Colorado Pediatric Hospice Agency Lists Child Life Specialist Roles

Englewood, Colorado (Findit) May 27, 2019 - Kids Care of the Rockies, a Colorado pediatric hospice, recently released a blog answering "What is the role of a child life specialist?" These specialists are instrumental in providing the hospice's patients with the emotional support they need to effectively cope with their illness and treatments.

Child life specialists are clinically trained in understanding how illness and injury can affect children and their families. They provide emotional support and strategies for coping with trauma, pain, anxiety, fear, and bereavement through evidence-based techniques. In this way, they can become allies to children and their families by providing empathetic support and practical advice. Specialists duties typically include explaining medical procedures and diagnoses to children, leading play therapy exercises, and ensuring that children are able to socialize with each other while in the hospital, among other services. These activities help children feel more in control and calm during what can often be a stressful experience.

Families and children can benefit from utilizing the services of a child life specialist. Parents often find specialists' explanations of procedures and diagnoses helpful not only for their own understanding, but for learning how to speak to their child and any siblings about their situation as well. Specialists can also recommend therapy, support groups, and other helpful resources that can help address the needs of family members. When families feel more confident, their strength allows them to provide better emotional support for children, who are more likely to follow instructions, take medications, and otherwise work with medical teams during their hospital stay. Through therapy and other techniques, they are able to continue living a fulfilling life while receiving the care they need.

Speak with Kids Care of the Rockies for more information about child life specialists and pediatric hospice care services. Kids Care offers compassionate hospice care services to children dealing with heart, lung, neurological, neuromuscular, and congenital diseases, including cancer. Its in-home services allow children to spend more time with their families in comfortable surroundings as they receive treatment. Kids Care can be contacted at 303-416-6377 and is headquartered at 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 280, Englewood, CO 80110.

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