play.
Opportunities for familiarization, education, and integration of information are facilitated through the use of medical equipment. Through play, children’s misconceptions are often identified, clarified, and feelings and concerns validated.
Support is provided to children and families before, during and after medical procedures, treatment room experiences, and surgery. Children are helped in identifying and utilizing positive coping responses.
The school teacher at MetroHealth is provided by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and offers a variety of benefits for our school-aged patients. The school teacher meets with patients in grades K- 12 in the areas of both regular and special education to provide academic services in the least restrictive environment.
The school teacher also collaborates with parents, guardians, home school districts and hospital staff to provide planning and implementation of developmentally appropriate curriculum to students while admitted to MetroHeath Medical Center. If necessary, home instruction is arranged for children who may need six or more weeks of recuperation at home before returning to school, as well as provide emotional support and planning for the student’s return to home and school.
- The Tree House
The Michael J. Bohdan Tree House, just steps away from the Inpatient Pediatric Unit at MetroHealth Medical Center, is a friendly, colorful, interactive space that inspires and encourages hospitalized children through respite and discovery. They engage in active play, spend quiet time with books and crafts, and enjoy special events. Activity centers include a sandbox and a water play area. For young patients and their families, the space fosters a sense of connectivity to others and ultimately, wellness. The space is a window to the outside world for patients who have been living inside the hospital. - Playrooms
The playrooms on the fourth floor of MetroHealth Medical Center are activity centers for pediatric patients. Children can enjoy a variety of age-appropriate toys and games, and engage with child life specialists in a variety of activities. - Teen Room
Near the inpatient pediatric unit at MetroHealth Medical Center, teens will find a space they can call their own. The Teen Room is equipped with a computer, an arcade video game, video game systems and an iPad. Adolescent patients can enjoy this space under the supervision of a family member or child life specialist.
Embracing Play
Child Life embraces the healing value of play. The staff works to enhance the optimal growth and development of infants, children, and adolescents through assessment, intervention, preparation, prevention, advocacy, and education.
The Child Life team works with both inpatients and outpatients. Team members are master's- or bachelor's-prepared, nationally certified, and members of the Association of Child Life Professionals.
Our program was established in 1955 by Emma N. Plank (1905-1990) as the nation’s first university-affiliated Child Life and Education program. Ms. Plank was an assistant professor of child development in the Department of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her 1962 book, Working with Children in Hospitals, continues to inform Child Life professionals at MetroHealth and throughout the world.
Wish Lists! Your contributions are appreciated!
Child Life Practicum and Internship
MetroHealth's Child Life and Education program offers a diverse experience in various areas during the year for Child Life students. Learn more here.
