Ranken Jordan adds ‘Patient Play Associates’ Play has proven beneficial to children’s physical and mental health, and the same true for young people living with complex medical issues. To create more activities devoted to having fun, Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in St. Louis has created a new role – patient play associates.
Occupational therapists, child life specialists and other therapy professionals often incorporate play into their patients’ schedules and Ranken Jordan’s PPAs are finding ways for their patients to simply have fun. Ranken Jordan’s Chief Medical Officer, Nick Holekamp, MD, Ranken chief medical officer, said the hospital team determined the PPAs could help improve on the hospital’s unique care model, Care Beyond the Bedside. It focuses on play as healing and getting kids out of their hospital beds as much as possible.
“Our youngest patients were getting restless at quieter times, particularly nights and weekends, when they are more likely to be in bed because we have less planned programming,” Dr. Holekamp said. “This would cause some kids to pull on their medical devices, such as tracheostomies, which added to patient safety concerns. We thought if we had designated team members focused on play, that role could keep our patients engaged and give them more opportunities to play to help with their healing process.”
New Ranken research, which has been published in the peer-reviewed journal, Child: Care, Health & Development, also played in creating the positions. The study suggests a number of factors, including more face-to-face interactions and more variety of activities, could help mitigate the potential for developmental delay, for which children with complex medical conditions are more at risk.
Ranken Jordan has also implemented its Optimization Zone (OZ program) as a result of the research. OZ is an innovative in-hospital program, similar to a preschool, for medically complex kids age 5 and younger. In the year since the Ranken Jordan team conceptualized the new role, 22 PPAs have been hired.
Depending on age and ability, PPAs share a variety of activities with patients, including reading books, playing cards or crafting friendship bracelets in the hospital’s art room. PPAs are also been trained to take patients outside safely to take advantage of Ranken Jordan’s wheelchair-friendly swing or go on a nature walk. Early results show the young patients who were getting antsy are pulling on their medical devices less and they’re happier when engaged in kid-friendly activities.
Kristin LaRose, Ranken Jordan’s chief nursing officer, said the PPAs impact the nursing team, because nurses can delegate tasks to PPAs that do not require clinical training, such as brushing a patient’s hair.
“Our nurses and front-line staff are dedicated to practicing Care Beyond the Bedside, but when they are busy with nursing tasks, they can’t always stop to offer one-on-one playtime that kids not only need but crave,” LaRose said. “Our new team of PPAs helps our nurses to focus on their patient care tasks and know that kids are getting to be kids and play when they do not need specific clinical care.”
