‘Coping kits’ designed to calm young emergency patients
July 19, 2011
RED DEER – Many children in the emergency department (ED) of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre now find the experience less stressful since the facility introduced ‘coping kits’ for its youngest patients.
Provided to all patients up to 12 years of age, the kits look like a simple bag of toys containing crayons, colouring books, small toys and/or games. However, these colour-coded kits have contents specially designed to encourage specific coping behaviours: soft toys for comfort, noisemakers for distraction, and focus toys, such as puzzles, to help children relax while procedures are taking place.
“I’ve seen the benefits of the kits with my own kids and it’s rewarding to see the difference these kits can make for other children,” says ED registered nurse Nova Bais, a mother of two who helped implement the program last year. “The coping kits can play a big role in making children more comfortable and less afraid in the hospital.”
Every child is given a coping kit and can take it home after discharge. The kit also contains information cards to help parents manage their child’s pain and provide comfort.
“I think the coping kits are a fabulous idea,” says Kim Gerein, whose two-year-old son, Grady, received one recently when the family arrived at the ED after Grady sustained a fall. Grady has a rare, genetic disease, x-linked hypophosphatemia, which causes softening of the bones.
“So when he fell, we were worried about a head injury,” says Gerein. “It was upsetting for all of us to see him so out of character and so upset. But when the nurse gave him that bag and he started playing with the toys, it changed his day around completely.
“All the way down to X-ray, we blew bubbles and he held onto a little rubber duck that was in the bag. It’s like one he has at home, so it took his mind off how he was feeling and his surroundings. It distracted him from where he was and how he was feeling. Right away, he started to calm down. It was incredible the difference that little bag made for him.”
Hospital staff say the coping kits play an important role helping them assess and treat pediatric injuries and illnesses.
“They’re very helpful, both for the children and their parents,” says emergency physician Dr. Gary Davidson.
“The kits are a way for the children to take their minds off being in the hospital and, when they’re amused, it can help ease their parents’ minds and help keep them calm as well. The items in the kits also become a way for us to interact with the children and build a relationship with them. You can get them talking about how the toys work, or demonstrate any testing you need to do on a teddy bear, so they can see that it’s going to be OK.
“The kits are a fantastic resource to have in the ED.”
The Red Deer Regional Hospital Foundation funds the kits, which are assembled by hospital volunteers with guidance from a child specialist.
Bais developed the kits based on a similar concept used in the ED of Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre introduced the kits a year ago as a pilot project and they’ve now been adopted full-time.
More than 8,000 pediatric visits are made to the Red Deer ED annually.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than 3.7 million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
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