Robots, dogs and Legos help kids cope during hospital visits
UMass Memorial Medical Center – Children’s Medical Center
Worcester, Mass.
Photo courtesy of UMass Memorial Health
Robin — an interactive, human-assisted robot — is an innovative tool that’s helping make hospital visits less stressful for pediatric patients at the UMass Memorial Medical Center – Children’s Medical Center. Kids can talk with Robin (who’s multilingual), play games with the robot, receive comfort during a tough day of treatment and celebrate a special occasion.
Child life specialists at the Children’s Medical Center, who have training in child development, psychology and education, use other age-appropriate innovations and evidence-based methods to reduce stress, provide support and help pediatric patients feel confident and comfortable.
The animal-assisted therapy program includes a resident therapy dog with specialized training to demonstrate medical procedures or provide therapeutic intervention like walking with young patients. The music therapy program addresses patients’ physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs to help promote healing. Care teams also help patients celebrate birthdays, holidays and other special events.
Child life specialists recently began using Lego sets designed to resemble MRI machines to help patients prepare for their own MRI scans, reducing anxiety and even minimizing the need for anesthesia.
All these programs and activities are designed to support not only the child but also the entire family through medical challenges and are funded through donations from local and national foundations, private companies and individuals.