Children's Hospitals Redesign Therapy to be Fun

Innovation is not always about reinventing the wheel. Sometimes the wheel just needs to be tweaked in order to have better outcomes. Children's Hospital of Colorado implemented the Youth and Pet Survivors (YAPS) program in 2001 that connects animals with children as pen pals with the intent to bring pet therapy to pediatric oncology patients. Neither the animals nor the patients are of the usual variety - both parties are survivors of life threatening conditions such as cancer. The article quotes that oncology patients' "prospect for long-term survival was so remote" that they gave up hope for the future. The YAPS program is one of many programs that Children's Hospitals across the nation have implemented in an attempt to make children feel more comfortable while in a hospital room.

Although the idea of pen pals or pet therapy does not seem original, the true innovation comes from the combination of the two worlds. Ideas such as the YAPS program have been helped provide leeway for creating a Child Life department full of specialists who are trained to make therapy seem less therapeutic and more entertainment. Other initiatives such as window washers dressed as superheroes and music therapy where window washers dress as superheroes and play with children while suspended in air and musicians play music in a central location in a hospital are just two of many examples that combine multiple initiatives.

One of my personal favorite initiatives that began at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh was the transformation of a CT scan room from a standard white sterile room to an under the sea themed room that comforts children when they are distraught. The transformation not only eased children's anxiety levels, but comforted parents and allowed clinicians to better work with children due to better cooperative outcomes. The innovation behind this comes from combining old standard practices and adding a flare to it that keeps patients engaged with clinicians in a cooperative manner for positive outcomes. The term "Distraction Therapy" was coined, where what was once considered distressing became relaxing while maintaining the same qualities as before.

Innovation does not have to be a brand new idea that is being implemented for the first time. With the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh example, combining the creative opportunities given to children through means of television and books and CT scans that can be found in every hospital was something never considered before. The results were remarkable as patient compliance increased dramatically. My question is what other opportunities can be combined to produce better outcomes for our patients, not just pediatric, but for adolescents, adults, and geriatrics as well? Above are just a few examples of wheels being redesigned rather than reinvented that show the question is answerable.