Trillium Health Partners offers a range of services for babies, children and adolescents, including neonatal services, paediatric services, and health and fitness services, as well as a Kid’z Klinic that provides care for children beyond the hours offered by most Paediatricians and Family Doctors.
At Trillium Health partners, we understand that going to hospital can be a challenging experience for children and their families. That is why we strive to create a warm and welcoming environment and provide unique supports such as our Child Life Specialist, who helps children and their families cope with stressful life events, particularly as they related to health care experiences and our “Poke Program,” an initiative for children admitted to hospital aimed at making procedures – such as IV starts and bloodwork – a more positive experience.
To learn more about the specific services we offer, click on the links to the left.
To learn about how we work to make a visit to the hospital as comfortable as possible for you and your child, see the information below.
Child Life Specialist
The child life specialist is an expert in child development who works to ensure that life remains as normal as possible for children in health care settings. They promote effective coping through play, self expression activities and age-appropriate medical preparation and education. As advocates of family-centred care, child life specialists work in partnership with doctors, nurses, social workers and other members of the health care team to meet the unique emotional, developmental and cultural needs of the child and family.
Services Provided by the Child Life Specialist:
Child life specialists focus on the psychosocial and developmental needs of children, collaborating with families and other healthcare providers to:
- Prepare children for medical procedures or treatment using language that children understand
- Introduce coping strategies to help reduce anxiety and enhance cooperation with the health care team
- Provide support and distraction during medical procedures
- Offer opportunities for play and expressive activities, to encourage normal development and a sense of FUN despite challenging circumstances
- Promote family-centered care by providing information, advocacy and support to families of paediatric patients
Surgeries
The following resources are for children who will be undergoing surgery at THP to help them better understand what to expect:
Paediatric Surgery at Credit Valley Hospital
Paediatric Surgery at Mississauga Hospital
Video - Familiarizing Child with Hospital:
Information for Parents - Familiarizing Child with Hospital
