Child life month began on March 1st across Canada and the Starlight Children’s Foundation has launched its new online Hospital Wish List initiative to celebrate.
According to Starlight, the wish list seeks to fulfill the direct requests of in-hospital programs from over 100 Canadian hospitals, including the Stanton Territorial Hospital and the Hay River Regional Health Centre in the Northwest Territories.
“Our goal and mission is to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families by providing in-hospital and out-of-hospital experiences across the country to better their mental health and their wellbeing.” Starlight Canada Executive Director Trevor Dicaire tells My True North Now.
One tool that Starlight Canada prides itself on using is ‘Comfort Kits’ which are designed to meet the needs of patients of all ages and their families.
“Comfort Kits are kits that are delivered individually to children who are hospitalized and we have a variety of different ones, from our ‘admission kit’ which is given when a child is unexpectedly admitted to the hospital to ‘baby and toddler kits’ all the way up to ‘teen kits’ which are designed to keep patients entertained, happy and have something to do while they’re in the hospital,” Dicaire added.
Starlight Canada says that mood, comfort, and distraction play an important role in controlling anxiety and alleviating pain.
