Latest news with #childlife
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A new Miss SC teen has been crowned. Here's who won
The new Miss South Carolina's Teen is a graduate of Porter-Gaud High School in Charleston and will study psychology at Furman University in the fall. Crowned at Township Auditorium Friday night, Tess Ferm, 18, aspires to become a child life specialist. Her community service Initiative is to increase awareness of food allergies, which she has, along with her brother. 'We ate meals at home to avoid cross-contamination reactions, so I developed my love of cooking from watching my dad prepare meals,' she said in her biography for the competition. She also said she does a 'somewhat convincing Jennifer Coolidge impression.' As her talent, she sang 'Tomorrow' from 'Annie and has had leading roles in high school presentations including, Sandy in 'Grease' and Sophie in 'Mamma Mia.' She is also the founder of the Kindness Counts Club at her school. On her bucket list for the next five years are to visit a Buddhist Monastery, become a motion capture actor and to perfect walking backwards for giving college tours. She won a $12,500 college scholarship and will compete in the Miss America Teen competition. First runner up was Greer High School's Teen Lilykate Barbare, second was Columbia's Teen Logan Gabrielle Wells, third Greenville County's Teen Madison Harbin and fourth runner up was Greenwood's Teen Cleo Floyd-Johnstone. The other finalists were Clover High School's Teen Paris Dellinger, Dutch Fork's Teen Ava Sain, Newberry's Teen Gracie Arnold, Summerville's Teen Lola Gantt, Union County Fair's Teen Zahmariya Littlejohn and Upstate's Teen Katelynn Ochterbeck. Miss Teen preliminary talent winners Thursday night were first Tess Ferm, second Cleo Floyd-Johnstone, and third LilyKate Barbare. Miss Teen preliminary fitness award winners were first Zahmariya Littlejohn, Miss Union County Fair's Teen; second LilyKate Barbare, and third Logan Wells. Preliminary evening gown award winners were first Logan Wells, second Cleo Floyd-Johnstone, and third Tess Ferm. The Miss South Carolina competition will be held at Township Auditorium in Columbia, beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Arab News
23-06-2025
- Health
- Arab News
How Saudi child life specialists are supporting young patients
RIYADH: When a 9-year-old boy recovering from a kidney transplant refused to turn on the lights or speak to anyone, a child life specialist entered his room and comforted him by playing in the dark. Weeks later, she watched him take his first steps to recovery, both physically and emotionally. Raghad Al-Salamah, among the first Saudis to work in the child life field, said the genre plays an important role in preparing children and families for the experience of hospitalization. She told Arab News: 'The main focus of child life is helping families and children cope with their hospitalization and cope with their negative experiences.' Child life specialists provide support tailored to the child's age and emotional needs, aiming to reduce anxiety through preparation and play-based methods. Their work includes explaining medical procedures in ways children can understand while creating a more supportive environment in clinical settings. Al-Salamah said that, over time, the effect of child life services becomes visible in how children approach their treatment. She said: 'I see the impact during hospitalization: I see that in their eyes, I see how they are, how excited they are I'm here, and how they are coping with their illness … And how they are taking their medication, going through their procedure. 'Sometimes they are doing some procedure with no sedation. So, I really see the impact in the eyes of children and their families.' Al-Salamah added that some families and healthcare providers still confused the role of child life specialists with other professions in the hospital. She added: 'Some of the families, and healthcare providers, don't understand what child life is and what it's doing, so they always mix us up with a play therapist or with a social worker or even with a psychologist.' She explained how specialists work to educate children about the treatment they will receive, helping them cope with any difficulties. A study titled 'Reducing Anesthesia and Healthcare Cost Through Utilization of Child Life Specialists in Pediatric Radiation Oncology' found that the presence of certified child life specialists reduced the need for anesthesia by 16 percent among children undergoing radiotherapy. Another study, 'Benefits of a Family-Centered Approach to Pediatric Induction of Anesthesia,' found that when a family-centered model including child life specialists was used, the need for sedation before procedures dropped from 41 percent to 13 percent. Al-Salamah said she was drawn to the field to prioritize children's experience in healthcare, adding: 'I always was concerned, and had questions regarding the child who had the diagnosis and would live his life with the diagnosis. 'I was always focusing on educating the children and preparing them for their diagnosis and what they would be going through while they were here in the hospital.' Expanding the role of child life specialists, Al-Salamah said, could strengthen the overall hospital experience for patients and healthcare teams. 'Most hospitals need to begin integrating child life specialists into their programs,' she said. 