Photos from Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital/Marshfield Clinic Child Life's post

We had a great time celebrating siblings at our special needs Sibshop last month! We built linguini/marshmallow towers, performed surgery on an apple, drew pictures on our heads, made "dream" pillow cases and used our senses to go on an Easter egg hunt! Our next Sibshop is scheduled on May 20 for siblings of chronically ill children (cancer, asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, cerebral palsy, etc). If you are interested in signing your child up, please call 715-387-7337 to register.

Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation

So lucky to have picked a career that I love and to lead a fabulous team that make a difference in the lives of patients and families every day!

Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital/Marshfield Clinic Child Life

Timeline Photos

Congratulations to Heather Berndt for receiving a shining star for her excellent care of patients in the Ambulatory Surgery Center. Well done Heather! To read more information on the Shining Star Program, please click the following link: https://www.marshfieldclinic.org/giving/shining-star

Winter Camp Angel - Angel On My Shoulder

Awesome camp! Check it out!

GestureTek Product Summary

Imagine spending days, weeks or even months in the hospital with your child. As the time goes on, the days become longer and more drawn out. We are always looking for opportunities to help not only pass the time, but provide therapeutic activities as well to help them strive developmentally or continue improvement in their rehab status. The GestureTek is one of our resources we use to help with this. The GestureTek is a motion controlled system that creates an interactive virtual world by using floor or wall space to project dynamic, visual content. The system continuously detects body position, allowing for real-time interaction between users and the display. You may have seen such a system where bubbles are shown on the floor and you can pop them by jumping or stomping on them, or another example, is being able to play soccer and actually being a goalie to block the shots with your feet. Ripples form as you step on pools of water; images flip or fly with the sweep of your arm; fire, bubbles and beams of light emit as you enter the display area. The system is able to detect the slightest of movements, therefore even patients who have a very limited range of motion are able to engage and develop gratification from something as small as the nod of a head. The GesterTek can also be used as an incentive to get patients out of their rooms, encourage all types of movement and allow for social interactions. This is a system for people of all ages to not only have a great deal of fun, but also work on specific goals while enjoying themselves as well. Please see the link below for additional information and a video of how the system works. http://productsummary.gesturetek.com/

Tis the season for giving! If you are looking to make a donation during this holiday season, we are very much in need of adolescent gifts, as well as wrapping paper, for our Santa's workshop we have set up for our pediatric hospital patients.Donations can be dropped off in the Foundation Office on the first floor of the hospital. Thank you so much and Happy Holidays!

Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation

Thank you so much to the Green Bay Packers Foundation for their support of our program!

Having a baby is typically a very exciting time for parents, however for some parents, things don’t go as planned and your new little baby needs some extra care. In cases such as this, the baby may need to spend some time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or the NICU. Our NICU has provided the region’s highest level of NICU care since opening in 1969. It is a 24-bed unit and is the only Level IIIB NICU in central and northern Wisconsin. Child Life services are available to help provide preparation, support and resources to parents and siblings during a NICU stay. If siblings are coming to visit their newborn brother or sister, a Child Life Specialist can be present to help prepare them for what they are about to see, hear and smell. The NICU can be a scary place if a child has no idea what to expect. We can help prepare the sibling using actual photos of the NICU, a medical teaching doll and equipment, as well as providing developmentally appropriate information that the child is able to understand. In addition to that, providing resources or sitting and reading a book about having the baby in the NICU can help the sibling better understand as well. Expressive activities can also be offered, for example, drawing a picture for the new baby, writing a letter, decorating a frame for a picture of the baby or journal writing. We can also be available to accompany the sibling into the NICU to answer additional questions and offer support as he or she reacts to seeing his or her baby brother or sister for the first time. Information and support for parents is also offered by providing guidance to helpful web sites and other resources, advice on how to talk with sibling(s) if a hospital visit is not planned, access to developmental information regarding their NICU baby and discussion of supportive services and bereavement information. Another great resource that is available to parents and family members is being able to log into a personal device and see the baby through a NICVIEW web camera. Each bed or isolette is equipped with a camera and families are given a specific user name and password where they can log in from anywhere and see their baby live through this camera. If parents or other family members are not able to be with the baby, they can still check in and see their baby at any time. Although having a baby in the NICU can be a very stressful time for a family, we strive to make their stay not only more comfortable, but help them in any way that we can.

Timeline Photos

Our 2017 Child Life calendars have arrived! We are selling them as a fundraiser for our program and the money raised will directly support our program and the services we provide. You can find the calendars at the hospital gift shop and coffee cart, the Ronald McDonald House, the Marshfield Credit Union and Simplicity Credit Union. Otherwise, feel free to contact a Child Life Specialist or send us a message and we will be happy to mail you a calendar upon recieving payment. Thank you so much for your support!

Photos from Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital/Marshfield Clinic Child Life's post

We had our special needs Sibshop on November 12 and enjoyed a morning of fun with five awesome siblings!