This post was sponsored by Floating Hospital for Children as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.
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If you’ve been around ButeauFull Chaos for a while you probably already know how much I love Boston from it’s history to the Bruins to amazing pediatric medical care such as what you’ll find at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center. I know first hand just how tough life gets for families with children who need to stay in the hospital for either a chronic or complex health condition. It’s tough, confusing and scary -for the kids and for their families. Floating Hospital understands this and has been working really hard to ease the pain and make children and their families more comfortable.
Last year, my daughter was hospitalized for over two weeks and I can’t explain the stress that placed on our family from worrying about her health to travel expenses and just making sure everything else operated smoothly. We also saw first hand how children are sometimes treated as an illness rather than as children in some hospitals not specifically geared toward children like Floating Hospital is.
Whether children are visiting Floating Hospital for a quick clinic visit or they are admitted, they’ll get a reminder that they don’t have to be big to be strong thanks to The Toughlings (pictured above). Buff the badger, Elbo the octopus, Mica the ant, Cozi the turtle and Sage the owl can be seen throughout Floating Hospital serving as a reminder that these patients are tough and giving them the courage to get through their visit.
As an example of Floating Hospital for Children’s message to kids about being tough and strong, watch the following video, “You Don’t Have to Be Big to Be Strong” created by Floating Hospital to promote the unified message capturing Floating Hospital’s resilient patients and dedicated staff. Go ahead, watch it a few times. You’ll want to and I’ve got plenty of time!
Beautiful message, beautiful video from Floating Hospital that’s just one way to show how much they care about their patients. They see them as children rather than a host for an illness that needs to be treated. In addition to this message and The Toughlings, I love that Floating Hospital believes in animal therapy for their patients. There’s something about the way a child can quickly bond with a horse, a gal like me, too! And, if you’re stuck in the hospital and happen to be at Floating Hospital during the monthly mini-horse visits well, I’m a little tiny bit jealous! Missing the horses? They have pet therapy dogs around once in a while, too!
Animal therapy, The Toughlings, and of course, Floating Hospital for Children also recognizes the power of play. In fact, Floating Hospital pioneered the concept of integrating play into their patient’s daily routines. How. Cool. Is. That. These kids are not feeling well, unable to be home and certainly the last thing they want to do is be stuck in a zone without play! Helping children deal with the fear and stress of being hospitalized through play at Floating Hospital has been in practice since 1948! Wondering why, aside from the obvious?
Play is a vital component of children’s lives, and is the major way that children communicate, learn, rehearse, relax, and have fun. Through play, children gain a sense of master and control, leading to an increased ability to cope with stress, and to express their feelings.
If it’s not completely obvious by now how much Floating Hospital for Children cares about their patients. as well as helping to ease their parents stress, here are a few more great services they offer:
- Pediatric Emergency Department – Floating Hospital for Children’s dedicated pediatric ED is operational around the clock – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A child-centered environment with a play area waiting room and five dedicated rooms that are soothing, healing and suited for a child. It’s staffed with a pediatric emergency nurse and a pediatric technician. Child Life specialists’ (hours are 10 am–2 am) provide support to a child and his/her family.
- InQuicker – If a child has a non-life-threatening emergency, Floating Hospital for Children offers a new tool called InQuicker that allows parents to check-in for an estimated treatment time so that patients and their families can wait at home instead of in a Boston ER waiting room.
- Floating Hospital for Children’s community hospital Affiliates – Through Floating Hospital for Children’s network of pediatric affiliations, children with less-complex conditions can remain in the community under the expert care of our on-site pediatric hospitalists, specialized physicians who only care for children in an in-patient hospital setting. If more advanced care is required at Floating Hospital for Children, patient transfer and care management are quickly and seamlessly coordinated.
Connect With Floating Hospital for Children:
Floating Hospital for Children webpage: https://www.floatinghospital.org/
Floating Hospital for Children Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floatinghospitalforchildrenattuftsmc
“You Don’t Have to Be Big to Be Strong” video: https://youtu.be/H-Ls22E-zXM
