Child Life Volunteer Program
‘Every child has the right to play’ is the concept behind the introduction of the new Child Life Volunteer Program at HMC. The new initiative aims to provide volunteers with the necessary knowledge and training in order to offer stimulation and fun to HGH’s pediatric inpatients during their hospitalization. This program is the first to be rolled out in any hospital throughout HMC and is a momentous milestone in the improvement of pediatric care at HMC.
Two Child Life Specialists (Subject Matter Experts) from The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto arrived in Doha for five days in June to provide training to volunteers on how to interact with long-term hospitalized children who have special needs. The training was provided through a classroom training session and demonstration/mentoring on the unit with the children.
There are 32 female volunteers in total, 16 staff from HMC and 16 from the American Women’s Association. The training session held on 2 June 2013 began with a welcome message from the lead of the initiative, Ms. Colene Daniel, Chief Executive of Hamad General Hospital. Ms. Daniel addressed the group and expressed her gratitude to the volunteers.
‘Children First’ met with two volunteers before they commence their volunteering duties to find out what made them want to be involved in this brand new program.
Glendora McCreary works as an External Affairs Officer at Qatar Foundation, after relocating to Doha from the USA. Back home she was a certified foster care provider, and has previously had exposure to sick children through family and friends. "Since I arrived in Qatar, I had been searching for a hospital volunteer program, particularly involving children, and was shocked to find there wasn’t such an initiative in this country yet. I am extremely excited that HMC have developed this program, with the help of the HMC/SickKids International Partnership, as I believe playtime provides necessary stimulation that helps speed up recovery time for patients. I love spending time with children so this initiative is a blessing for me to be involved in."
Above: Ms. Glendora McCreary Above: Ms. Eleanor Carter
Glendora explained that not only is she volunteering for the children, but also for the parents and family members who also spend the majority of their days and weeks in hospital with their children. "I think it is important to be there for parents and guardians as having a child in hospital can be very socially, emotionally and physically draining. I look forward to giving the parents some time for them to go and grab a coffee or take a stroll, whether it’s for 20 minutes or for two hours."
Eleanor Carter, Project Director for the Managing Director’s Office at HMC told Children First she is "especially excited to volunteer in order to have the chance to see the clinical work of the hospital and the patients to whom we aim to deliver the best and safest care."
Having had previous experience working in the field of autism and working with children with emotional and behavioral difficulties in the UK, Eleanor was immediately interested in joining the volunteering program, "It is really worthwhile to spare two hours a week to see and play with the children. No matter what their reason is to be in hospital, every child deserves the right to play. The nurses at HMC are great with the children; I am honored to be given the opportunity to support them as well as the families in the stimulation of the patients through play time."
‘Every Child Has The Right To Play’: The Child Life Volunteers
Glendora stressed that the key component of the program is sustainability which can lead to further improvements within long term pediatric care. "As the program is new, I wish to see it continue and strive throughout the hospital."
‘Children First’ wish all the volunteers the best of luck as they begin their volunteering duties and will be catching up with Glendora and Eleanor in our next issue for further updates of this exciting new program.
