The Therapeutic Relationship Zachary is a 5-year-old boy admitted to the pediatric unit with dehydration. His parents work in a small town 90 miles from the hospital, and you are planning his Child Life services as well as looking at his discharge needs. Describe the role and impact of family-centered care in the planning of Zachary’s services. 400 Level Forum Grading Rubric Possible points Student points Met initial post deadline (Wednesday)  10 Initial post is substantive  10 Initial post is at least 400 words  10 Initial post employs at least two citations; one can be text; other must be from an academic source  10 First response to classmate posted by Sunday  10 First response is at least 200 words  10 First response employs at least 2 citations; one can be text; other must be from an academic source  10 Second response to classmate posted by Sunday  10 Second response is at least 200 words  10 Second response employs at least 2 citations; one can be text; other must be from an academic source  10  100  First response: New! Week 4 Family Centered Care  Megan Keogh  (Jul 25, 2016 9:13 PM)  - Read by: 2 Reply When looking at Zachary’s situation both medically and socially it is clear that family-centered care is the best approach to use when planning Zachary’s child life services and considering his discharge plan. Family-centered care is defined as, “an approach to healthcare that is based on mutually beneficial partnerships between patients, families, and healthcare professionals” (Thompson, 2009). I feel this is especially important to utilize because of the distance that Zachary’s family must travel to and from the hospital, due to the location of their jobs. This distance may create a communication barrier between the parents and the healthcare professionals caring for Zachary, because they may be unable to visit the hospital every day. Using family-centered care the child life specialist will be able to reach out to Zachary’s parents via phone or email; finding out what communication form works best for them when they cannot be there in person, to discuss Zachary’s well-being, mood, and give them time to express any concerns they may have for the CCLS. The CCLS should also work with the family to decide what Zachary’s plan while he is in the hospital will look like. They may have useful suggestions that the specialist can use to determine what interventions will work best for their son. “Fostering collaborative dialogue with families, promoting communication throughout the experience, and continuously acknowledging the family as an integral part of the healthcare team are strong foundations in quality child life programs” (Thompson,2009). Some interventions that I might suggest for Zachary would be games and activities with slight or gradual physical activity such as WII games or Charades to begin to rebuild his physical strength and endurance after his dehydration. I would also suggest providing caregiver educ.

1. The Therapeutic Relationship
Zachary is a 5-year-old boy admitted to the pediatric unit with
dehydration. His parents work in a small town 90 miles from the
hospital, and you are planning his Child Life services as well as
looking at his discharge needs. Describe the role and impact of
family-centered care in the planning of Zachary’s services.
400 Level Forum Grading Rubric
Possible points
Student points
Met initial post deadline (Wednesday)
10
Initial post is substantive
10
Initial post is at least 400 words
10
Initial post employs at least two citations; one can be text; other
must be from an academic source
10
First response to classmate posted by Sunday
10
First response is at least 200 words
10
First response employs at least 2 citations; one can be text;
other must be from an academic source
10

2. Second response to classmate posted by Sunday
10
Second response is at least 200 words
10
Second response employs at least 2 citations; one can be text;
other must be from an academic source
10
100
First response:
New!
Week 4 Family Centered Care
Megan Keogh
(Jul 25, 2016 9:13 PM)
- Read by: 2
Reply
When looking at Zachary’s situation both medically and socially
it is clear that family-centered care is the best approach to use
when planning Zachary’s child life services and considering his
discharge plan. Family-centered care is defined as, “an
approach to healthcare that is based on mutually beneficial
partnerships between patients, families, and healthcare
professionals” (Thompson, 2009). I feel this is especially

3. important to utilize because of the distance that Zachary’s
family must travel to and from the hospital, due to the location
of their jobs. This distance may create a communication barrier
between the parents and the healthcare professionals caring for
Zachary, because they may be unable to visit the hospital every
day. Using family-centered care the child life specialist will be
able to reach out to Zachary’s parents via phone or email;
finding out what communication form works best for them when
they cannot be there in person, to discuss Zachary’s well-being,
mood, and give them time to express any concerns they may
have for the CCLS. The CCLS should also work with the family
to decide what Zachary’s plan while he is in the hospital will
look like. They may have useful suggestions that the specialist
can use to determine what interventions will work best for their
son. “Fostering collaborative dialogue with families, promoting
communication throughout the experience, and continuously
acknowledging the family as an integral part of the healthcare
team are strong foundations in quality child life programs”
(Thompson,2009). Some interventions that I might suggest for
Zachary would be games and activities with slight or gradual
physical activity such as WII games or Charades to begin to
rebuild his physical strength and endurance after his
dehydration. I would also suggest providing caregiver education
for the parents as part of Zachary’s discharge plan. I feel that
the child life specialist should provide the parents with
information on dehydration that will inform them on ways to
keep Zachary hydrated and healthy, as well as provide
information about what exactly dehydration is and signs and
symptoms that may be associated with it. This is a great form of
support for the parents and a simple way to provide them with
resources that will benefit their family. “Family/caregiver
education programs are used as part of comprehensive client
care, particularly in facilities caring for children and elderly
persons, these interventions use a variety of materials (e.g.
print, video) to inform caregivers about illness and disabilities”
(Shank & Coyle, 2002). Family-centered care incorporates all of

4. these care ideas and will serve Zachary and his family’s needs
during his hospital stay.
Shank, J., & Coyle, C. (2002).
Therapeutic recreation in health promotion and rehabilitation
(1st ed., Vol. 1). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Thompson, R. H. (2009).
The handbook of child life: A guide for pediatric psychosocial
care.
Second response:
New!
Week 4
lashari degraffenreid
(Jul 25, 2016 11:09 AM)
- Read by: 3
Reply
Last Edited By lashari degraffenreid on Jul 25, 2016 11:14 AM
Class,
When providing any services, it is
essential that child life specialists communicate
with and collaborate with the child and
family in order to create a care plan that best
meets the child and family’s identified needs
and priorities.
The child life assessment process requires
information from three sources: the healthcare
team, the family and the child(Thompson, R. H. (2009).
By speaking with the parents of Zachary I will see what his
daily needs are and will let the family know that if they have
any questions or concerns about Zachary medications,
procedures, and/or hospitalization that they acan let me know
and I will address their concerns with the appropriate people.

5. Once I speak with the doctor and nurse and I will proceed with
my planning of Zachary's services. Hospitalization impacts the
whole family and can be a stressful, traumatic time for
everyone. Brothers and sisters often need special attention
(childrensnational.org). Being that the hospital is 90 miles
from his parent's, I will communicate with the parents inregards
to see if there are other siblings and try to make a plan on when
they will be at the hospital and see if I can sit in with Zachary
to keep him company and do some medical play or other child
life services with him while the parents attended to the other
siblings. Going over any procedures Zachary may have that day
and answering any questions that eiether Zachary or his parents
may have. Family-centered care requires trust and respect,
including respect for each family's values, beliefs, and religious
and cultural background. We value families' knowledge of their
children, acknowledge their authority as decision-makers and
respect their choices.
References
Thompson, R. H. (2009).
The Handbook of Child Life : A Guide for Pediatric
Psychosocial Care
. Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas.
http://childrensnational.org/choose-childrens/deciding-on-
care/support-for-families/child-life