Lauren Armstrong, a child life specialist at Akron Children’s Outpatient Surgery Center, Beachwood, uses medical play to help children throughout their surgical procedure.
As a child life specialist at Akron Children’s Outpatient Surgery Center in Beachwood, Lauren Armstrong helps patients and their families cope before, during and after a surgical procedure. By using terminology that children can understand, as well as medical play with some of the equipment that will be used, Lauren makes a child’s surgery less stressful for the entire family. Read the feedback a patient family shared after a recent visit:
“From the time we entered the front door until the time we left, I felt that we all were being cared for, not just my son. Each employee showed empathy and concern for what each of us was going through. Lauren (Armstrong), specifically, took time to converse with my son about his likes and dislikes… They joked and laughed the entire time as if they’ve known each other their whole lives. My son felt safe. He felt heard… She went ABOVE AND BEYOND to ensure my son was happy and content. I feel extremely blessed to have had this difficult time take place in such an amazing establishment.”
Reflecting on this patient experience and the feedback you received, how do you feel about it?
I never expect families to go out of their way to recognize us for doing our jobs here, but it is always nice to hear from them and know we made a difference during stressful times. I take a lot of pride in what I do and how I interact with patients and their families. The child life field is not always valued or perceived as necessary. I am lucky to work with an amazing team and families who value my presence as much as I do theirs.
How do you help make patients and families feel calm and comfortable before a surgical procedure?
I treat every family as if they were my own. Explaining things to patients in a developmentally appropriate way helps them to feel safe and supported. I walk every patient and their family through all of the steps before, during and after their procedure – we practice separation, we engage in a lot of medical play where the kids get to see, touch and practice using many of the medical supplies they will see in the operating room. Preparing patients prior to their surgery is essential in calming their nerves. Children cope much better when they are prepared.
What does patient- and family-centered care mean to you? How do you strive to deliver that care?
Patient- and family-centered care means including everyone in the patient’s care, not just the patient. Caregivers and siblings are often just as nervous, sometimes even more so, than the patients themselves. Explaining things to the families and making sure they are supported, and their questions and concerns are answered is paramount in offering quality family-centered care. I thoroughly enjoy finding ways to engage with patients and families and catering to their individual needs.
What do you most enjoy about your work at Akron Children’s?
I cannot express enough how wonderful our team is here at the Beachwood Outpatient Surgery Center. I have never worked with nicer people. I genuinely enjoy coming to work every day. It does not feel like a job. We have so much fun here. Everyone is engaged and on the same page in terms of providing the best experience we can for each and every family we see. I always tell my team that I don’t think I could be a Certified Child Life Specialist anywhere else. We have the best of the best – from our nurses, surgeons, medical assistants, sterile processing team, techs and anesthesia team – it doesn’t get any better! I look forward to continuing our work to build a strong program here in Beachwood.
