Sunrise Children's Hospital honored in magazine

Child Life services at Sunrise Hospital extend beyond the patient, to the entire family.

A dedication to Child Life services is one of the many reasons Child magazine named Sunrise Children's Hospital among the best children's hospital programs in the nation in their February issue. Sunrise ranked 21st out of the 178 hospitals considered.

Among many programs the service offers is helping family members. "We work with siblings too," specialist Sue Collins explained.

Collins still recalls one case when two little girls wanted to meet their baby brother who had only a short time to live in the infant intensive care unit at the hospital.

With preparation from Child Life specialists, the girls saw past the tubes and monitors as they helped make footprints of the baby and of themselves. Now even though their brother is gone, the girls have a memory of him to take with them.

Child Life was only one of many programs that pushed Surnise Hospital up the list in Child magazine.

Sunrise Children's Hospital's programs include separate level II and III neonatal intensive care units, a pediatric intensive care unit, separate pediatric emergency department, acute care transport service, a parent advice line, Center for Healthy Families, pediatric hematology, pediatric oncology and immunology and a pediatric cardiac care program.

"This Child magazine honor reflects our long-standing commitment to be the foundation of our community's response to children with wide-ranging health care needs," said Allan Stipe, president and CEO of Sunrise Children's Hospital and Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

To identify the nation's top pediatric hospitals, a six-member medical advisory board began with the 178 member hospitals of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions and then narrowed the field to 50, based on evaluations from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The finalists then completed a survey, exploring performance in areas ranging from the availability of pediatric specialists and cancer survival rates to the quality of doctors and nurses and the extent of Child Life support services.

"Apart from healing and discovering cures, the hospital is also leading the fight against many social pathologies, including violence and neglect," Minta Albeitz, vice president, maternal child health said.

Dr. Michael Zbiegien, director of pediatric emergency medicine leads the hospital's fight against child abuse as head of the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team. Two rooms in Sunrise's new children's emergency room are dedicated to detecting abuse. In one private room, families are separated for individual interviews with social workers. In another children and teens who may have experienced sexual abuse are examined using a high power scope fitted with both a still camera and a video camera.

Zbiegien said tapes, photos and any DNA evidence collected can be reexamined by doctors or used in court. Child Life assistants stand by to assure children that the exam will be swift and painless.

Child Life specialist Sue Collins said she and her six counterparts are on hand to prepare young patients for any hospital encounter.

"We assist with everything from I.V. starts to bone marrow and M.R.I. to skin exams."

Child Life specialist Krista Campos works with children in the general pediatrics area of the hospital. She said even simple practices can help children though a hospital stay. One practice recommended is setting up a separate room away from the child's hospital room for routine painful procedures like shots or blood drawing.

"That way the child feels safe in their room. They don't feel as if any second someone can come in and poke them," Campos said.

Child Life has also set up therapeutic play rooms on each floor. In these rooms specialists use toys, photos and diagrams to explain complex diseases like cancer and diabetes to the young children who must learn to live with them.

Specialist Vivian Morgan said the children are also given a chance to look at and touch the real medical equipment they will be encountering.

The Top 10 children's hospitals were featured in the February issue of Child magazine. A ranked list of the Top 50 hospitals can be found under "Your Child" on www.childmagazine.com.