The Compass - Fort Worth The Compass, Summer 2019 | Page 7

PROGRAMS a patient’s needs, the service helps ensure Innovative Child Life Program Supports the Children of Seriously Ill Adults When important people in a child’s life face life- threatening illness or trauma, many families either don’t know how or are not comfortable talking about the situation with children. How kids process distressing events like these can have a major impact on their lives. that the needs of even the littlest family members are not overlooked. There is a positive impact on the entire family. Since joining the Baylor Scott & White All Saints team, Magellan has supported families and children through more than 1,700 visits. Child life services are provided at no cost to patients and families. Since the services are not billable and are not covered by insurance, they must be fully funded by philanthropy. Through philanthropic grants from foundations, corporations and generous individual donors, this program is changing the lives of patients and caregivers—and their children—now and in the future. For more information about the child life program, contact Geraldine Williams at 817.922.7711 or Geraldine.Williams@ BSWHealth.org. o help patients and their families children back to baseline, because we don’t at Baylor Scott & White Health want them leaving with all of this heavy All Saints Medical Center – Fort information hanging over their head.” Worth during these times, doctors and Oftentimes, child life specialists will nurses often call on experts like Magellan help connect the family with ongoing Taylor-Brickey. Magellan is one of the seven support in the community. palliative care child life specialists within Baylor Scott & White Health dedicated to serving children of our adult patients. Supporting Marcus and John Marcus and John were with their dad Across many of our hospitals, from the when he experienced a cardiac arrest at emergency department to the ICU, this a local urgent care clinic. The boys were team is trained to help with the psycho- escorted to the hospital in a police car, social issues kids face when their parent while their dad was taken by ambulance. or loved one is injured or suffering from a Magellan received this referral upon the life-limiting illness. family’s arrival at the hospital. Once the According to Magellan, talking with boy’s mother arrived, she and Magellan the involved adults to understand the made a plan on how to communicate with family’s needs is always her first step. She the boys about what they had witnessed, then meets with the child(ren) to prepare and how to talk with them about their them for things like a parent’s surgery, dad’s upcoming medical journey. or what it means if a parent is diagnosed Over the following weeks, Magellan with a serious illness. Magellan says part worked with Marcus and John, talking of her role is to help the child process about their experience and helping them feelings of fear or anxiety, and then work begin processing their trauma. They to develop coping strategies. identified places where they feel safe and These sessions may take several hours people they can turn to for comfort and and usually include playing games or talking safety. Marcus and John created puzzles about home, school, friends, and pets. where each piece represented something Magellan says, “We usually end our visits that makes them feel safe during times with normalized play, like games, coloring, of stress. Just like a puzzle can fall apart, or dance parties. This helps bring the sometimes so can our world. Pioneering for the Whole Family Baylor Scott & White Health is the first health system in the nation that has a program exclusively serving the emotional needs of children whose parents or other adult loved ones are facing a serious health crisis. By addressing 360 degrees of Child life specialist Magellan Taylor-Brickey helps children like Marcus and John process their feelings Save the Date PRESIDENT’S COFFEE Hear timely updates on the Medical Center from SEPT 10 BSW Fort Worth President Mike Sanborn at this intimate gathering. RSVP [email protected] LADIES’ EVENT Join us at Fort Works Art to kick off breast cancer OCT 3 awareness month and purchase your raffle ticket to win a new Lexus. MEN’S EVENT Join us for an exclusive event to raise awareness NOV 14 of the Joan Katz Cancer Resource Center and purchase your raffle ticket to win a new Lexus. PRESIDENT’S LUNCH Hear timely updates on the Medical Center from NOV 21 BSW Fort Worth President Mike Sanborn at this intimate gathering. RSVP [email protected] BEYOND THE BAG Join us for the 9th Annual fundraising event benefiting the Joan Katz JAN 25 2020 Cancer Resource Center. THE COMPASS / BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE FOUNDATION NEWS / SUMMER 2019 7