Patients at Primary Children’s Hospital will soon have new opportunities for more multisensory fun, thanks to a $15,000 grant awarded by the Mattel Children’s Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Association. Primary Children’s is one of eleven children’s hospitals across the country to receive a Mattel Play Grant.
“The Mattel Children’s Foundation Play Grants will support children’s hospitals in their quest to create healing environments that allow children to engage in play and, frankly, just be kids” said Mark Wietecha, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital Association.”
For patients at Primary Children’s, this grant means new equipment and toys for the multisensory room in the Forever Young Zone. The hospital will also have new multisensory toys available for patients who are unable to come to the playroom.
One of the new pieces of equipment that Child Life Specialists are excited to use is a Vecta Distraction Station; a mobile station that will be used to transform patient rooms into a relaxing and distracting multisensory environment. The station includes a bubble column, projector, and fiber optics.
Child Life Specialist, Amy Burr, explains, “Play experiences that offer patients visual, auditory, tactile or olfactory stimulation are conducive to managing patient pain and stress levels. Multisensory play also allows patients to exercise choice, control, and mastery.”
While these toys are available to all patients, they are especially beneficial for children who have cognitive or motor delays, who have suffered some form of neurotrauma, or who have sensory processing disorders. Child Life Specialist, Victoria White says, “Many families who have children with developmental delays say that the sensory room is the only thing that their child likes. These toys not only offer stimulation and distraction in the hospital, but also enable patients to enjoy the healing benefits of multisensory play.”
Primary Children’s Hospital is honored to be the recipient of this generous grant from Mattel Children’s Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Association.
