Child Life Specialist Recognition Month

WHEREAS, Alabama’s children hospitalized in any one of five Alabama hospitals are served by certified child life specialists and receive improved family-centered care coordination; and

WHEREAS, children today face a wide variety of stressful and sometimes traumatic encounters which can overwhelm their natural capacity to cope and heal;  Hospitalization or health care treatment can lead to changed behavior through fear, confusion, isolation and other demonstrative behaviors effecting their emotional and physical health; and

WHEREAS, child life specialists are child development experts holding a bachelor’s or master’s degree with an educational emphasis on human growth and development and who have completed a rigorous clinical internship and written exam, whose training and expertise facilitates creating normal age-appropriate environments for children in health care settings; and

WHEREAS, they promote coping activities, medical education and preparation for treatments, conditions and procedures in coordination with the multi-disciplinary teams comprised of doctors, nurses, parents, social workers, teachers and other involved parties designed to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of the pediatric patient; and

WHEREAS, Alabama has 36 active child life specialists and 117 child life specialist students who work aggressively in the pediatric medical arena to create psychosocial and developmental plans for hospitalized children enabling a supportive approach to their care; and

WHEREAS, research has demonstrated that age-appropriate medical procedure preparation reduces fear and anxiety, creating a better long term adjustment to medical challenges; and

WHEREAS, the behavior and anxiety levels of parents and caregivers are directly correlated to the pediatric patient’s response; and

WHEREAS, child life specialists are professionals and members of an elite group of more than 4,200 Certified Child Life Specialists in the United States and Canada; and

WHEREAS, the American Academy of Pediatrics states, “Child life services should be considered an essential component of quality pediatric health care and are integral to family-centered care and best-practice models of health care delivery for children;” and

WHEREAS, child life specialists do not operate within a vacuum and are dependent on the excellence of a multi-disciplinary team of medical staff, nursing, families and all employees:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim March 2012, as

Child Life Specialist Recognition Month

in the state of Alabama and recognize the expertise and activities of Alabama’s certified child life specialists at Children’s of Alabama, University of South Alabama Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, Druid City Hospital, Huntsville Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and the many contributions made by this dedicated group of educational and healthcare professionals to the health and well-being of the children they serve in our great state.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 1st day of March 2012.

 

      

Governor Robert Bentley