'It has an impact not only on the children, but also on their families and the healthcare teams. It helps everyone in the hospital.' While child life remains relatively new in Saudi Arabia, the field is gradually being integrated into pediatric care. Fadi Munshi, executive director of Abdulrahman's Oasis, the child life foundation in the Kingdom, said that at the early stages of implementation, many people, including healthcare staff, were unfamiliar with its role. Munshi told Arab News: 'We had to raise awareness and explain how emotional and psychological safety support can make a big difference in a child's healing.' Munshi said the response from institutions had been encouraging, and added: 'Today, two main hospitals have child life teams, and staff often say they cannot imagine going back. Doctors, nurses and families all notice how children are more relaxed and cooperative during procedures. 'Their experience during the hospital stay is more positive, which eventually helps everyone in the healthcare system.' He said some hospitals had already made significant progress in implementing these services, while others were continuing to build awareness and training capacity. 'We hope that every hospital in the future (can have these services) and this is one of our main goals: that every single child in Saudi Arabia in every hospital can have this care in the future,' Munshi said. He added that many families had reported improvements in how their children handled their treatment, and said: 'Families often tell us their child is less afraid, more comfortable. They ask specifically for the child life team to be present during some stressful painful procedures.' Fahd Al-Thunayan, the chairman of Abdulrahman's Oasis, said child life services played a vital role in improving hospital environments for young patients. He told Arab News: 'Everyone knows the fear and anxiety that comes with entering a hospital — how much more (is it) for a child who doesn't understand many things?' Child life specialists help create a more humane treatment environment, he said, using various methods to ease pain and provide emotional support. He added: 'The result is a child who is more comfortable, cooperative and less stressed, which reflects positively on faster recovery and better quality of life in the hospital.' Al-Thunayan said the foundation continues to support efforts aimed at expanding access to the services across the Kingdom, and added: 'We aspire for every hospitalized child to have access to child life specialists who support them psychologically and socially, just as they are treated physically.'
CTV News
30-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
B.C. dad credits ‘child life specialists' for reducing trauma of son's cancer treatment
A Vancouver Island dad is praising a group of health-care professionals for protecting his child from some of the trauma associated with cancer. A Vancouver Island father is praising a group of health-care professionals for protecting his child from some of the trauma tied to a cancer diagnosis. Four-year-old Eli Lewis was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia in December. Since then, he has endured chemotherapy, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant. 'Eli kind of saw the hospital as the thing that was causing him harm, which we all know wasn't true,' said his father, James Lewis. The Lewis family lives in Black Creek near Campbell River. They've spent the past 162 days at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver, where Lewis estimates they've encountered more than 100 health-care professionals. Eli is quite taken with one group of hospital workers in particular. 'Even on those days where Eli was really sick in bed and unable to move, having the child life specialist come in and make a baking soda volcano — that would boost his spirits,' Lewis said. B.C. Children's Hospital employs dozens of child life specialists, who help sick kids cope with the stress of hospitalization. They play with young patients and explain complex medical procedures in child friendly ways. 'It is … a relatively newer field,' said B.C. Children's Hospital child life specialist Ashley Tolerton. 'With that awareness, hopefully, will come the opportunity for there to be more child life specialists within more hospitals across B.C. to better support our patients and families in their local communities.' Child life specialists are clinically trained. They must get certified and complete a 600-hour internship after obtaining a bachelor's degree, Tolerton said. 'I'd love to play!' The team talked Eli through his fear of anesthetic, Lewis said 'He would talk about how he didn't like the darkness,' Lewis said. 'Having professionals around to help Eli … come to terms with this and talk about fears and being able to approach him in a constructive manner was really, really nice.' They also helped Eli get comfortable with a port that was put in his chest to administer medication. 'He really had body image issues after that. He didn't like anybody looking at it,' Lewis said. 'They had dolls where they could show Eli and myself and Eli's mom what this is, how the port goes in, how it works, and how it looks.' As the family prepares to leave the hospital on Friday, Tolerton remembers how fearful Eli was when he first got there. 'Now we're at the point where Eli comes and knocks on my door and he peeks his head in … and he goes, 'Ashley?' And he's like, 'I'd love to play!'' she said. Lewis expects his son to make a full recovery. He knows Eli isn't leaving mentally or physically unscathed, but credits the child life team for limiting the hurt his child will carry. 'It really did help us through this to the point where Eli, he's probably going to walk out of the hospital tomorrow and he has nothing but good things to say,' Lewis said. He hopes donors continue to support the program, so more children can experience the care Eli received.
