Making Hospitals Fun
Millions of people each day are stuck in hospitals, patiently waiting to be treated and cured of their illnesses. Not only does this process have an effect on their physical health, but their mental health can also take a hit. And if we, as adults, have it so hard, we can only imagine how severe it must be for children. Our group is focused on improving the quality of isolation-type hospital stays, specifically for them.
What have hospital patients requested the most during their stays?
- Online entertainment systems
- Snacks
- Blankets
- Stuffed animals
On top of these, natural lighting has been shown to improve the well-being of patients and staff
How can these things benefit patients during their isolation stays?
- Children may distract themselves from pain using entertainment
- Children may reconnect with the familial lifestyle and build self-esteem and confidence
- Isolated children have a tendency to develop anxiety; this helps prevent that
- developing new skillsets
- diversional play
- developmental supportive play
- Aids recovery speed
How has this been implemented with COVID and other safety protocols?
- Public Health Ontario cleanliness and sanitation mandates
- Stanford Medicine Children's Health used Sophie's Place Broadcast Studio, a call-in children's service, to allow them to play games, join virtual book clubs, and more
What's the catch?
- Patient entertainment solutions can often be costly for hospitals; entertainment systems can start at $300 per unit
- Hospitals only have so many resources; it can be difficult to implement things to entertain all sorts of patients
- The onset of COVID-19 has severely disrupted operation speed, thus delaying the treatment everyone gets
All things considered, we believe that with the right ideas and mindset, we can improve the quality of hospital visits for not only children, but all patients!
